Whether it was a recent patch or just an anomaly that exists within the Xbox One peripheral space, there seems to be a growing amount of gamers around the globe who are wondering why their headset echos on Xbox One.
The strange part is while there are plenty of people who have had this issue with echoing headsets, especially when it comes to party chat on Xbox Live, there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut reason for why this issue exists.
We did some research of our own and were able to greatly reduce the problems we had with headset and mic echo. We’ll walk you through a few troubleshooting steps you can go through to learn how to fix your mic echoing on Xbox One.
Why does my headset or mic echo on Xbox One?
After combing the web, asking other Xbox One gamers, and performing our own tests, we’ve come up with a pretty solid explanation as to why your headset or mic might be echoing.
It seems the main source of the echo is feedback from your Xbox One headset or TV speakers, which is then re-broadcasted through your mic and back through other players’ headsets.
Regardless of if you’re using wired or Bluetooth headsets for Xbox One, everyone in the Xbox Live party will typically hear the echo, besides the person who is causing it.
To make things even more complicated, it seems like there are times where the exact same setup and settings work – and other times, where it doesn’t.
This leads us to believe there’s a combination of physical and software related issues that could be the cause.
For now, there are a few things you can try to fix mic and headset echo on your Xbox One.
Option 1: Move Your Headset Mic Further Away from Your Headset
If you don’t have a pair of noise-canceling headphones for your Xbox One there’s a good chance that game sound can leak through your headset and enter the microphone.
A simple solution is simply to adjust your headset microphone so it’s further away from your face, and therefore, further away from the headset speakers.
This issue doesn’t seem to affect the Xbox One Chat Headset because game audio will come out of your TV speakers when using this headset and mic.
If you’re still having issues even when moving the Xbox One headset mic away from your headset, you can try adjusting the volume via some chat mixer settings to lessen the effect.
Option 2: Try Different Chat Mixer Settings
Another thing you can do to help fix mic echo in your Xbox One party chat is by adjusting the Chat Mixer Settings in your Xbox One settings menus.
The chat mixer settings are an extension of the settings that are already available via hardware on the Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter, although these options are even more limited.
In these settings you have the following options:
- Mute All Other Sounds
- Reduce the Volume of Other Sounds by 80%
- Reduce the Volume of Other Sounds by 50%
- Do Nothing
You can play with these different Chat Mixer options in the Xbox One General settings to see if they can help you fix headset and mic echo on your Xbox One.
Option 3: Check In-Game Voice Chat Settings
Something else you can do to help diagnose and fix headset echo on Xbox One is to check your in-game voice chat settings.
Not all games have these settings and typically these settings will only apply to certain aspects of the game, and not the Xbox One party chat. The example above is from Call of Duty Modern Warfare‘s Warzone.
However, it’s still worth taking a look at these specific in-game settings, especially if you’re typically playing in online games that have in-game chat lobbies and in-game chat options available.
In our experience, we found sometimes the thresholds were too low, resulting in mic and headset echo, especially when it comes to Xbox One party chat.
Option 4: Unplug Your Headset and/or Headset Adapter
If you have a Microsoft Stereo Headset Adapter for your Xbox One, you can try unplugging both the adapter and your mic from your Xbox One controller and plug it back in.
This will reset your headset and adapter.
Our tests showed that this worked but it only works for a very short time before the echo comes back. You may have better luck than we did with this issue to fix your headset echo.
If that doesn’t work, there are some Xbox One controller software options that you can explore as well.
Option 5: Update Your Xbox Controller Firmware
Although we haven’t run into a specific situation where updating your controller firmware will solve mic echo, it’s always worth a shot.
Sometimes, there might be hundreds of updates behind. Updating your Xbox One controller firmware could potentially fix other issues besides headset echo in party chat.
To update your Xbox One controller firmware, follow these steps:
- Navigate to your Xbox One Settings
- Navigate to Devices & Streaming > Accessories
- Once in Accessories, select the three dots […] option
- Select ‘Firmware’ (it will also show the current firmware version)
- Select ‘Update Firmware’
Selecting these options will update the firmware on your Xbox One Controller which could help solve issues with mic echo in Xbox One Party Chat.
Option 6: Replace Your Headset or Headset Adapter
If you’re still having issues with headset echo on Xbox One after trying all of our tips listed above, it could be that you have a defective Xbox One headset or Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter.
There are tons of options available for Xbox One headsets, ranging from the Xbox One Headset all the way up to some seriously expensive, noise-canceling, hi-fidelity gaming cans.
Here is a list of our recommended headsets if you’re looking to replace yours:
We hope this article and the troubleshooting tips above helped you fix or at least reduce the echo from your Xbox One headset. If you have any other suggestions for fellow Xbox gamers, feel free to drop us a comment below, send us a message via our Contact page, or visit us over at our YouTube Channel. Thanks for stopping by, and game on!