# Audacity is not playing back what is being recorded

## Causes

By default, Audacity doesn't play back the input.

## Fixes

Go to **Transport ->** **Transport Options -> Enable audible input monitoring**.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Notes:** 

* You will hear what you are recording a noticeable time afterwards. This delay is called latency. You can somewhat reduce this latency as described in [Latency Compensation](/troubleshooting/solving-recording-problems/latency-compensation.md) but it cannot be fully removed if you're using input monitoring in Audacity - you will need an audio interface with realtime monitoring capabilities to completely remove latency when monitoring a recording.
* If you want to listen to the input before recording, click the microphone in the recording meter and then **Enable silent monitoring**. 
* Input monitoring can also be enabled In the Recording section of the Preferences window. 
  {% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %}
If the troubleshooting steps aren't working for you, feel free to ask in our communities: 

* [Forum](https://forum.audacityteam.org/)
* [Discord](https://discord.gg/audacity)
  {% endhint %}


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