No Ticket Needed

Appearance

4 min fix 9 min read Recently reviewedBeginner

By , IT support technician

Quick Answer

In the meeting toolbar, click Share, then turn on Include computer sound at the top of the share tray before you pick what to share. Share your Screen rather than a Window — window sharing often will not carry audio.

How to Share Computer Sound in a Teams Meeting ​

Applies to: Microsoft Teams (new Teams and classic Teams on Windows and macOS, Teams on the web)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-29

Summary ​

Playing a video in a Teams meeting and hearing "we can see it but there's no sound" is a sharing setting, not a broken file. This article shows you how to send your computer's audio to participants, how to switch it on mid-share when you forgot, and what changes on a Mac and in the browser.

Prerequisites ​

  • Microsoft Teams on Windows or macOS, or Teams in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
  • Presenter rights in the meeting. Attendees cannot share content or sound.
  • On a Mac, permission to install the Teams audio driver the first time you use this. Step 5 gives the wording to send IT if the install is blocked.

Instructions ​

1. Turn On Include Computer Sound Before You Share ​

This is the setting people miss. Switch it on in the share tray, before you choose what to share.

  1. In the meeting toolbar at the top of the meeting window, click Share — the upward arrow icon, labelled Share content when you hover over it. The share tray opens along the bottom of the window.
  2. Look along the top of the tray for the toggle labelled Include computer sound. Older builds label it Include system audio, and classic Teams shows a checkbox rather than a toggle.
  3. Click the toggle so it switches on. It fills with colour and the slider moves to the right.
  4. Now pick what to share — Screen, Window, or a PowerPoint Live file. Sharing starts with sound already flowing.
  5. A red or blue border appears around the shared content, and the presenter toolbar at the top of your screen shows a speaker icon confirming computer sound is on.

Note: With this on, Teams sends everything your computer is playing — the video, notification pings, other browser tabs, and any music. Close anything noisy before you share.

2. Turn On Computer Sound After You Have Already Started Sharing ​

You do not have to stop and start again. The toggle exists on the live presenter toolbar too.

  1. Move your mouse to the top of the screen. The presenter toolbar slides down — a small bar carrying Stop sharing, Give control, and a row of icons.
  2. Click the speaker icon on that bar, or click More actions (⋯) on the same bar and select Include computer sound.
  3. The icon changes to show sound is on. Participants hear audio from that moment.
  4. If the toolbar does not appear, click the Teams window in the taskbar, then click Share in the meeting toolbar and switch on Include computer sound in the tray. The sharing session continues uninterrupted.

Tip: Switch the sound on first, then restart the video from the beginning. Participants heard nothing for everything that already played.

3. Pick the Right Thing to Share — Screen, Window, or PowerPoint Live ​

Sharing a Window shows one application and nothing else, which is better for privacy but the least reliable for sound: on many Teams and browser builds the Include computer sound toggle is greyed out while a window is selected, and where it is available the audio carries inconsistently.

Choose based on what you are showing:

  • Screen — the whole monitor. This is the dependable option for video and audio together. Anything playing on your computer reaches participants.
  • Window — one app only. Use it when the content has no audio. If you need sound and the toggle is greyed out, stop sharing and switch to Screen.
  • PowerPoint Live — in the share tray, under PowerPoint Live, click Browse and pick the deck from OneDrive or Browse my computer. Audio and video embedded in the slides play on each participant's own device, so Include computer sound is not needed at all, and the sound quality does not depend on your connection.

Note: PowerPoint Live is the stronger choice for a deck with embedded media. Sharing the same deck as a Screen re-encodes the video over your network connection, which is where the stuttering and out-of-sync audio come from.

4. Check That the Sound Is Coming Out of the Right Device ​

Teams shares whatever is playing through your computer's default playback device. If the app playing your video is pointed at a different output, Teams shares silence.

