red triangle over mic icon

my laptop microphone used to allow others in the zoom meeting to hear me speak. a few months ago, a red triangle appeared over the mic icon and others could no longer hear me. this popped up: 'Your browser is preventing access to your microphone. Learn how to allow access to your microphone.'  i use edge and have windows 11 in s mode.

i tried my best to check what i could, i am not that tech savvy. i checked the site permissions, allowed apps to access my microphone, checked the network sound settings. i even reset my laptop to factory default settings. nothing has worked. please help. ty!