The Xbox Network hosts millions of enthusiasts, and pro gamers worldwide live on various Xbox Party Chats. So you can imagine how much of a bummer it is when the Xbox party chat is not working.
To every gamer, the party chat is the first-stop community for sharing and exchanging information, opinions, ideas, and the latest tweaks for improving the online gameplay experience.
Multiplayer demands for the most immersive and challenging games (such as rocket league, Minecraft Dungeons, Diablo III, Black Ops 3, and FIFA 2022) require quick, reliable, and precise hands-on information sharing among players.
So you can imagine how important the Xbox headset is to every gamer.
What is Xbox Party Chat?
In simple terms, it is the service that allows all players to talk to each other while playing an online multiplayer game.
It has recently grown to become every gamer’s ‘family clique’ or ‘Online community gang’ for strategy and team building. Any gamer can start a party chat and invite other gamers into the ‘family’ for better in-game communication and strategizing.
The Xbox party chat was previously limited to premium live gold subscribers, but that is not the case anymore. It is now available to everyone and is accessible from any mobile device.
This post explains the causes, and best fixes for Xbox party chat not working.
Let’s get to it.
Causes of Xbox Party Chat not Working
- Xbox game and chat transcription service turned off
- An in-game or network glitch
- Faulty microphone
- In-game voice chat settings
- Audio settings error
- Headset is faulty
- NAT is closed
- Privacy settings prevent chat
- Network/Server connection downtimes
- Chat mixer settings
You may be wondering why so many faults; anything could go wrong at any time!
Well, isn’t that what makes the Party chat such fun to set up?
I can assure you that once you find a solution to your Party Chat not Working problem, you’ll realize the trouble was worth it.
Troubleshooting the Xbox Party Chat Setup
Before attempting to fix anything, you must troubleshoot your entire set-up; there’s a chance you’ll find something you missed earlier.
- Ensure all connections are in order. Check your power cable and electricity source, check your headset connected to your console.
- Restart your Xbox console by turning it off for 5 minutes and turning it back on.
- Check-in at the Xbox status page to know if it’s a general issue. If the servers are offline, you have to wait until they’re back on.
- Take a look at the ‘Friends & Social Activity tab on the Xbox status page here and observe the status of Party chat audio. It should be a green notification if everything is okay.
- How about your Party Chat volume, headset volume and Xbox console volume? They’re all needed to get a voice chat live. Ensure these volume controls are not reduced to a minimum.
- Ensure there’s no ‘Ring of death’ on your console. We’ll talk more about this later in this post.
- You should also confirm you don’t have any chat members blocked. You should unmute the individual to access voice communication on the party chat if you do.
Now that we’ve crossed all items in the troubleshooting list, let’s get into the fixes hands-on.
How to Fix Xbox Party Chat not Working
1. Setting up an Xbox game and chat transcriptionist setting
This setting allows your Xbox party chat to convert text chats to audio format and read aloud to members. It also converts voice chats to text format for reading.
To set up text-to-speech in gameplay, hit the Xbox button on your controller and go to Profile and system > settings > ease of access.
Next, choose ‘game and chat transcription’. Under ‘game chat transcription’, select both text-to-speech and speech-to-text, or whichever serves your preference.
Use the same method to set up text-to-speech and speech-to-text functions for party chat.
See here for more ways to Set-up transcription for Xbox party chats.
2. Fix Xbox mic not working errors
There are several simple fixes for your headset/audio output mic not working.
- First, check your headset/sound connection to the Xbox/PC
- Check your volume and adjust for optimum output.
- Unmute the mic if it is mute
- Confirm your Xbox profile Settings allow audio chat. To fix this, follow the following procedure, step by step.
- Tap the Xbox button on your controller and go to Settings > all settings > account > privacy & online safety > view details & customize > communicate with voice & text
- From here, you can choose those on your chat to listen to.
- You may need to restart your Xbox console to kick in fully after the set-up.
3. Fix Xbox Privacy settings error
You may be experiencing difficulties in your party chat because communication is disabled in your privacy settings. To fix this,
- Go to Xbox Guide > Profile and system > settings
- From the ‘Account’ tab, select ‘privacy and online safety’
- Next, go to ‘Xbox privacy’, and then ‘view details and customize.’
- This takes you to ‘communication and multiplayer’, which allows you to choose who can chat with you.
For proper functioning of the Xbox party chat, you should enable everyone.
4. Confirm NAT settings aren’t turned off
The NAT setting (Network Address Translation) is vital for voice chats in online and multiplayer game modes.
NAT setting can be updated on your Xbox console or via PC, using your ISP-designated IP address. Just type in your IP address into your browser and hit ‘enter’.
Next, dial in your login details.
You can now go to the ‘Router settings’ to enable ‘UPnP’. Next, follow the steps below to check your NAT settings using your Xbox controller:
Hit the Xbox button on your controller and go to ‘profile & system > settings > General > network settings > current network status.
Here, you’ll see your current NAT type.
Ensure your NAT type is set to ‘Open’ and there are no ‘Double NAT detected’ error messages.
You can verify your NAT setting is now open by hitting ‘Test NAT type’ on the network screen.
5. Fix Network issues
The success of your online multiplayer adventure is linked directly to your network speed and network strength.
Sometimes, a simple restart/power cycle of your game console and network router could restore Xbox party chat.
If your chat isn’t working, you should test your network speed. Xbox requires a minimum of 3.0mbps/0.5mbps uplink/downlink speed for efficient gameplay.
Go to Settings > Network settings > Test Network speed > statistics.
Ensure you disable SIP ALG in your router to allow SIP-based VoIP access in your console.
You should also clean your network cache regularly to improve party chat functionality.
Here is how to clean the MAC address cache without tampering with your game settings and saves.
Go to Settings > General network settings > Advanced settings > Alternate MAC address. Hit ‘clear’ and restart your Xbox console to complete the cleanup.
6. Fix Xbox audio output settings
Your audio output setting has to allow audio streaming through the Party Chat.
To fix this, go to Settings > General > Volume & audio output > Party Chat output.
Go to ‘headset & speakers’ and tap on ‘change volume with voice by’.
Then adjust the volume to 10 steps. Confirm your Party chat audio output is now working.
7. Fix Chat Mixer errors
It would be best to fix this equally yet mostly overlooked setting to enjoy quality party chats during gameplay.
Go to settings > General > volume & audio output > Chat Mixer.
Set it to ‘do nothing’ to enjoy your Party chat without any voice dampening effect from the chat mixer.
What is ‘red ring of death?
Answer: This is a gradual component failure of your Xbox console due to overheating. You’ll notice three red light indicators around the power button instead of the green light when this happens. It usually happens when the Xbox is allowed to overheat for long, then cooled almost immediately.
Why is my Xbox power button blinking red?
Answer: This is caused by overheating and insufficient ventilation for the console. You should shut it down and move it to a location with better ventilation.
Xbox party chat keeps saying ‘connecting’ and does nothing afterwards.
Answer: This is likely a problem with your network or internet connection.
Troubleshoot your network adapter and router.
