How to Fix Xbox Game Bar Video Capture Button Greyed Out in Windows 11/10: 5 Tested Fixes

Are you wondering why the Xbox game bar not working when you click the Capture button? Game Bar is a versatile screen recorder pre-installed on Windows 10 and 11. However, some users encounter many recording issues during the session.

This article from EaseUS RecExperts will focus on the Xbox Game Bar capture greyed out and develop 5 tested fixes.

How to Fix Xbox Game Bar Capture Greyed Out

Many reasons can cause Xbox Game Bar screen capture greyed out in Windows 10 and 11, such as outdated graphics drivers, disabled GameDVR, software glitches, and unsupported gameplays. This part will delve into the most common situations and provide a detailed guide.

Before you get started, there are some quick fixes you can try:

1️⃣Don't Record the Windows desktop or File Explorer. Switch to another application or page to try it. One of the most common scenarios where you will encounter the Xbox Game Bar recording greyed out will appear when you record the Windows 11/10 desktop or File Explorer window.

2️⃣Close unnecessary running programs. Sometimes, the Windows Game Bar may be incompatible with other apps.

3️⃣Switch to another window to record the screen and return again. Xbox Game Bar can be buggy in Windows 11 and 10 occasionally. You can capture other applications first and then return to the gameplay or page to record again.

If these quick tips cannot help you solve Xbox Game Bar screen recording issues, move to the following fixes.

Share this post to help more people!

Fix 1. Update Graphics Driver

The first method you can try to let the Xbox Game Bar capture screen and sound is to ensure the graphics card's drivers are up to date. To do so,

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select Device Manager from the list.

Step 2. Click the arrow left to Display adapters to extend the category. Then, right-click the driver and select Update driver from the list.

Step 3. Click Search automatically for drivers.

Step 4. Windows will search for and install the best drivers for your device.

Step 5. Now, return to your Xbox Game Bar to check if the Capture button is available.

Fix 2. Repair or Reset the App from Settings

If your Display adapters are the best drivers already, you can try the second method: repair or rest Xbox Game Bar app. To do so:

Step 1. Press the Windows + I keys together to open the Settings.

Step 2. Windows 11 users can navigate to Apps > Apps & features. Scroll down the list to find Game Bar. Click the … next to it and click Advanced options. Scroll down to find the Repair button.

Step 3. If the Xbox Game Bar can't record issue in Windows 11 and 10 still exists, click the Reset button and have a try.

Fix 3. Enable GameDVR from Registry Editor

If the fix 1 and 2 cannot help solve the Xbox Game Bar capture greyed out issue, try to enable GameDVR using Registry Editor. This method is a little complicated. Please refer to the steps carefully.

Step 1. Type Registry Editor in the Search bar to locate the app and click Run as administrator to open it.

Step 2. Expand the following categories one by one: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR.

Step 3. Check if there is an AppCaptureEnabled file. If it is showing over there, double-click on the file and change the Value data to 1 in the popup. Click OK to save changes.

If it is not showing over there, right-click the blank area and select New > DWORD (32-bit) to create a new file. Then, double-click on the file to open a popup. Change the Value name to AppCaptureEnabled and set the Value data to 1. Click OK to save changes.

Step 4. Now, close the window and restart your PC to check if the Xbox Game Bar capture button greyed out issue is fixed.

Fix 4. Uninstall and Reinstall the Xbox App

If the Xbox Game Bar record grayed out still exists, uninstall and reinstall the app to give it a fresh start. To uninstall the Windows 11/10 Game Bar, you have two options:

1️⃣Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Game Bar > Advanced options > Uninstall.

2️⃣Type Xbox in the Search bar > right-click on Xbox > tap Uninstall.

Fix 5. Use Game Bar Alternative for Windows 11/10

If you try all of the solutions above, the Game Bar is still not working properly, or it has temporarily solved your problems, but something goes wrong with the Xbox recording tool afterward, you still have one easy method to fix all Xbox recording issues: use an Xbox Game Bar alternative like EaseUS RecExperts.

This EaseUS screen recorder has more robust and powerful features to give you a better capture experience.

• Recording gameplay on Xbox Series X, Xbox S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS5, PS54, Switch, and more consoles for unlimited recording length and up to 144fps.
• Capture screen with audio and webcam. You can video record yourself playing games on a PC.
• Record multiple windows at one time. You can switch from tabs to tabs or apps to apps easily.
• Record gameplays, apps, browser tabs, and anything you want in various formats like MP4, MOV, MKV, and AVI.

Now, download and install EaseUS RecExperts to your Windows PCs and see how to fix Xbox game capture not recording audio, capture button greyed out, and more Xbox recording problems:

Step 1. Start the gameplay you want to record and launch EaseUS game recorder. Next, select the Game mode.

Step 2. Click the nut icon to open the Settings window, and then click on "Video" to adjust the frame rate (from 1 to 144), video quality, format, etc. 

In addition, you can click on the "Game" button to change some game overlay options. Once done, click "OK".

Step 3. Go back to the Game mode interface and click "Select Game" to choose the gameplay you want to capture. Next, click REC to start your game recording.

Step 4. You will see a small bar showing the time of your record. If needed, you can take screenshots in recording, or set the specific time to stop the recording by clicking the "Clock" icon on the toolbar.

