Support

Product: On Air: Mic In Use for Windows (Stream Deck plugin for Windows) · Provider: GRAMSHIFT (Tokyo, Japan)

Contact

Email contact@gramshift.com in English or Japanese. We reply within 7 business days, usually sooner. Please include your Windows version (Settings > System > About), your Stream Deck app version, and a photo or screenshot of the key and of its settings (the Status line says what Windows reports).

Get started

Install the plugin from the Elgato Marketplace. In the Stream Deck app, find On Air: Mic In Use for Windows in the action list and drag an action onto a key.
That is all for Mic In Use. For On Air, click the key if you want it to ignore some apps.

The actions

Mic In Use: red IN USE and the name of the app while an app is recording from a microphone; gray OFF otherwise. With several apps the key names one and adds +1.
On Air: a red ON AIR lamp with the app while an app is recording; OFF AIR otherwise. Ignore apps: names separated by commas, written as the Status line shows them (upper or lower case and ".exe" do not matter).

A press on either key opens the microphone privacy page of the Windows Settings app. The plugin only reads: it does not mute, turn off or block the microphone, and it changes no Windows setting. It does not watch the camera.

What the keys show

Key	Meaning
Red, `IN USE` / `ON AIR`, app name	Windows reports that this app has a recording stream running now.
Gray, `OFF` / `OFF AIR`	Windows reports no app recording (for On Air: apart from the apps you ignore).
Gray, `--`, "no mic"	Windows lists no active recording device: no microphone is connected, or all are disabled in the Windows sound settings.
Yellow frame, `--`, "not readable"	Windows did not answer the plugin's question (for example while the Windows audio service restarts). The key shows no state. If it stays, please write to us.
Yellow frame, `FAILED`, "not opened"	The press could not open the Windows Settings app. After a few seconds the key shows the state again.
Yellow frame, `--`, "reinstall plugin"	The plugin could not load its Windows part. Remove the plugin in the Stream Deck app and install it again from the Elgato Marketplace.

How it knows, and its limits

Every app that records sound opens an audio session on a recording device, and Windows knows whether a stream of that session is running. The Windows volume mixer uses the same information. Once a second the plugin asks Windows (Core Audio) for the sessions of every active recording device and shows the apps whose stream is running.

It is not a security tool. It shows what Windows reports. Software that records without an ordinary audio session (a driver, for example) is not shown.
A mute switch is not visible. A mute switch or button on the microphone or headset itself is invisible to Windows, and many meeting apps keep recording while you are muted in the app. The key stays IN USE in both cases, because the app's stream is still running.
The name is the program's file name. A browser shows as the browser (for example chrome), not as the website in it. Some apps record through a helper program and show that program's name.
Every recording device counts. A headset, a webcam's microphone, a USB microphone and a virtual audio cable are all recording devices. The key does not say which one is used.
The camera is not watched. The plugin tells you about microphones only.

Questions

The On Air key is always red.
An app records all the time (a voice assistant, a voice chat app, a noise filter). The Status line in the key's settings names it. Write that name in Ignore apps.

Can it mute my microphone?
No. It only shows the state. A press opens the Windows privacy page, where you can turn microphone access off yourself.

Does the plugin listen to my microphone?
No. It never opens a recording device. See the Privacy Policy.

How fast is it?
The key follows a change within about one second.

Does it work on Mac?
No. This plugin is for Windows 10 and 11 only.

Privacy

The plugin runs on your PC and sends no data to us or to any online service. See the Privacy Policy.