Migaku Audio Not Playing? Fix Sentence Cards and Browser Sound

The 60-second known-good-card diagnostic

The “60 seconds” is a practical target for this guide, not an official Migaku diagnostic rule.

1. Play the card that is silent.
2. Play a Migaku card you already know has working audio—ideally an existing Audio Sentence or other media-rich card that previously played correctly.
3. If the known-good card plays, stay in the card/capture branch.
4. If the known-good card is also silent, play ordinary video or audio in the same Chrome browser.
5. If ordinary Chrome audio is silent too, move to the browser/site/output branch. If Chrome audio works but known-good Migaku audio does not, move to the Migaku extension/card playback branch.

Silence has a scope. Find it before you start changing everything.

First question: was this card actually expected to have audio?

Migaku’s current Card Creator documentation distinguishes Word, Audio Word, Sentence, and Audio Sentence card types. See Migaku’s Card Creator documentation.

That matters because “sentence card” does not, by itself, prove that there is an audio asset to play. If you created the item as an Audio Sentence card, or through a documented media-rich workflow that captured audio, audio is expected. If you created a plain Sentence card, confirm how it was created before treating silence as a playback failure.

Turning system volume to 100% is an impressive fix for an audio asset that exists. It does nothing for one that never made it into the card.

If one card is silent but a known-good audio card plays

This result is useful: during that test, Migaku was capable of producing sound through your current browser and output path. Do not start by reinstalling Chrome.

Instead, compare the failed card with how a working audio card was made:

Migaku documents creating video cards with context, screenshot, and audio capture, with cards sent to Migaku Memory or Anki. See Migaku’s video card-creation workflow.

If several cards from one source or capture session are silent while older audio cards work, the capture/source path is a better suspect than global browser sound. If only one card is silent, keep the scope that small until you have evidence otherwise.

Test the source and capture path with one controlled card

Do not try to repair ten old cards at once. Reproduce the workflow once in a supported environment.

1. Use Google Chrome, which Migaku documents as the intended desktop browser for its extension.
2. Open a video/source workflow Migaku currently supports and confirm you can hear the source audio normally.
3. If your account and current workflow allow it, create one test card using Migaku’s documented audio-bearing card/video-capture path.
4. Play that new test card.

Interpret the result carefully:

• New test card plays: the older silent card or capture set is the smaller failure domain.
• New test card is silent, but the source audio plays: the failure has moved closer to card creation/playback. Continue the diagnostic instead of changing system volume.
• The source itself is silent: fix the source/browser/output path first. Card capture cannot reliably preserve audio you are not receiving.

Migaku also documents an extension toolbar on supported video sites such as YouTube and Netflix. See Migaku’s video-toolbar documentation. A missing toolbar is useful evidence that the extension/site state deserves inspection, but it is not proof of one specific audio cause.

If every known-good Migaku audio card is silent

Now move one layer outward. Play ordinary audio in the same Chrome browser—a normal video or other page you already know should make sound.

Do not troubleshoot Chrome, Migaku, headphones, card templates, and the moon phase simultaneously. Prove what still makes sound.

Browser/site/output branch: fix sound only when the evidence points here

Google Chrome provides per-site settings, including sound behavior. Google documents Chrome site-setting permissions here. Interface wording can change, so use the current Chrome settings page rather than relying on an old screenshot.

Check these in order:

1. Site/browser sound: make sure the relevant site is not blocked from playing sound in Chrome.
2. Tab/source: confirm ordinary audio on the source page actually plays.
3. Output device: confirm the operating system is sending Chrome to the speakers/headphones you are listening to.
4. Retest: return to the same known-good Migaku audio card.

If ordinary Chrome audio returns and the known-good Migaku card also returns, you fixed the sound path. If ordinary audio works but Migaku remains silent, stop changing global volume—the scope has narrowed again.

Migaku branch: reproduce in the browser Migaku actually supports

Migaku’s current installation guide says its desktop extension is intended for Google Chrome. It notes that some Chromium-based browsers such as Brave or Arc may work but are not officially supported. See Migaku’s installation guide.

If the problem happens in another Chromium browser, reproduce it in current Chrome before calling it a Migaku product bug. That does not mean Chrome fixes everything; it removes one unsupported-environment variable.

If all of those are true and Migaku audio still fails, you have a much stronger case for a card/extension/product issue than “my sound is broken.”

Known-good result map

What not to do first

• Do not turn every volume control to maximum before proving an audio asset exists.
• Do not clear caches or reinstall immediately when one known-good card still plays.
• Do not invent Migaku card settings that are not present in current documentation.
• Do not call Brave/Arc behavior an official Chrome bug until you reproduce in supported Chrome.
• Do not edit a whole deck before you know whether the failure follows one card, one capture session, or all Migaku playback.

If a Migaku bug remains, report evidence—not just silence

A useful report should let someone reproduce the smallest failure without asking you to rediscover everything.

Try to summarize it in one sentence: “In Chrome [version], ordinary browser audio works; all previously working Migaku audio cards are silent; the problem reproduces on [site/workflow] after [short steps].” That is much more actionable than “audio broken.”

Fix the layer that is actually silent

Migaku audio troubleshooting gets easier once you stop treating silence as one problem. One card silent while a known-good card plays is not the same failure as every browser tab being silent.

Find the scope. Confirm whether audio was expected. Test the source/capture path. Compare with ordinary Chrome audio. Reproduce in supported Chrome. Only then escalate a remaining Migaku problem.

Once the technical path is working again, you can return to the learning itself with media-based language learning.

Sources

• Migaku: The Card Creator
• Migaku: Card creation from video content
• Migaku: Installation Guide
• Migaku: The Toolbar on Video Sites
• Google Chrome Help: Change site settings permissions