How to use a virtual microphone in VRChat

A virtual microphone lets an app speak into VRChat as if it were your mic. Voice translators, text-to-speech tools and voice changers all depend on one. This guide explains what the cable is, which end goes where, how to select it in VRChat and Discord, and how to fix the faults that come up again and again.

What a virtual microphone is

A virtual audio cable is a Windows audio driver with no hardware behind it. It adds two devices to your PC: one that apps can play sound into, and one that apps can record from. Whatever goes into the first comes out of the second.

VB-CABLE is a common choice: VRCLT requires it, TTS Voice Wizard recommends it, and TalkFerry installs it. Its maker, VB-Audio, describes it this way: “All audio coming in the CABLE input is simply forwarded to the CABLE output.”

A “virtual microphone” is simply the recording end of such a cable. Nothing about it is specific to VRChat, and it does not touch the VRChat client. VRChat just sees one more microphone in its list.

The playback side and the recording side

The two ends have names that are easy to mix up.

The names describe the cable, not your PC. Sound goes in at CABLE Input and comes out at CABLE Output. So the full chain for a translator looks like this: your real microphone feeds the translator app, the app plays the translated voice into CABLE Input, and VRChat listens on CABLE Output.

Install VB-CABLE

These steps follow VB-Audio’s own instructions.

1. Download the VB-CABLE driver pack from vb-audio.com.
2. Extract all files from the zip to a folder. The setup program cannot run from inside the zip.
3. Right-click the setup program (VBCABLE_Setup_x64.exe on 64-bit Windows) and run it as administrator.
4. Restart the computer when it finishes.
5. Open the Windows sound settings and check that your headphones and your real microphone are still the default devices.

VB-CABLE is donationware: free to use with all functions, with a request to pay what you want if you find it useful. VB-Audio also offers additional cables (A+B and C+D) after a donation, which matters if you ever need a second cable.

Some apps handle this for you. TalkFerry’s installer, for example, downloads VB-CABLE from VB-Audio, and Windows asks for administrator permission for the driver. See the download page for that setup.

Is VB-Audio Virtual Cable safe?

People ask this because the installer wants administrator rights and a reboot. Both are expected for a driver, and VB-Audio’s own instructions call for them. Here is what you can check yourself:

• Who makes it. VB-Audio Software, which also publishes Voicemeeter. Its site carries copyright dates from 1998 to 2026.
• Where you get it. Download from vb-audio.com, not from a mirror or a bundle.
• How to remove it. Run the same setup program again. According to the manual it offers to remove the driver when one is already installed. Restart afterwards.

The practical risk is routing, not the driver. Anything played into CABLE Input reaches whoever is listening at the other end. If the cable becomes your default playback device, your music, videos and other calls go out through your VRChat microphone.

How to change mic input in VRChat

1. Open the Quick Menu (Esc on desktop) and expand it to the Main Menu.
2. Go to the Settings tab, then Audio & Voice.
3. Under Microphone, use Change Device and choose “CABLE Output”.
4. Use Test Microphone. It records a short clip and plays it back, so you hear what others would hear.
5. Make sure you are unmuted (V on a keyboard) and that the mic volume slider is up.

One detail from VRChat’s help center is worth knowing: if a device records on several channels, VRChat picks up only the first one, usually the left.

If the start of each sentence gets cut off, two settings in the same section are worth trying: Mic Activation Threshold, which sets the point where VRChat starts picking up sound, and Noise Suppression.

Using the same cable in Discord

The cable is a normal Windows recording device, so Discord can use it too. In Discord’s voice settings, set the input device to “CABLE Output” and leave the output device on your headphones.

Keep one thing in mind: the cable carries one signal. If VRChat and Discord both record from CABLE Output and both are unmuted, expect both to pick up the same sound. Mute the one you are not talking in.

VRChat’s help center adds a warning here: a voice app running in administrator mode can interfere with VRChat’s access to the microphone. Start Discord normally.

