Windows 8.1 USB microphone volume is extremely low

Anonymous
2014-03-14T02:41:12+00:00

I have a Samson C01U USB mic. It is a plug-and-play microphone. There are no drivers for it. There is no firmware for it. You just plug it in, and it works.

This mic has always worked perfectly. When I used Windows 7, I set the volume level of it to about 40-50% and everything sounded crisp, clear, and loud. On Windows 8, it is inaudible unless I set the volume to 90% but even at that point it is not loud enough. Setting it to 100% results in a lot of noise in the background.

This is not the first time someone has brought this issue up as it is extremely common to everyone owning a USB plug-and-play mic:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1323451/windows-8-mic-issue

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/2da97f80-f58b-4635-acbf-9dd7292ed752/microphone-very-low-volume?forum=w8itprohardware

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_8-hardware/low-usb-microphone-recording-volume-at2020/9528f797-65c8-4033-a4d6-39995cd0d074

Has there ever been a fix for this issue?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2014-07-31T00:46:56+00:00

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

As you have mentioned that you have checked the issue with other microphone but you still face this issue. We have already tried to uninstall and reinstall the drivers. I suspect this issue to be a hardware issue. Check the issue with a local technician.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-10-13T20:49:14+00:00

    Hello Marc,

    Thank you for your response.

    Yes, you may install an old driver on Windows 8.

    You may refer this article and check if it helps.

    Refer:

    Make older programs compatible with this version of Windows

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/older-programs-compatible-version-windows

    Note: Refer "Change compatibility settings manually" section in the above article.

    I hope this information helps.

    Thank you

    It's actually not a 'program' that I'm installing.  It's a Hardware Device, so the DRIVER needs to be changed.  I have the USBAUDIO.SYS file from my Windows 7 computer, how do I use this instead of the updated Windows 8.1 version?

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-10-13T17:51:30+00:00

    Hello Marc,

    Thank you for your response.

    Yes, you may install an old driver on Windows 8.

    You may refer this article and check if it helps.

    Refer:

    Make older programs compatible with this version of Windows

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/older-programs-compatible-version-windows

    Note: Refer "Change compatibility settings manually" section in the above article.

    I hope this information helps.

    Thank you

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-10-13T08:10:52+00:00

    Can we install an older version of the "USB Audio Device" driver on windows 8?

    Filename is USBAUDIO.SYS

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-10-08T06:52:24+00:00

    Hello Ron,

    Thank you for the reply.

    I would suggest you to install all the optional updates available in Windows update as they may contain updates containing fixes.

    Refer steps from this article:

    How to install Windows Updates in both User Interfaces in Windows 8

    https://support2.microsoft.com/kb/2777982

    Please keep us updated on the status of the issue.

    Thank you

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