If you’ve landed here because your mic is broadcasting constantly in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam — transmitting to proximity chat without you holding anything — you’re not alone. It’s one of the most searched bugs from the open beta. This guide covers what’s causing it, how to stop it, and how the voice system works as a whole.
How push to talk works in HLL: Vietnam
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam has three separate voice channels, each with its own push to talk key. There is no always-on open mic mode — you must hold the key while you speak. The moment you release it, transmission stops.
| Channel | Default key (KB&M) | Who hears you |
|---|---|---|
| Proximity | V | Any friendly player physically nearby |
| Squad | C | Your 6-player squad, anywhere on the map |
| Command | X | Officers and the Commander only (Officer / Commander role required) |
On controller, hold LB and tilt the right stick to select your channel before speaking.
The on-screen indicator — three squiggly lines on the left side of your screen — lights up in the channel’s colour when someone is transmitting: green for squad, blue for proximity, red for command. Your name appears next to it when you are the one broadcasting. If you see those lines lit up and your name showing without holding anything, the stuck open mic bug has triggered.
The open mic bug — proximity chat stuck transmitting
This is the bug driving most searches. Your proximity chat indicator stays lit without you holding V, broadcasting your background audio to everyone nearby for the entire match.
What causes it
Two triggers have been identified by the community:
Quick tap: Open mic seems to happen when you tap and release the key very quickly. The game registers the press but misses the release, leaving the channel locked open.
Key collision: Proximity chat can get stuck on transmitting when you hold it down and simultaneously press a second key — for example, pressing sprint while holding the prox chat key. The game drops the release event for the chat key when the second input fires.
Controller Layout A: Controller Layout A is set to voice detection rather than push to talk. If you are on controller and your mic is always live, this is almost certainly why.
How to clear it mid-match
To clear a stuck open mic, press the proximity chat key again, say something, then release the key deliberately. The game needs a clean press-and-release cycle to reset the state.
If that does not work: leave the server, wait about 30 seconds, and rejoin. This forces a full VOIP reconnection and clears the stuck state.
How to prevent it
- Avoid quick taps. Press and hold V for the full duration you want to speak, then release cleanly. Do not tap it.
- Don’t overlap keys. If your sprint or crouch key is near your prox chat key, be deliberate about not pressing them simultaneously.
- Controller users: switch to Layout C. Switching controller layout to Layout C in settings fixes the hot mic issue. Layout A uses voice detection; Layout C uses push to talk.
Setting up voice correctly
PC — before your first match
- In-game, open Settings → Audio. Confirm your microphone is selected as the input device and VOIP shows as Connected.
- Go to Settings → Keybinds and check the voice section. Rebind V, C, and X if they conflict with anything else in your layout.
- In Windows, open Sound Settings → Recording, right-click your microphone and choose Set as Default Device. This prevents the game from routing audio through the wrong input.
- On the same Recording tab, open your mic’s Properties → Advanced and uncheck “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.” Discord and other apps can grab the mic away from HLL mid-match.
- Open Windows Privacy Settings → Microphone and confirm that “Allow apps to access your microphone” is on and Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is listed.
Controller
Hold LB and use the right stick to navigate to your channel. Make sure you are on Layout C in Settings, not Layout A.
Other known voice issues and fixes
Push to talk keys stop responding mid-match
The most common VOIP issue across all HLL titles. Keys appear correctly bound, Windows shows the game is using the mic, but pressing V, C, or X does nothing. Usually caused by the game’s VOIP provider (Vivox) dropping its connection silently.
Fix: Go to Options → Audio → Disconnect → Reconnect under the VOIP section. If the button is greyed out or reconnecting hangs, leave the server and rejoin — this forces a fresh VOIP handshake.
Voice works at match start, then cuts out after 10–15 minutes
An intermittent Vivox disconnection that has been reported across the original HLL and now HLL: Vietnam. It can affect one channel while leaving others working, or kill all voice simultaneously.
Fix:
- Options → Audio → Disconnect → Reconnect is the fastest in-match solution.
- USB headset users: unplug and replug into a different USB port while the game is running. This resets the audio device registration without restarting the game.
- Update your audio drivers via Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers → right-click → Update driver.
Mic indicator lights up but teammates can’t hear you
The VOIP input detection threshold is controlled by Vivox, not the game, and can be set too high for quieter microphones. The game’s on-screen indicator may show your name transmitting but the audio reaching your teammates is too faint or cut off.
Fix:
- In Windows Sound → Recording → your mic → Properties → Levels, increase Microphone Boost in small steps — try +10 dB first.
- Close Discord or any other application actively using the mic. Conflicts between apps sharing the mic can reduce the signal HLL receives.
- One workaround that some players report: open a Discord server with only yourself in it and leave your mic active. This keeps the audio device “warm” and can resolve detection threshold issues in HLL.
Only one channel works — squad but not proximity, or vice versa
Selective channel outages where one VOIP channel connects normally while another doesn’t. Often server-side and varies match to match.
Fix: While waiting to deploy, repeatedly press the key for the broken channel until the indicator appears. If it does not clear, try Options → Audio → Disconnect → Reconnect, then switch servers if it persists.
Keybinds stop working after a patch
Game updates can occasionally corrupt the local config files that store VOIP settings and keybindings, causing them to stop registering even after rebinding in-game.
Fix:
- Screenshot your current settings first.
- Delete the folder at C:\Users[YourName]\AppData\Local\HLL.
- Relaunch — the game recreates the folder with clean defaults. Reconfigure your settings and keybinds from scratch.
Alternatively, try Steam → right-click game → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files before deleting the folder.
A note on Vivox
All voice communication in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam runs through Vivox, a third-party VOIP service. This is the same provider used in the original HLL. Most persistent voice issues — channels dropping mid-match, push to talk keys becoming unresponsive, one channel working while another doesn’t — originate on the Vivox side rather than in the game itself. When a disconnect/reconnect and a server switch both fail to fix the problem, check the official Hell Let Loose Discord or the Steam forums to see if others are experiencing the same thing at the same time.
Where to go next
- New Player Guide — the essentials for your first matches
- Officer Guide — voice communication is the core of the Officer role
- Best Settings — audio settings that improve positional awareness across the board