Use a microphone in PS5 Remote Play on PC and Mac
You can talk in party chat and in games while you stream your PS5 to a computer: Remote Play apps send your computer’s microphone to the console. This page covers how the main apps handle it and the permissions your computer needs, checked on 24 October 2026.
Allow microphone access
Your operating system decides which apps may use the microphone. Allow your Remote Play app before you start:
- macOS: open Apple menu → System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and turn access on for the app. Apple’s guide: control access to the microphone. An app asks the first time it needs the microphone.
- Windows: open Start → Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone and turn on Let desktop apps access your microphone. Microsoft notes that desktop apps “cannot be individually toggled”, so this one switch covers them.
- Linux: choose the input device in your desktop’s sound settings.
Then choose the microphone you want as the system’s default input, or in the app if it has an input setting.
Sony’s PS Remote Play app
- Sony’s guides say that for voice chat you need a microphone, “such as the built-in microphone on your Windows PC” or on your Mac.
- During a stream, Mic Active / Mic Muted turns it on or off, and the status shows Mic on, Mic off or Mic not connected.
- Sony’s general controller guide says the DualSense’s own mic and speaker work “only when you’re connected to a Windows PC” and aren’t supported on a Mac, while its headset jack works on a Windows PC or Mac connected by USB.
chiaki-ng
- Mute and unmute with Ctrl+M (Cmd+M on a Mac) or the controller’s mic button: “Unmute microphone with either Ctrl+M or the mic button”. The DualSense’s mute light follows the mute status.
- Settings: the Audio tab has an input device, an option to start with the mic unmuted, and Speech Processing with noise suppression and echo cancellation (settings source).
- macOS asks for permission: “For mic support, chiaki-ng requires access to your microphone.”
Avoid echo
If you play the game’s sound through speakers, the microphone can pick it up and send it back to the party. Use headphones or a headset, or an app’s echo cancellation where it has one.
With Orbit Play
In Orbit Play 0.4.0, press M, choose Mic in the player bar or press the DualSense mute button to turn the microphone on or off. It starts muted in every stream and uses your computer’s default input. When you turn it on or off, the DualSense’s mute light follows. Orbit Play has no echo cancellation, so use headphones. See use the microphone.
Sources
- Sony: PS Remote Play for Windows, PS Remote Play for Mac and the controller guide.
- chiaki-ng: controlling, release notes, settings and macOS bundle.
- Apple: microphone access.
- Microsoft: camera, microphone and privacy.