You are sharing your screen in Teams and want to hand over control to a colleague, but the Give Control button is grayed out or unresponsive. This usually happens when Teams detects that your USB headset is busy, which blocks the permission handoff. The problem is tied to how Teams manages audio devices during a sharing session. This article explains the root cause and shows you how to fix it in under five minutes.
Teams requires a stable audio device connection to enable Give Control. When a USB headset disconnects or re-enumerates, Teams loses the device handle and disables the control feature. You will learn the exact steps to reset the device, update drivers, and adjust Teams settings to restore Give Control.
Key Takeaways: Restore Give Control with a USB Headset
- Teams > Settings > Devices > Default device: Switch the default speaker and microphone to your USB headset to re-establish the audio connection.
- Device Manager > Audio inputs and outputs: Uninstall and reinstall the USB headset driver to force Teams to re-detect the device.
- Windows Settings > Bluetooth & devices > USB: Disable USB power saving to prevent the headset from disconnecting during sharing.
Why Teams Disables Give Control When Using a USB Headset
Teams uses the default audio device to manage the sharing session. When you plug in a USB headset, Windows assigns it a unique device ID. If the headset disconnects, even for a split second, Windows re-enumerates it with a new ID. Teams does not recognize the new ID and marks the audio device as unavailable. This causes the Give Control button to become inactive.
The issue also occurs when the USB headset has a built-in microphone that Teams tries to access for speech recognition. If the microphone is in use by another app, Teams cannot acquire the device handle and disables control features. This is a known behavior in Teams desktop version 1.6 and later.
USB Power Management Interferes with Teams
Windows has a power-saving feature that suspends USB devices to save battery. When you share your screen, the system may suspend the USB headset briefly. This triggers the re-enumeration problem. The fix is to disable this power management setting for the specific USB port.
Steps to Fix Give Control with a USB Headset
Follow these steps in order. Each step addresses a different layer of the problem.
- Switch the default audio device in Teams
Open Teams, select your profile picture, and choose Settings. Go to Devices. Under Speaker and Microphone, select your USB headset from the dropdown lists. If the headset is not listed, unplug it and plug it back in, then repeat this step. - Restart Teams to re-initialize the audio device
Close Teams completely. Right-click the Teams icon in the system tray and select Quit. Wait 10 seconds, then reopen Teams. This forces Teams to re-detect the USB headset and refresh the device handle. - Disable USB power saving in Windows
Press Win + X and select Device Manager. Expand Audio inputs and outputs. Right-click your USB headset and select Properties. Go to the Power Management tab. Uncheck the box that says Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Click OK. - Update the USB headset driver
In Device Manager, right-click your USB headset and select Update driver. Choose Search automatically for drivers. If Windows finds no update, visit the headset manufacturer website and download the latest driver. Install it and restart your computer. - Uninstall and reinstall the USB headset driver
In Device Manager, right-click your USB headset and select Uninstall device. Check the box that says Delete the driver software for this device. Click Uninstall. Unplug the headset, restart your computer, then plug the headset back in. Windows will install the driver automatically. - Check Teams meeting settings for Give Control
In Teams, go to Settings > Privacy. Under Permissions, ensure that Give control is set to Everyone. If it is set to Specific users, add the person you want to give control to. This setting can block the button even when the audio device works.
If Teams Still Has Issues with Give Control
Teams Shows Give Control as Grayed Out After a Meeting Starts
This happens when Teams has not fully loaded the audio device. End the meeting, close Teams, and restart it. Then start a new meeting and test Give Control. If the problem persists, use the web version of Teams at teams.microsoft.com as a temporary workaround.
Give Control Works Only After Unplugging the USB Headset
Some users find that Give Control becomes available only when the USB headset is removed. This indicates a driver conflict. Try using a different USB port. If that does not work, switch to a 3.5mm headset or the built-in speakers and microphone for the sharing session.
Teams Does Not Detect the USB Headset at All
Open Windows Settings > System > Sound. Under Output, select your USB headset. Under Input, select the headset microphone. If the headset is not listed, the driver is not installed correctly. Repeat the uninstall and reinstall steps from the main list.
New Teams Desktop vs Teams on the Web: Give Control Behavior
| Item | New Teams Desktop | Teams on the Web |
|---|---|---|
| Give Control availability | Requires a working audio device handle | Works independently of local audio devices |
| USB headset impact | Can disable Give Control on re-enumeration | No impact because audio runs in the browser |
| Driver updates needed | Yes, for the USB headset | No, browser manages audio |
| Best for sharing sessions | Full feature set but prone to device issues | Reliable for Give Control but fewer meeting options |
If the desktop version continues to fail, switch to the web version for the meeting. You can still share your screen and give control without audio device interference.
After applying these fixes, you can share your screen and use Give Control normally with your USB headset. Start by disabling USB power saving and updating the driver. If the issue returns, check the Teams privacy settings and test with the web version.