I’ve lost count of how many times I was mid-way through scanning a rare, never-before-seen creature on a radioactive moon only to be jolted out of the moment by a random player yelling about their latest base build over open mic. No Man’s Sky’s vast, immersive universe is one of its biggest draws, but unwanted voice chat from public lobbies can completely ruin that quiet, exploratory vibe so many of us play for. If you’re tired of random interruptions or just prefer to play without audio chat, learning how to turn off voice chat no man's sky is one of the fastest ways to make the game feel tailored exactly to your preferences. This guide walks you through every step, plus extra tweaks and troubleshooting tips if you run into issues.
How to Turn Off Voice Chat in No Man’s Sky: In-Game Menu Steps
The good news is that disabling voice chat takes less than a minute, no matter what platform you play on. You don’t have to close your game or leave your current session to make the change, either. You can adjust these settings mid-game without losing progress or leaving your current planet or group, which is perfect if you jump into a public lobby last minute and don’t want to deal with open mic.
For PC players: Open the main menu by pressing Escape, then navigate to the “Network” tab. Scroll down until you see the “Voice Chat” option, then toggle it to “Off”. You can also adjust individual voice settings here, like input and output volume, if you don’t want to disable it entirely. If you play with a controller on PC, you can access the same menu by opening the quick menu, scrolling to settings, then selecting Network.
For PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 players: Press the Options button to open the main menu, then go to Settings, then Network. Find the Voice Chat toggle and switch it off. Note that this only disables in-game voice chat, not your console’s system-wide party chat, so you can still chat with friends in a PSN party while playing.
For Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One players: Press the Menu button to open the main menu, navigate to Settings, then Network. Toggle the Voice Chat option to Off. Just like with PlayStation, this won’t affect any Xbox party chats you’re in with friends, so you can keep using your preferred group chat without interference from random players.
For Nintendo Switch players: Open the main menu with the + button, go to Settings, then Network. Find the Voice Chat toggle and switch it off. Switch players don’t have access to as many fine-tuned voice settings as other platforms, so this full toggle is the most reliable option if you don’t want open mic.
Reasons to Disable Voice Chat for a Better No Man’s Sky Experience
You might be wondering if disabling voice chat is worth it, especially if you sometimes play with friends you do want to chat with. The truth is, you have full control over how you use the feature, and turning it off for public lobbies doesn’t mean you can’t turn it back on when you’re playing with people you know. Disabling voice chat won’t affect your ability to join multiplayer sessions or use text chat if you leave that setting enabled, so you can still coordinate with other players for community events or trade runs without having to listen to open mic audio.
Most players choose to turn off voice chat for a few very common reasons, and none of them mean you don’t like playing multiplayer. Some players prioritize immersion above all else, and the quiet hum of a planet’s atmosphere or the sound of your ship’s engines as you fly through space is part of that experience. Unrelated chatter from other players can break that spell instantly, especially if you’re playing solo to relax after a long day.
Other players turn off voice chat for privacy or safety reasons, especially if they often join public lobbies. You never know who you’ll run into in a public game, and unwanted conversations or harassment can turn a fun play session sour quickly. Disabling voice chat eliminates that risk entirely, so you can explore without worrying about running into toxic players.
Some of the most common reasons players disable voice chat include:
- Unwanted background noise from other players, including mic feedback, background TV, or pet sounds that break immersion
- Toxic or off-topic conversations that distract from your exploration or build goals
- Privacy concerns when joining public lobbies with players you don’t know
- Preference for using third-party chat apps like Discord with friends instead of the in-game system
If any of these sound familiar, disabling voice chat will probably make your play sessions far more enjoyable. You can always turn it back on in 30 seconds if you decide you want to chat with a group later.
Alternative Adjustments If You Don’t Want to Fully Disable Voice Chat
Full disable isn’t the only option, of course. If you sometimes want to use in-game voice chat but don’t want it running all the time, there are a few middle-ground settings you can use to get the best of both worlds. These tweaks are perfect if you play with a mix of random public groups and close friends, or if you only want to chat when you choose to instead of having your mic always on.
The first option is to use push-to-talk instead of open mic. This setting means your mic will only activate when you press a specific button, so no background noise or accidental conversations will be broadcast to other players. The push-to-talk feature is only available on PC and current-gen consoles, so Switch players will need to use the full disable option if they don’t want open mic. You can set your preferred push-to-talk button in the same Network menu where you find the voice chat toggle.
Another option is to mute individual players instead of disabling voice chat entirely. If you’re in a group with a few people you want to chat with and one person with loud background noise, you can open the player list, select their name, and choose “Mute Voice” to only block their audio. This is way more convenient than turning off chat for everyone if you’re in a mostly friendly group. You can also adjust the overall voice chat volume to a lower level instead of turning it off entirely, so you can still hear if someone is trying to get your attention without being blasted by loud audio.
If you stream No Man’s Sky, these partial settings are especially useful. You can turn off voice chat entirely for public lobbies to avoid having random audio end up in your VODs, or use push-to-talk if you’re playing with friends you want to include in your stream. You don’t have to sacrifice multiplayer functionality entirely just to get rid of open voice chat, so play around with these settings to find what works best for your playstyle.
Troubleshooting: Voice Chat Still Working After Disabling It?
Most of the time, toggling the voice chat setting off will work immediately, but sometimes you might run into a glitch where voice chat is still active even after you turned the setting off. These bugs are rare, but they’re easy to fix with a few quick steps, so you don’t have to suffer through unwanted audio for your whole play session.
The most common cause of this glitch is joining a multiplayer session before you adjusted the voice chat setting. If you joined a group with voice chat enabled, then turned the setting off while still in the group, the old setting might still apply to that specific session. The fix is simple: leave the group, wait 10 seconds, then rejoin. The new voice chat setting will apply once you rejoin the session, so you won’t hear any audio from other players anymore.
If that doesn’t work, try restarting your game. Sometimes settings don’t save properly if you’ve been playing for several hours without closing the game, so a quick restart will make sure all your adjusted settings apply. Always save your game before adjusting multiplayer settings to avoid losing any recent progress if you need to restart. You can save your game quickly by walking up to your ship or using a save point on any planet.
If you use mods for No Man’s Sky, that’s another common culprit for voice chat settings not working. Some multiplayer overhaul mods override the game’s default network settings, so you’ll need to adjust the voice chat setting directly in the mod’s config file instead of the in-game menu. Most popular mod pages list instructions for adjusting voice settings, so check the mod’s description if you think this might be the issue. If you’re still having trouble, try disabling your multiplayer mods one by one to see which one is causing the problem.
No Man’s Sky is all about playing the way you want to, whether that’s solo exploration on uncharted planets, building massive bases with friends, or joining public community events. At the end of the day, knowing how to turn off voice chat no man's sky is one of the simplest quality of life adjustments you can make to tailor the game to your playstyle. Don’t feel like you have to keep voice chat on just because it’s enabled by default — the best part of this game is that you can customize nearly every part of the experience to fit what you find fun. Next time you load into a public lobby and get hit with unwanted mic noise, you’ll know exactly how to fix it in 30 seconds flat so you can get back to exploring.
