Now voice communication over the Internet is becoming increasingly popular, displacing the usual analogue, as well as the creation of streams and video tutorials. But for all this you need to connect the microphone to the computer and activate it. Let's see how this is done on a Windows 7 PC.
After you have connected the microphone plug to the corresponding connector on the system unit, you need to connect it in the operating system. If you are using a standard laptop device, then, of course, you do not need to physically connect anything. Direct connection, both in the case of a desktop PC and in the case of a laptop, is made using the “Sound”
.
But you can go to its interface in two ways: through the “Notification Area”
and using
the “Control Panel”
. Next, we will consider in detail the algorithm of actions when using these methods.
Method 1: Notification Area
First of all, let’s study the algorithm for connecting a microphone through the “Notification Area”
or, as it is otherwise called, the system tray.
- Right-click ( RMB
) on the speaker icon in the tray.
In the list that opens, select “Recording devices”
. - Sound
tool window will open in the
Recording
.
If this tab turns out to be empty and you only see an inscription indicating that the devices are not installed, then in this case, right-click on the empty
space of the window, and in the list that appears, select
“Show disabled devices”
. If, when you go to the window, the elements are displayed, then simply skip this step and move on to the next one. - If you did everything correctly, the name of the microphones connected to the PC should appear in the window.
- Right
-click on the name of the microphone that you want to activate.
In the list that opens, select “Enable”
. - After this, the microphone will be turned on, as evidenced by the appearance of a check mark inscribed in the green circle. Now you can use this audio device for its intended purpose.
- If these steps did not help you, then most likely you need to update the driver. It is best to use the drivers that are included on the installation disk for the microphone. Just insert the disc into the drive and follow all the recommendations that will be displayed on the screen. But if it is not there or installation from disk did not help, then you should perform some additional manipulations. First of all, dial Win+R
. In the window that opens, enter:Click "OK"
.
- "Device Manager"
will launch .
Click on its section “Sound Devices”
. - In the list that opens, find the name of the microphone that you want to turn on, right-click on it and
select
“Update”
. - A window will open where you need to select the option “Automatic search...”
. - After this, the required driver will be searched and installed if necessary. Now restart your PC and the microphone should start working.
In addition, you can use specialized software to search and update drivers on the machine. For example, you can use DriverPack Solution.
Method 2: "Control Panel"
The second method involves going to the “Sound”
and activating the microphone through
the “Control Panel”
.
You can turn on the microphone in Windows 7 using the Sound
.
But you can activate its window in two ways: through the “Control Panel”
and by clicking on the tray icon. You can choose the method that is most convenient for you, taking into account your own preferences. In addition, in some cases, reinstalling or updating the driver is required.
I can’t communicate with friends on Skype because there is no sound, a new microphone is connected, but the device is not detected, the recording is too quiet... All these are quite common troubles, but easily solvable. Below we will talk about how to properly configure the device.
Currently, microphones of various types and shapes have become widespread. By method
connections can be
analog
, with
USB
output (connect to any USB input on the computer),
wireless
- they will be mentioned later.
And of course , built-in,
in the case of laptops or webcams, which is also analog.
How to connect the device
First, let's find out where to insert the connector of a conventional analog device - the most common one at the moment. 3.5 jack plug
, the same as for simple
headphones
.
The microphone jack should be pink
colors, it can be located on the motherboard on
the rear panel
or on
the front panel
of the system unit, on the sound card, keyboard.
How to set up a microphone
It’s not enough to just connect, you also need to configure it. Before you start setting up, you should make sure that the audio driver is installed
.
To do this, look in the Manager
to see if all sound devices are defined and enabled.
If the device is not detected, try reinstalling
its driver.
After checking, we proceed to the setup itself.
Via Control Panel
go to
the Hardware and Sound
.
In the next window, click on Sound
and in the settings dialog select
Record
.
In this tab, select the microphone that we want to configure and click Properties
.
Connect headphones and click on the Listen
, there you will need to check the box next to the words:
Listen from this device
, and then click
Apply
.
After this, you will be able to hear in the headphones the sensitivity
our recording device transmits sound.
