Why is there no audio when I stitch on TikTok?

Has an attempt to duet your favorite TikTok content creator resulted in a recording with no sound?

Dueting is, by far, one of TikTok’s most fun and engaging user features. Not only does it allow you to have direct, collaborative interactions with your fellow content creators, it also facilitates fun, ingenious videos that are incredibly easy to put together. The only potential problem? A TikTok duet which is not recording any sound. 

Even if you are not an avid TikToker, I’m sure you can imagine the frustration of having your eagerness and creative excitement ruined by an inexplicable sound failure. Especially when said failure does not have an immediately apparent solution, and you’re left with an idea that you simply cannot bring to reality.

Fortunately, we are here to help. A soundless duet presents a number of potential easy fixes that every user can employ, and we’ve neatly detailed every one of them below. 

Let’s take a look!

1. Updating TikTok to its Latest Version
2. Checking for Microphone Permission
3. The ‘React’ Alternative
4. Other Potential Fixes

1. Updating TikTok to its Latest Version

The root of most Duet-related issues that TikTok users have usually lie in an outdated version of the app. TikTok releases new updates and improvements to its many features on a consistent basis for both iPhone and Android. 

As such, if your app remains out of date, this could cause various features, such as Duet, to malfunction and display inconsistent behavior like the soundless recordings. Before you continue down this list, do the following:

1. Access the App Store or Google Play.
2. Search for TikTok in the search bar. 
3. When prompted, tap the Update button.

1. After the update has finished, the prompt button should now show ‘Open’.

1. Open the app and attempt to record a Duet again.

Following this, you should now observe a microphone icon on the right-hand side of the Duet screen, showing that your microphone is actively recording your audio for your Duet.

2. Checking for Microphone Permission

Another common issue often stems from the fact that TikTok might not be allowed to use the microphone of your device, hence your part of the duet coming up soundless. 

When you first installed the app and attempted to record a video, if you accidentally tapped ‘Deny’ instead of ‘Allow’ when prompted for permission to access the camera and microphone, then this could also be an underlying causer of the problem. However, this is quite easy to fix.

If you’re on an Android device:

1. Access your device Settings. 
2. Under Apps, select TikTok.
3. Tap Permissions.

1. Make sure that TikTok is permitted to access your microphone.

If you’re on an iOS device (iPhone or iPad):

1. Allow microphone access when prompted inside the app.

1. Alternatively, tap Privacy, then tap Microphone.

1. Attempt to record a Duet once again and see if TikTok receives Microphone input.

If you are still facing issues with the sound recording of your Duet and neither of the outlined solutions have had any success, there are still a few things you can attempt. 

3. The ‘React’ Alternative

TikTok users may also employ a relatively similar (albeit limited) feature in their aim to incorporate another user’s content in their own – the React feature.

React works similarly to Duet in the sense that it still applies the intended content capture alongside the user’s own original video and audio, but in a less synchronized manner. The general consensus among the community is that React does not present the same audio issues that Duet does, and you can make use of it by doing the following:

1. On TikTok, find a video you would like to react to.
2. Tap the Share arrow.

1. Select React.

1. Record your video. 
2. Observe that the audio presents no issues. 

However, there are a few considerations worth noting when comparing Duet with React.

React videos are, for one, formatted differently, showing up as a square-sized box instead of splitting the screen in two. Factually speaking, this causes a number of angle-related issues, more specifically in Duet videos that are dance-themed or that would require you to be side-by-side with the other creator. 

The poor angle can also make the final cut look choppy, uneven, or lacking in quality, which is far from the desired outcome. Moreover, the lack of momentum could also result in the original audio and the added audio overlapping over each other or being completely desynchronized, which further complicates things. 

Coming back to what we’ve said above, React does not hold the same essence that the Duet feature does, and it is in your best interest to get it working if you would like to bring your vision to reality. This holds even more ground if your goal is to create quality-oriented content in the hopes of getting your efforts recognized on the platform. 

4. Other Potential Fixes

While not directly addressing the problem of the soundless video, there are a couple of unconventional fixes you can still try. From our previous problem-solving experiences with the app, these go-to methods are tried and trusted solutions that can fix a plethora of problems that the TikTok app could be suffering from, including this one.

      1. Restart Your Device.  

The go-to solution for every inexplicable tech-related problem, restarting your device after having updated to the most recent version of TikTok could potentially solve your issue. Try it, and see if the soundless duet still persists. 

      2. Uninstall/Reinstall TikTok.

Due to the way that app localization works, your device might be suffering from a rare occurrence of server-mobile version mismatch, even if you have the latest update installed. If this might be the case, completely deleting the app from your system and subsequently reinstalling it could fix the version mismatch and ensure that all features are working as intended. 

      3. Research TikTok Support. 

In the worst-case scenario that none of the above fixes have worked for you, TikTok has a plethora of detailed and helpful articles on its support page. Follow the advice that the support articles provide regarding Duets while thoroughly revising this list, and one of the fixes will eventually lead to a working Duet.

Conclusive Thoughts

Duets are one of the greatest ways through which you can engage with the vast user-created content that TikTok serves to showcase. It is therefore of vital importance to ensure that you can get the feature in working order and that no severe issues such as the lack of recorded sound can ruin your experience. 

Through patience, attention to detail, and your daily dose of diligent software upkeep, you will have completely fixed your issue with the sound recording and can now turn back to creating unique and interesting content, while simultaneously promoting your fellow creators. 

If you have any thoughts about the sound recording issue, or if you’d like to share any experiences you might’ve had with the Duet feature, please don’t hesitate to leave them down below! Happy dueting!

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