If you’re a vlogger, blogger, streamer or just like to speak to your friends online, then the laptop microphone is one of the most important features in your computer. The issue with microphones is that they fail all too often without warning and without reason. If your laptop microphone isn’t working properly and you find it difficult to record video calls or voice memos, this blog post will help you fix your microphone on your laptop as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Whether you have an Acer Predator Helios 300 or Alienware 17, fixing a broken mic on any laptop can be challenging. But don’t worry! Below we explain how to fix your laptop mic in 5 simple steps.
Step 1: Check Windows Audio Service
First, you should make sure the Windows audio service is active and running. You can do this by opening the Task Manager and checking the “Services” tab. Look for “Windows Audio” and make sure it’s “Running” without any errors. If it’s not running, you can go to services.msc and start the service that way. If there are any errors associated with starting the service, you may want to contact your computer’s manufacturer or Microsoft for assistance if you are unable to resolve the errors yourself. If the Windows Audio Service is running, next you can check the Mic settings in your Control Panel to make sure everything is set up properly. Open the “Sound” or “Audio Devices” settings panel and go to the “Recording” tab. Make sure the correct microphone is selected and that it’s set to either “Mic” or “Built-in Audio” as appropriate. Check the “Levels” to make sure the volume is not set too low. If the volume is too low, you might not be able to hear yourself when you speak.
Step 2: Make Sure Nothing Is Blocking the Mic
If your laptop’s microphone isn’t picking up sound properly, it might be blocked or covered with dust or other debris. You can check this by opening your laptop and looking for the microphone. If you can’t find it, use your computer’s keyboard shortcuts to turn the sound off and on. If the sound comes on while you are in the process of looking for the mic, you’ve found it. You can use a small pin or paperclip to poke at the microphone to see if there is anything blocking it. If you find something obstructing the microphone, you can remove it. If the microphone is covered with dust, you can use a small vacuum to clean it, but be sure to remove the dust prior to vacuuming as you don’t want the dust to be blown into the mic as you are cleaning it.
Step 3: Update Your Laptop’s Drivers
If the microphone is not picking up sound correctly, you may want to try updating the microphone’s drivers. You can check your laptop manufacturer’s website for updated drivers and see if there are any for the microphone. You can also check the website for the microphone itself to see if there are any new drivers available. If you can’t find updated drivers for your microphone, you may want to try a different microphone. This may be due to the microphone going bad or being incompatible with your current setup. You can try plugging a different microphone into your laptop to see if it works better and/or if your current microphone starts working as expected after swapping it out.
Step 4: Reset your mic and speaker
If you’ve tried all the above troubleshooting steps and nothing seems to be working, you may want to try resetting your microphone and speaker. To do this, open the Control Panel and go to the “Sound” tab. Click the “Recording” tab and then click “Reset” next to “Microphone”. Click “OK” and then do the same thing for “Speakers”.
Step 5: Roll back your Windows build
If none of the above tips work for you, you may want to try rolling back your Windows build. This is done by going to the “Update & Security” settings and clicking “Go Back to a Previous Version” under the “Update Security” section. You can then select which version you want to go back to. This will revert your Windows version back to an older version that may have been working properly. You can then try to troubleshoot the mic issue based on the methods listed above again. Keep in mind that rolling back your Windows version may cause other issues such as compatibility issues with software. You may also need to uninstall and reinstall any software that was not compatible with the older version of Windows you have selected. It’s also recommended that you do not go back more than 2 versions.
Conclusion:
If you follow these troubleshooting steps, there is a good chance you will fix your laptop microphone problems. If your microphone still isn’t working properly after trying all the above steps, you may need to replace your laptop’s microphone. You may also want to contact your laptop manufacturer or the microphone manufacturer for assistance if you are unable to resolve the issue. If you’ve encountered a problem with your laptop’s microphone, don’t panic. There are a few troubleshooting steps you can try to fix your laptop microphone.
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