Error -9999: Unanticipated Host Error

Learn about causes and fixes for this error.

Causes

This error means "something is wrong", most commonly

• A lost connection to a USB audio device

• Missing microphone permissions from the operating system.

• Your device is unable to playback other tracks while recording.

  • This most commonly happens if you're trying to record at a different sample rate than the device's playback rate. Making sure the sample rate matches in both the Windows Settings and Audacity's Audio Setup -> Audio Settings may fix this.

  • Turning off Overdub via Transport -> Transport Options may fix this.

Fixes

You can try the Common troubleshooting steps, or attempt any of the other workarounds of this page.

If the troubleshooting steps aren't working for you, feel free to ask in our communities:

• Forum

• Discord