Then open the Levels
for optimal gain settings.
When you get the sound that satisfies your requirements, uncheck the listening
.
How to connect a wireless microphone
An extremely convenient device is a wireless microphone with built-in bluetooth
. It is most often used in conjunction with a laptop, because it usually has a built-in Bluetooth module. In the case of a computer, you will need to purchase it additionally.
Go to the laptop bluetooth
and
search for
a new device.
Install the required driver
if it is not detected automatically by the system.
If there are no problems with the drivers, but the laptop still does not see the acoustic recording device, check whether it is turned on and whether the batteries are discharged.
How to enable the built-in microphone in a laptop
Go to Control Panel
/
Hardware
there find
Realtek HD Manager
.
The sound manager will open, in the window of which, with the built-in microphone disabled, go to Additional settings
device and check the box there:
Separate
all input jacks as independent input devices.
Next, go to the tab that displays your built-in Mic
.
Here you can adjust the volume
and
gain
.
After that, in the Sound
Your device will appear if it was not there before.
Now you can configure its parameters.
There are many programs that use the microphone's capabilities, such as various online services. Optimal settings for the operation of your recording device will ensure the most comfortable communication
Most modern laptops have the advantage over older models of built-in features, but you need to know how to use them. For example, on a laptop?
PC users today no longer need to select a separate microphone for their laptop, purchase it in addition and carefully connect it. This saves significant time and money. However, often even with built-in functions, less experienced users have questions about how to turn on the microphone on a laptop, since it does not turn on automatically. If the microphone is actually in working order, then the reason for this may be that it is not configured correctly, which needs to be corrected.
How to turn on the microphone on a laptop - a simple way
First of all, users need to check the presence of the microphone itself. To do this, you can read the specification of your laptop, where it will be written exactly whether it has such a built-in function.
A little hint (before you look into the documentation included with your computer) will be the presence of a web camera, because if it is there, then there are built-in speakers. Device Manager will also help you detect the microphone on your computer.
The second step on how to turn on the microphone on a laptop is to check the presence and settings of the speakers. To do this, see if they are displayed in the “Sound” section, “Recording” tab. When the microphone is displayed on the laptop and check if it is turned on. To do this, look at the device settings in the “Advanced”, “Improvements” and “Levels” tabs.
There is also a high probability that the microphone is simply set to a quiet mode of sound transmission, if you still cannot be heard with it on. on a laptop in this case? Go to the “Control Panel”, open “Sound”, then in the menu go to “Properties” and then to “Microphone”.
Here we check the box “Allow applications to use the device in exclusive mode” and here “Give priority to applications in exclusive mode” in the tab called “Advanced”. Trying to test your microphone after setting the highest bit depth. If you did everything correctly, that is, you configured the device correctly, you will be able to hear yourself well. Otherwise, repeat the process of replacing the bit depth and frequency again.
What about some additional effects? To do this, you need to use certain utilities as they depend on the type of sound card. For example, to enable echo or noise suppression on a microphone, or to show the distance to the microphone itself on a laptop, you can use the most well-known utilities, such as Realtek Manager.
Often in the list of microphones you can find the presence of several built-in speakers. And in order to recognize which one is where, you just need to lightly tap near the microphone - and green marks on the strip will appear on the icon.
- 1. Required drivers are missing
- 2. The microphone is not set up correctly
- 3. Microphone malfunctions
- 4. Microphone is not selected in the program
- 5. The microphone is occupied by another program
- 6. The microphone is faulty
Almost every modern laptop is equipped with a built-in microphone, so for comfortable communication in programs with voice calls and for voice recording, you do not need to buy additional equipment.
However, quite often a problem arises when it is impossible to use this advantage. Simply put, the built-in microphone on the laptop stops working. What to do in such a situation? Why doesn't the microphone work on my laptop or PC? Is this problem a consequence of a serious breakdown? Or is it possible to fix everything without having special knowledge? More details in our review.