  1. Right-click the speaker icon in the notification area at the bottom-right of the taskbar, near the clock.
  2. Select Open Volume mixer on Windows 11, or Open Sound settings on Windows 10.
  3. Scroll to the Apps section. Every app currently making sound is listed with its own Output device dropdown.
  4. Find the app playing your video — the browser, the media player, PowerPoint — and set its Output device to Default.
  5. Check that the Output device at the top of the same page is the headset or speakers you are actually using. The level meter beside it moves while sound is playing.

Verification: Play two seconds of the video with the meeting open. If the level meter next to your output device moves, the audio is reaching the device Teams captures.

5. Share Computer Sound on a Mac ​

macOS blocks apps from capturing system audio on their own, so Teams installs a small audio driver the first time you use this.

  1. In the meeting toolbar, click Share, then switch on Include computer sound in the share tray.
  2. A prompt appears explaining that Teams needs to install an audio driver. Click Install — some builds label the button Continue.
  3. macOS asks for your Mac login password to allow the install. Type it and click OK. The install takes a few seconds and does not need a restart.
  4. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording — named Screen Recording on macOS 14 and earlier — and confirm the switch beside Microsoft Teams is on. Quit and reopen Teams if you change it.
  5. Share your Screen, then check the presenter toolbar at the top of your display shows computer sound is on.

If the install prompt fails, or the password box rejects your Mac password, your Mac is managed and driver installs are locked. Raise a ticket and tell IT: "Microsoft Teams cannot install its audio driver on my managed Mac, so I cannot share computer sound in meetings. Please allow the Teams audio driver install, or push it to my device."

6. Share Computer Sound in Teams on the Web ​

Browser sharing works, with the audio option living in the browser's own dialog rather than in the Teams share tray.

  1. Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Firefox and Safari do not carry computer sound into Teams meetings.
  2. In the meeting toolbar, click Share. The browser opens its own Choose what to share dialog with three tabs across the top: Entire Screen, Window, and Chrome Tab (Edge tab in Microsoft Edge).
  3. For a video playing in a browser tab, open the Chrome Tab tab, click the tab in the list, and tick Also share tab audio in the bottom-left corner of the dialog.
  4. For anything else, open Entire Screen and tick Also share system audio in the bottom-left corner. This checkbox appears on Windows only — browsers on macOS do not offer it, so use the desktop app there.
  5. Click Share. A bar appears at the top of the browser confirming Teams is sharing your screen.

Note: That audio checkbox sits in the browser dialog, not in the Teams share tray, and it clears itself every time. Tick it on every single share.

7. Verify Participants Can Actually Hear It ​

Do not judge this from your own speakers — you hear the video locally whether or not it is reaching anyone else.

  1. Before you play anything important, unmute and ask one named person: "Priya, can you hear this clip?" Asking the room produces silence; asking one person produces an answer.
  2. Play five seconds of the content.
  3. Watch the meeting chat as well as listening. Participants on muted lines type rather than speak.
  4. If nobody hears it, check the presenter toolbar at the top of your screen for the speaker icon, then work through Step 4.

Tip: For a recurring training session, share sound and play two seconds of content in the first minute, while people are still arriving. Finding the problem then costs nothing.

Troubleshooting ​

WARNING

Include computer sound shares every sound your computer makes, not the video alone. Teams message pings, Outlook new-mail chimes, and calendar reminders all reach the meeting. Set your status to Do not disturb before you present anything with audio.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Participants see the video but hear nothingToggle was off when sharing startedSwitch on Include computer sound from the presenter toolbar at the top of your screen (Step 2), then restart the clip.
Include computer sound is greyed outA single Window is selectedStop sharing, click Share again, and choose Screen instead of Window (Step 3).
Toggle is on but participants still hear silenceApp routed to a non-default outputSet that app's Output device to Default in the Windows volume mixer (Step 4).
Sound carries but the video stutters badlyFull-screen video squeezed through the meeting streamPresent the deck with PowerPoint Live (Step 3), or post the video file in the meeting chat and let people play it locally.
Nothing happens when you switch the toggle on (Mac)Teams audio driver not installedApprove the driver install prompt (Step 5). If the install is blocked, send IT the wording in Step 5.
Participants hear an echo while the video playsOpen microphone sitting next to speakersMute your microphone while the clip plays, or wear a headset.