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

2013-12-13T14:15:43+00:00

I've just created an account only to share what worked for me so I hope it will work for others.

Exactly what happened to me: I bought new hardware and reinstalled windows 7 32bit. Everything worked fine. I needed 64bit version though to fully benefit from those 8gigs of ram. Once I got the new system and the mic drivers broke. I've spent like 2 days trying to figure out a solution for this, basically my mic was barely picking up anything (I got brand new Razer Kraken Pro headset so I knew this wasn't the issue). After reinstalling different driver versions several times and putting all the information together I've decided to try one more thing.

I removed all audio drivers and installed "Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec". It comes without Audio Manager, without any fancy stuff like noise reduction or anything. But my microphone level is at 8/100 right now, no boost whatsoever and it's clear as [potato]! So apparently the problem lays within Audio Manager. My motherboard is AsRock 970 pro3, I don't know if this codec will work for other motherboards so make sure you check what codec your motherboard has!

I really hope it works for at least some of you.
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Anonymous

2014-06-19T02:35:22+00:00

I also installed Realtek Audio Codec I got from this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEEeI8Zm7AU

I am using a brand new Aspire E1-410 with an OS of Linux. I installed windows 7 because it is more user-friendly. I use skype all the time and I got bummed out when I also experienced the low-audio problem.

I followed the instructions on the youtube video, downloaded the Realtek Codec, waited for 2 hours and installed it. Problem was solved. Hope yours as well. :)
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Anonymous

2014-06-21T08:04:02+00:00

I tried everything. EVERYTHING within this thread.

I also used 1 headset and 1 seperate microphone to test. So no my mics are not broken

I also used an USB Audio card. Still same issue.

And please don't start with recording devices settings. I tried every possible combination that menu can offer.

Things i haven't tried;

1- Uninstalling Windows 7

2- Using a USB headset/mic.

(Audio card realtek)
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Anonymous

2014-12-14T15:05:06+00:00

I checked it on my tablet to see if it is the same problem there. (Android, with Hi-Q MP3 Recorder), and it works great on my tablet, with the built-in microphone and also with an external microphone with microphone jack connection. I don´t need to set the input volume to the maximum, it depends, but the result is good. I may record the audio files on usb stick.

I´m planning to experiment with those 2 pins instead of 3. Just making a short cable with a female and male connection, so that I can still use the microphone jack for PC or tablet. On hobby websites you can find information on how to make a pre-amplifier that works on the 5Volts of your computer. I´ll post you about the results.
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