Microphone Picking Up Desktop Audio on Windows 11? Trace the Signal Path First

If your friends can hear your YouTube video, game audio, or system sound through your microphone, the first instinct is usually to reinstall the audio driver. That is not where I would start. On Windows 11, "my mic is picking up desktop audio" can mean several different things: the app is using a loopback source instead of the real microphone Stereo Mix or a virtual cable is selected somewhere "Listen to this device" is creating a confusing monitor path Realtek or headset software is routing aud