For the translation side, see how to translate Discord voice calls.

Hearing yourself

By default you hear nothing of what goes into the cable. There are three ways to check your output:

• Use the sending app’s monitor. Some apps can play to your headphones and to the cable at the same time. TalkFerry has a “Hear my translation” option that plays the translated voice quietly in your own headphones. TTS Voice Wizard uses a first output for your speakers and a second one for the cable.
• Use VRChat’s Test Microphone. This is the closest thing to hearing what other players hear.
• Use “Listen to this device” in Windows. It is in the properties of a recording device. VRChat’s help center suggests it as a temporary test and reminds you to switch it off afterwards. TTS Voice Wizard’s docs tell users not to leave it on for the cable.

Typical faults

The wrong side is selected

VRChat must record from CABLE Output. The sending app must play into CABLE Input. If you are looking for CABLE Output in a speaker list, or for CABLE Input in a microphone list, you are looking at the wrong end.

Recent VB-CABLE versions add a second playback entry with more channels. The manual says the two inputs cannot be used at the same time, so stay with the standard CABLE Input.

Nobody hears anything

Work through the chain from the start:

• Is the sending app producing sound, and is its output set to CABLE Input?
• Is either end of the cable muted in the Windows sound settings?
• Is CABLE Output selected in VRChat, and are you unmuted there?
• Is microphone access for desktop apps turned on in Windows, under Privacy & security, Microphone?

The cable became the Windows default output

This is the fault that makes people think the driver broke their sound. VB-Audio’s manual warns that Windows 10 and later can set the last installed audio driver as the default device. All PC sound then goes into the cable and you hear nothing.

Open the Windows sound settings and choose your headphones as the output and your real microphone as the input. The cable keeps working for the apps that select it by name.

Other people hear your music or game sound

Some app is playing into CABLE Input. Either the cable is still the Windows default output, or that one app has it selected. Only the app that produces your voice should play into the cable.

Where a translator uses the cable

A voice translator is one more app that plays into CABLE Input. With TalkFerry, the translated voice comes out of the cable while Translate is on, and your own voice passes through when it is off, so VRChat can stay on CABLE Output the whole time. The guide on how to use a translator in VRChat covers the rest, and the same setup works with Discord.

Sources

• VB-Audio: VB-CABLE
• VB-Audio: VB-CABLE reference manual (PDF)
• VB-Audio: licensing and donationware
• VRChat wiki: Settings
• VRChat wiki: Main Menu
• VRChat help center: My microphone isn’t working
• Microsoft Support: Fix microphone problems
• TTS Voice Wizard docs: Virtual Cable
• VRCLT on GitHub

Frequently asked questions

Is VB-Audio Virtual Cable safe?

VB-CABLE is an audio driver published by VB-Audio Software, the company behind Voicemeeter. Download it from vb-audio.com only, expect an administrator prompt because it is a driver, and remove it with the same setup program if you no longer want it.

Is VB-CABLE free?

It is donationware. VB-Audio says it is free to use with all functions, and asks you to pay what you want if you find it useful or use it professionally. Extra cables (A+B, C+D) are provided after a donation.

Which one do I choose in VRChat, CABLE Input or CABLE Output?

CABLE Output. It is the recording end of the cable, so it is the one that appears in VRChat's microphone list. CABLE Input is a playback device for the app that produces the sound.

Why did my PC go silent after installing VB-CABLE?

Windows can make a newly installed audio driver the default device. Open the Windows sound settings and set your headphones or speakers as the output again, and your real microphone as the input.

Can I hear what I send through the virtual cable?

Not by default, because the cable has no speaker. Use the monitor option of the app that feeds the cable, or VRChat's Test Microphone, which records a short clip and plays it back.

We make TalkFerry, one of the tools mentioned here. Software changes quickly: check each tool’s own page before you rely on a detail. Found a mistake? Write to support@talkferry.com.