Table of Contents
This article will show you how to Fix ‘Audacity Error Code 9999’ issue. Audacity is a popular digital audio editor and recording program that is free and open source. Podcasters, musicians, and sound engineers all use it. It lets users edit and change audio files using a variety of tools, such as cutting, copying, and pasting parts of audio and adding effects and filters to improve the sound quality. Audacity works with a number of different operating systems, including Windows. Some Windows users, however, have said that when they try to record audio with Audacity, they get an error code 9999.
This error can make it impossible for the user to record any sound, making the app useless. The error code 9999 in Audacity seems to be caused by other programs using the microphone at the same time. For example, messaging and video conferencing software can use the microphone at the same time. People who depend on Audacity for their jobs, like podcasters or musicians, may be affected by this problem because it makes it hard for them to record audio and finish their projects on time. It can also be annoying for people who use Audacity for personal projects or hobbies. We mentioned below are the ways to Fix ‘Audacity Error Code 9999’ issue. If you want to know more information about this visit official Microsoft support site.
Close All Communication Apps Before Running Audacity

How to Fix Audacity Error Code 9999 ‘Unanticipated Host Error’: Error 9999 can happen when other messaging and video conference apps use the microphone, like Skype, Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom. When you use Audacity on the taskbar, these apps can run in the background. If you have other communication apps on your computer that might interfere with Audacity, try closing them this way:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, which is the keyboard shortcut for Task Manager, to open it.
- If you need to, you can click Processes to switch to that tab.
- Choose a messaging program from the list of apps and click End task.
- Then look through the section called “Background processes” to see if any messaging apps are there. There, right-click the apps that are running and choose End task.
- Also, check to see if your system tray has an icon for a messaging app like Skype or Zoom. Right-click on any messaging app icon there and choose a way to close the software from the menu that appears.
- Then, open Audacity and try again to record something.
Disable Third-Party Antivirus Shields
- Other third-party antivirus software packages can also feasibly conflict with Audacity.
- If you’ve installed a third-party antivirus utility in Windows 11/10, try disabling its shield before running Audacity.
- You can usually do that by right-clicking an antivirus tool’s icon in the system tray and selecting a context menu option to turn off its shield.
- However, some antivirus utilities have special features that monitor microphones, which can block mic access for certain apps.
- For example, Bitdefender has a Microphone monitor setting.
- Disabling your antivirus utility’s shield might not turn off such a microphone security feature.
- So, have a look through your security software’s tabs to see if they include any feature setting that could affect microphone access and disable it.
Reinstall the Microphone Driver
A bad microphone driver is another thing that could cause error 9999. You can fix this by reinstalling the driver for your microphone. To reinstall a microphone driver in Windows, do the following:
- Device Manager can be opened by right-clicking the Start button and choosing a shortcut for it from the Power User menu.
- Then double-click the category called Audio inputs and outputs to see sound devices.
- Select Uninstall device when you right-click on your microphone.
- Click the Uninstall button in the confirmation window.
- To reinstall the microphone driver, go to Action > Scan for hardware changes.
Enable Microphone Access for Audacity
Error 9999 often happens when Audacity can’t use the microphone. Most people agree that allowing Windows apps to use the microphone is one of the best ways to fix error 9999. Here’s how to allow apps on Windows 11/10 to use your microphone:
- In Windows 11 or 10, choose the app’s Start menu shortcut to open Settings.
- Click on the Privacy category or tab.
- To get to these app permission settings, click Microphone.
- If the Microphone access option is off, turn it on. Turn on the setting in Windows 10 that lets apps use your microphone.
- Then, scroll down to the list of apps below that setting and click the toggle button for Audacity to give it access to the microphone.
Turn Off Host Intrusion Protection in Kaspersky Security Software
- Audacity users have confirmed disabling Host Intrusion Protection in Kaspersky antivirus (security) software fixes error 9999.
- Host Intrusion Protection is a feature that regulates apps’ activities in Windows 11/10. That component is enabled by default in Kaspersky security software.
- Do you have Kaspersky security software installed on your PC? If so, look for and disable a Host Intrusion Protection setting in that software.
- This Kaspersky online help page tells you how to disable that feature in Endpoint Security for Windows.
- Or move Audacity to a Trusted app group in that software.
Run the Recording Audio Troubleshooter
Since error code 9999 is a recording problem, it makes sense to run the Recording Audio troubleshooter. Not everyone agrees that running that troubleshooter will fix error code 9999, but it’s worth a shot because it can fix a number of recording problems on Windows. From the Windows 11/10 Control Panel, you can do the following to run the Recording Audio troubleshooter:
- Start the Run tool, which is easy to get to with the shortcut Windows logo + R.
- Type “Control Panel” into the box that says “command” and click “OK.”
- To see all of the items in the Control Panel, click the View by menu and choose Large icons.
- To open that applet, click Troubleshooting.
- Click View all to see all of the tools for fixing problems.
- To bring up this troubleshooter, choose Recording Audio.
- Then press Next to start troubleshooting Recording Audio.
What is Audacity?
Audacity changed the way people mix and record sounds. It went public in 2000 as a free, easy-to-use audio editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux with multiple tracks. It is the most downloaded piece of software on FossHub right now, with 110 million downloads. Before 2015, it was held on Google Code and SourceForge. It is free for anyone to use and is covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Audacity is a free piece of software that lets users record and edit audio clips. The interface of Audacity is easy to understand and use. It also works on multiple platforms and supports many plugins and libraries to improve its functionality. It works well on the Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. With all of these features, Audacity has become one of the most used programs for editing audio.