Audacity is not detecting the audio device I just connected

Learn about causes and fixes for this problem.

Causes

If you connect an external audio device (such as a USB microphone or USB headset) to your computer while Audacity is already running, it won't be detected automatically by Audacity.

Fixes

To solve this, make sure the device is detected by the operating system, then go to Audio Setup -> Rescan Audio Devices . The new device should appear as an option on the Recording or Playback device selection dropdown in the Device toolbar.

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