Step 5. Once done, you can watch and edit the recorded footage with the built-in video editor. On the recorded video, you can trim the recordings as you want.

Troubleshooting More Xbox Game Bar Not Working Issues

Apart from the Xbox Game Bar capture greyed out, you may meet other recording issues when using Game Bar on your Windows 10/11 PCs and laptops. Here, we list some of the most common issues.

Xbox Game Bar Not Opening / Windows + G Not Working

This situation often happens when you press Windows + G. You may find this shortcut cannot bring up the recording panel. There may be two reasons:

1). Your computer may not install the Xbox app.

Although the Xbox Game Bar is a native feature in Windows 11 and 10, you must install the Xbox app first and use the Xbox Game Bar.

You can type Xbox in the Search bar to check if the Xbox app is installed properly on your computer. If you can see the Xbox App icon, it is installed on your PC.

If not, install the Xbox App from the Microsoft Store. Open the Xbox app, install the built-in utilities it asked for, and then use Windows + G keys to see if the Xbox Game Bar not opening or Windows + G not working issues have been solved.

2). You have not enabled the Game Bar feature on your Windows 10/11 computers.

If you have installed the Xbox app before, you can check whether the Game Bar feature is enabled or not. To do so:

Step 1. Type xbox game bar in the Search box and you can see Enable Xbox Game Bar. Click Open to go to the Settings.

Step 2. Toggle on Open Xbox Game Bar using this button. Close the window.

Step 3. Now, you can press Windows + G to see if you can bring up the Xbox game bar recording panel.

Game Bar Not Recording Audio

The Game Bar not recording audio can be divided into three situations:

1). Game Bar not recording system audio

Game Bar allows you to record the system and enabled mic sound by default. If you cannot record the system audio in the Xbox Game Bar, you may disable all audio recording.

To turn on the system audio recording in the Game Bar, press Windows + G to open the tool, go to Settings > Widgets > Audio to record, and change the settings to Game or All.

2). Game Bar not recording app audio

The situation is similar to that of the system audio recording above. If you have not changed the audio settings in the Xbox Game Bar, it will capture the system and enabled mic sound by default.

To turn on app audio recording in Game Bar: Press Windows + G to open the tool, go to Settings > Widgets > Audio to record; change the settings to All.

3). Game Bar not recording microphone audio

This may be the most common and complicated situation. To record microphone audio in the Xbox Game Bar, here are three ways you can try:

Way 1. Check if you turn on the microphone recording in Game Bar: Press Windows + G to open the tool and click the mic icon on the panel to turn on the microphone recording.

Way 2. Check if you grant microphone permission to Xbox Game Bar: Press Windows + I to open Settings, go to Privacy & security > App permissions > Microphone, and toggle on Game Bar.

Way 3. Change another microphone and have a try.

Xbox Game Bar No Background Recording

Many reasons can cause the Xbox Game Bar to have no background recording in Windows 11 and Windows 10. To fix it:

Way 1. Check if your computer has met the hardware requirements.

Way 2. Adjust background recording settings.

• Windows 11: Click Start (the Windows icon) > Settings > Gaming > Captures, turn on Record what happened, click the dropdown box next to Record what happened, and change the length of the recording.
• Windows 10: Click Start (the Windows icon) > Settings > Gaming > Captures > Background recording, turn on Record in the background while I'm playing a game, and choose a time period.

Conclusion

You may know how to fix the Xbox Game Bar capture greyed out in Windows 11 or 10 PCs. There can be several reasons for this, and you can try solutions individually.

However, if you find it too complicated to fix Game Bar's recording issues or errors, you can try another Windows screen recorder like EaseUS RecExperts. This easy-to-use recording software lets you easily record the screen, audio, and even your face. There is no time limit, no watermark, and no bugs.

Download this free screen recording software to your Windows computers and have a quick try.

Xbox Game Bar Can't Record Windows 11/10 FAQs

Learn more frequently asked questions on Xbox Game Bar video capture greyed out on Windows 11 and 10 computers.

1. How do I change my Xbox capture settings?

To change the capture setting on Xbox, you have two options:

From Windows Settings:

• Press the Windows + I keys together to launch Settings.
• Go to Gaming > Captures. Here, you can change the location and more preference settings.

From the Xbox capture toolbar:

• Press the Win + G keys to bring up the Game Bar toolbar.
• Go to Settings > Widgets > Captures. Here, you can change your Xbox capture settings.

2. How to change the Xbox Game Bar capture location?

Here are the steps for how to change Xbox Game Bar file location:

Step 1. Click Start > Settings > Gaming > Captures.

Step 2. Click the Open folder button to see Xbox captures from File Explorer.

Step 3. Right-click on the Captures folder and click Properties.

Step 4. Switch the tab from General to Location. Click Move….

Step 5. Choose a destination path for your Xbox captures and click Select Folder.

Step 6. When you return to the Captures Properties window, click Apply.

Step 7. Click Yes to confirm the change in the Move Fold window.

3. How to turn off Background recording on Xbox Game Bar?

Here are the steps for how to turn off Background recording on the Xbox Game Bar:

For Windows 11:

• Click Start (the Windows icon) > Settings > Gaming > Captures.
• Turn off Record what happened.

For Windows 10:

• Click Start (the Windows icon) > Settings > Gaming > Captures > Background recording.
• Turn off Record in the background while I'm playing a game.