Switching to external devices
Indeed, sometimes the user may not be satisfied with the quality of the recording equipment that is included in the standard equipment. Or it’s simply inconvenient for a person to use them. In this case, people often connect additional communication devices to the computer. And they have a problem - how to enable an external microphone on a laptop? In fact, you need to act the same way as in the previous version, only with minor nuances:
- After going to the “records” section, the user can find several options allowed for use in the list at once. That is, the one that was originally present on the computer, and the one that was recently connected. Naturally, the system initially gives priority to the first.
- To achieve the desired result, you just need to deactivate the first and turn on the second device - by clicking on them with the same right mouse button and selecting the required option.
Naturally, at the end of this operation you should remember to click on “OK” so that the changes take full effect.
Required drivers are missing
This is the most common cause of this problem. However, mainly in relation to a laptop, it is associated with another problem - the lack of sound from the speakers built into the device. A successful solution is to establish communication between the operating system and the laptop using a special utility, a driver. This is why it is so important to check for the latest drivers on your PC.
What do I need to do? Go to “Control Panel”, then “System”, “Device Manager”, “Sound, game and video devices”. Notice that there is an “Unknown device” menu under this menu? Or an icon with a yellow exclamation mark? If yes, then it's all about the drivers.
It is not difficult to correct the situation. To do this, just go to the official website of your computer manufacturer. Then, using the search, find the exact model of the laptop, indicate the OS version (and bit depth). In the drivers section you can download drivers for the microphone. Download the software to your laptop and install. After this, you must restart the device for the changes to take effect.
The microphone is not set up correctly
On a laptop with Windows 7, 8 or Windows 10, the microphone does not function well if its sensitivity level is incorrectly set. This is why it feels like the microphone is not working at all. How can I check this? Right-click on the speaker image. Then, from the context menu that opens, select “Recording Devices.”
Then select the microphone (right mouse button) and then go to “Properties” / “Levels”. If the sliders are at the lowest level, you need to move them to higher positions. After saving the changes, check if the microphone is working.
Microphone malfunctions
It is quite possible that the built-in microphone does not work due to various glitches. How to fix it? First, restart your computer. Then right-click on the speaker icon. In the menu that opens, select “Recording devices.” And then "Record". When working correctly, the microphone is reflected here. If it is not there, then in this window, click on any free area and check the “Show disconnected devices” checkbox in the pop-up window (sometimes the required item is reflected as “Show disconnected devices”). Then right-click on the microphone.
“Enable” will appear in the context menu; immediately activate the microphone. But sometimes “Disable” is reflected. Click on this inscription, and then “Enable”, this will reboot the device. Be sure to check that the microphone is working correctly. Try making noise or saying a few words. Observe whether the ticker (it is located next to the icon) moving, recording the noise level? If yes, then the microphone is working correctly.
Microphone is not selected in the program
Sometimes other microphones are connected to the laptop. And the main one stops working. What to do in such a situation? Use search to find “Voice Recording.” Click on the microphone image to start recording and check that the device is working correctly. If everything is fine, but the microphone still does not work, for example, in Skype, then the problem can be solved this way: in the program, select “Tools” / “Settings” / “Sound Settings”. The correct device must be indicated in the “Microphone” column.
Microphone is occupied by another program
Has your previously working microphone stopped working? It is quite possible that the reason is that he is busy with another program. How can I check this? Open “Device Manager”, review in this window the programs that are currently active on your laptop. If you notice a program that is likely using a microphone, click on “Quit.”
In addition, certain web portals in the browser are also capable of “taking away” the microphone’s operation. This happens in cases where you connect one or another online service for communication, as well as a special application for recording video from a webcam. Actually, that’s why you should always close those tabs in your browser that you don’t need at the moment.
A few important nuances
It is important to understand that for the operation of all components of computer hardware, special files are required - so-called drivers. That is, when answering the question - how to turn on the camera and microphone on a laptop, you should initially make sure that they are present and have been installed. This requires:
- Through the "Control Panel" go to the "Device Manager". In the tenth version of Windows, to do this you need to click on start and simply enter the name of the desired section on the keyboard, then use the link provided.
