Microphone volume too low

Anonymous

I just bought a new Toshiba Satellite L500D, with Windows 7, and I'm having a problem with the microphone volume, in that recorded sound is barely audible.

I followed all the suggested steps on this forum topic: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7music/thread/06582922-0014-4dac-9f74-b63f143fbb8e ...but nothing fixed it.

It's a built-in microphone and the sound driver is Realtek. I did a driver update check and it has the latest version. I have all the microphone volume settings set to maximum, and have tried doing test recordings in both Skype and the Windows Sound Recorder. They record, but it is extremely low volume, even when I lean closer to the mic and speak loudly. Various Skype call recipients could barely hear me. The only thing that records loudly is when I run a finger over the matte plastic of the monitor frame -- that records super loud for some reason.

I welcome any suggestions as soon as possible. I need my microphone to get work done!

I hope the Microsoft people can remedy this situation as soon as possible, because it's crucial to fix!

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous

I had this problem for a few weeks, i recently read a forum post telling me to untick the :allow applications to take exclusive control of device:

Well, I found that setting and changed a couple of others, and I think it's fixed it

I went via Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Manage Audio Devices to get to the Sound panel.

I then selected Playback > Speakers > Enhancements and made sure everything was un-checked.

I then selected Playback > Speakers > Advanced and un-checked 'Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device'

I went to Recording > Microphone > Listen and ensured 'Listen to this device' was unchecked.

I went to Levels and ensured the Microphone level was at 100% and the Boost was at +10db

I went into Enhancements and ensured everything was un-checked.

I then into Advanced and un-checked 'Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device'

And finally I went into the Communications tab of the Sound panel, and changed 'When windows detects communications activity' to 'Do nothing'

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45 additional answers

Anonymous

2011-12-15T07:15:16+00:00

I have tried everything listed in this thread and my recording volume for the mic is too low on windows 7. I didn't have this same problem with Windows XP. I have to record for music projects and there is definitely something wrong with the sound setup on windows 7. I don't know what it is but some of us paid a lot of money for this operating system and it fails to deliver the high quality sound recording options that I would have expected from this company.

If anyone knows how to find some way to get the microphone volume on the sound recording to go up about 4 times the volume of everything set on the maximum levels, or thinks they know of another way to fix this, please post. Thanks.
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Anonymous

2011-09-29T02:32:43+00:00

Still have the low microphone input level problem!

Win7 Ultimate and Realtek ACL889 HD Codec on ASUS X58 board with i7 CPU

and a second Win7 PC with completely different hardware

Tried all of the above suggestions and many more

Didn't realise til the last couple of days this is a problem for a huge number of people

This problem has been reported on lots of forum sites since Win7 first appeared and is still appearing - without a solution

Time someone took responsibility and sorted this out
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Anonymous

2011-09-19T13:28:24+00:00

Hello everyone,

I have read all the responses and tried them myself, I did find this little tip in several forums so give it a try:

(thanks to Windows 7 Help.com)

This issue occurs mainly due to an inbuilt feature in the operating system. This feature is intended for reducing the volume in case you use your computer for a phone call or other VOIP applications. Windows 7 help says that this feature may sometimes not work in a manner contrary to your requirement. Even after rebooting your computer, the volume will not change and stay low.

Now, you may be tempted to get Windows 7 help in such situations. Of course, you can get help from Windows 7 help, but why not try something out before you do that. Here are some basic steps that Windows 7 help suggests you try before you get in touch with them.

Windows 7 help for resolving volume issue

First of all, click on Start, then click on Control panel and then on Sound. A sound window will appear. Windows 7 help advises that you select Small icons from the drop down list of view by so that you will see the Sound option in control panel.

Now, click on the Communication tab in the sound window. You will see four options- Mute all other sounds, Reduce the Volume of other sounds by 80 %, Reduce the volume of other sounds by 50% and Do nothing. You need to click on the radio button next to Do nothing. Click on Apply and then OK. You might need to restart the computer to implement the changes.

![](http://windows7helpdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Windows-7-help-23.jpg)

Hope this helps

Eddie B
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Anonymous

2011-09-13T16:17:50+00:00

Attn: Windows geniuses who cannot be bothered with feedback.

The microphone level still doesn't work for thousands of users.

So how about I offer a little financial incentive?

I'll pay Windows 5¢ if they can fix this problem.

That's right ... five whole cents ... five pennies.

How about it guys? Can you fix this for all the Windows 7 and Vista users?

No need to worry about XP. That was the last OS that worked.
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4 people found this answer helpful.

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