Owners of laptops may face a situation such as a malfunction of the built-in microphone. We will talk about possible sources of the problem and ways to resolve them in our article.
Why the microphone does not work on the laptop
There are several reasons why a device may lose functionality:
- drivers are damaged or missing;
- error in the settings;
- functional failures;
- the microphone is busy in another application;
- the microphone is not selected as an audio device;
- breakage.
The microphone does not work on the laptop - what should I do?
We determine the source of the problem and proceed with it further.
Drivers are damaged or missing.This is the most common cause of a built-in element malfunction. First you need to make sure that you have the necessary software on your computer. We go to the Control Panel, go to the System item and select Device Manager in the left part of the window.
The window that appears contains data on all types of connected elements. Expand the Sound, gaming, and video devices section. Check for unidentified parameters: if you find the word "Unknown device" or a yellow exclamation mark next to the microphone name, then the cause of the malfunction lies in the driver.
To fix the problem, find the official website of the manufacturer of your PC and enter the name of the laptop in the search line. Next, go to the information page and use the section with additional software, where you will need to specify the version of the operating system.
IMPORTANT. To accurately find the desired program, be sure to specify the bit depth of the OS.
There are no applications specifically for microphones in the list, since these elements are contained in audio drivers. We download and install the necessary software on the computer, restart the system and check the operability of the device.
Error in settings.The problem is with the microphone sensitivity adjustment, which is easy to fix. In the tray (panel at the bottom of the screen), click on the speaker icon with the right mouse button. In the menu that appears, go to the Recording devices section.
Select the line with the name of the gadget using LMB and select Properties, and then Levels. Look at the level of the sliders, and if it is very low, move them to the right side.
ATTENTION. Be sure to save your changes.
Make sure the microphone is working.
Functional failures.If the previous methods did not help, we can assume that a temporary violation occurred in the operation of the device. Restart your PC before checking. Then, in the tray, activate the speaker icon using RMB and in the menu that opens, click Recording Devices.
We look at the Recording tab, which displays the available sound instruments. If the required microphone is not in the list, right-click in the empty part of the window. The new window contains two lines, "Show disconnected devices" and "Show disconnected devices." We activate both points.
Use on the PCM gadget icon. In the menu that opens, apply the "Enable" item. If the line "Disable" is located there, then click on it and then turn on the device. The last action reloads his work.
To check the result, speak loudly or make noise. Next to the gadget’s icon is a running bar, the level of which changes when sounds appear. If the string responds to your voice, then the option is functioning normally.
The microphone is busy in another application.If the device’s operability is checked, but it doesn’t work in any program, the reason may lie in its simultaneous use by different software products.
To check this, right-click in the tray and activate the Task Manager. We look through all running programs. Shut down those that may use the device.
ON A NOTE. In case of difficulty, just close all applications that are not needed at this time. This also applies to Internet services for communication or recording from a webcam.
The microphone is not selected as an audio device.The cause of the problem may be the default choice of another device. To check this, disconnect other sound devices. In the search bar for the Start button, type Voice Recording. Activate the microphone icon. After completing the recording, listen to it.
If the functionality works, but the program, say Skype, does not support it, then the microphone is not selected by default.
To fix the problem in the application, use the Tools section and go to the Settings item. The left part of the window contains the Sound settings heading, go into it and in the Microphone line indicate the desired device.
REFERENCE. If you turn off the automatic volume level, you can adjust the sound as you wish by moving the control to the desired value.
BreakageIf all of the above methods did not help restore the operation of the device, this can mean serious damage. In such cases, it is necessary to contact the after-sales service, since such malfunctions cannot be independently repaired.
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