- In the list of equipment, pay attention to two sections - “Cameras” and “Sound, gaming and video devices.”
- Make sure they are fully functional. That is, next to all names there should not be a warning icon in the form of an exclamation mark.
- If the icon is there, then you should right-click on the name of the problematic component, go to its properties and select the driver update procedure.
Usually everything happens automatically, but sometimes you may need to manually install drivers. In such a situation, you will need to find them on the Internet (by name/model of equipment), transfer them to your hard drive and initiate installation of the files. Most often, after this, it is recommended not to forget about rebooting the system. Well, the last point - how to turn on the microphone in headphones on a laptop? Repeat one of the options suggested above. At this point, some users report that they are trying to check the gadget by recording a short message and trying to listen to it, but there is silence in the headphones. The reason for this trouble is most often the simple forgetfulness of the user, who made sure that the volume control in the system was set to maximum, but on the device itself forgot to turn the special wheel responsible for the same function.
The microphone is out of order
Sometimes you have to state the fact: the microphone on the laptop stopped working due to a breakdown. In this case, the only remaining option is to contact a service center.
In 99.9% of cases, the laptop is equipped with a built-in microphone, which allows you to record voice, communicate in programs with voice calls, record video from a webcam, etc. without additional equipment. Today we will take a closer look at the problem when the built-in microphone in a laptop refuses to work.
The problem of the microphone not working is quite widespread for both laptops and desktop computers, which, as a rule, require the installation of a separate microphone. The occurrence of such a problem can be influenced by various factors, which will be discussed in more detail in the article.
Description of the problem
Every laptop has a built-in microphone, but its quality leaves much to be desired. Users have to buy external devices for high-quality voice transmission. They differ in connection type:
- USB;
- "Jack";
- Bluetooth.
Wired microphones are the most vulnerable, since over time the wires become unusable and cease to perform their function. Difficulties with connecting wireless devices can only arise at the setup stage. You can check the equipment through the standard Windows Voice Recorder program.
Problems with connecting a microphone can be divided into two groups: those that you can solve yourself, and those that can only be fixed in a service center.
You can fix the following on your own:
- Incorrect connection;
- Outdated drivers;
- Incorrect PC settings;
- Viruses on the computer.
Serious malfunctions that require the involvement of specialists:
- Damage to the USB port and microphone port;
- Malfunction of the device itself;
- Problems with the audio card.
Reason 1: lack of necessary drivers
This is one of the most common causes of the problem, but in this case, as a rule, the sound from the built-in speakers of your laptop will not work either.
Since the equipment (in our case, the microphone) is built into the laptop, in order to establish its operation between the laptop and the operating system, it must have special software, better known as drivers. Our first step is to check whether there are drivers for the microphone at all.
To do this, open the “Control Panel”
, and then go to the
“System”
(to make it easier to find the desired section, you can use the search bar or set the menu item display mode to “Small icons”).
In the left area of the window, select the “Device Manager”
.
A new window will appear on the screen in which you can monitor the status of drivers for a particular device. In our case, we will need to expand the item “Sound, gaming and video devices”
. If under this item you see a parameter, for example, “Unknown device”, or next to the name of the microphone there is an icon with a yellow exclamation mark, we can conclude that the problem lies precisely in the drivers for the microphone.
You can fix the problem as follows: go to the official website of your laptop manufacturer and search the site, indicating the exact model of your laptop.
In the search results, you will need to go to your laptop’s page, and then open the section with additional software and drivers, indicating your version of the operating system (bit depth also matters). In the drivers section, you most likely won't find a driver specifically for your microphone, so you'll need to download audio drivers, which will usually include a driver for your laptop's built-in microphone.
After downloading the necessary software, you will need to install it on your computer (this is done in exactly the same way as installing any other program). Finally, all you have to do is restart your computer.
Reason 2: Microphone malfunction
Windows OS may not always work correctly, and therefore individual devices may periodically malfunction. It can be assumed that this is where the problem with the microphone’s operation arose.
First of all, restart your computer. Then right-click on the speaker icon in the tray and select “Recording Devices”
.
“Recording” tab active.
.
It should show your microphone. If not, right-click on any free area in this window and in the pop-up window, check the boxes next to “Show disconnected devices” and “Show disconnected devices”
.
Right-click on the microphone. If you see the “Enable”
, activate the microphone.
If you see the Disable
, click on it, and then turn on the microphone (this is necessary to reboot the device).
Now say something or make noise into the microphone. Next to its icon there is a ticker that records the noise level of the microphone. Normally, of course, it should move. If you see that this strip responds to sounds, then the microphone is working normally.
System Troubleshooter
If the microphone is connected correctly and there are no obvious problems with the device driver, but it still does not work, you can resort to using the special system recording troubleshooter. To do this you will need to complete the following steps:
- Call the context menu of the “Start” button and then select the “Control Panel” option.
Open “Control Panel” from the taskbar menu
Open “Control Panel” from the taskbar menu
2. After that, click on the “Search and fix problems” link in the security settings section.
Go to the troubleshooting section
Go to the troubleshooting section
3. In the “Hardware and Sound” category, click on the “Troubleshoot audio recording” link
We start diagnosing problems with sound
We start diagnosing problems with sound
4. In the window that appears, click the “Next” button.
5. The troubleshooter will begin scanning and display the scan result when completed.
Diagnostic results
Diagnostic results
Reason 3: Incorrectly configured microphone
It can be assumed that Windows has incorrectly adjusted the microphone sensitivity level, which is why it seems to you that it is not working at all. To check this probability of cause, right-click on the speaker icon in the tray and select “Recording Devices”
.
Select your microphone with one click of the left mouse button, and below click on the “Properties” item.
Go to the "Levels"
. If both sliders are low, you will need to move them further to the right. Save the changes and check the functionality of the microphone.
Manual problem solving mode
Everything is very simple. Click on the sound icon on the right side of the tray with the right mouse button.
A window like this will appear.
Go to the "Recording Devices" section.
Activate the microphone by single-clicking on it with the left mouse button and click on the “Properties” button (bottom right).
The following window will appear.
Make sure your settings are set as shown above.
Click the OK buttons one after the other.
In theory, everything should work, if not, then move on to the next section.
Reason 4: the microphone is occupied by another program
If, for example, while trying to talk in Skype you encounter a problem with the microphone not working, then you can think about the fact that the microphone could be occupied by another program.
Launch the task manager using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc
, and then carefully review the active programs on your computer. If you see a program running that appears to be using a microphone, be sure to terminate it. This is the best way to deal with all programs whose operation you do not currently need.
Please note that some web services that you work with in the browser can also “hijack” the microphone, for example, if you turned on an online communication service or a web application to record video from a webcam. If possible, close unused browser tabs or close the web browser altogether.
Reason 5: microphone is not selected in the program
If you have other microphones connected to your computer, be sure to turn them off. Now, using Windows search, find the standard program “Voice Recorder” (“Sound Recorder”)
. Click the microphone icon to start recording.
If, after listening to the finished recording, you understand that the microphone works fine, but in your program, for example, in Skype, the microphone refuses to work, you can think that the microphone is simply not selected in the program.
For example, in order to select the desired microphone in Skype, you will need to click on the “Tools”
, and then go to the
“Settings”
.
In the left area of the window, go to the “Sound Settings”
and make sure the correct device is selected in the
Microphone
. In addition, by deactivating automatic microphone volume adjustment, you can set the sensitivity level yourself, for example, by setting the slider to the highest position.
Reason 6: Microphone not working
The final reason for the problem we are considering. In this case, the built-in microphone may not work at all in your laptop. The problem can be quite simple, for example, the required cable was accidentally disconnected, but it can also be much more serious - the microphone is completely out of order.
In this case, we see two solutions: contacting a service center where they can diagnose the laptop, identify the cause of the problem and fix it in a timely manner, or connecting an external microphone through a special output (as a rule, in laptops, the headphone and microphone outputs are taken over by one and same connector).
We hope that any of the methods given in the article helped you solve the problem. In addition, if you have your own troubleshooting method, share it in the comments.
