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

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
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
    2014-12-29T09:56:41+00:00

    Hi Monica,

    Sorry for the delay in reply. I can understand that it must be difficult for you when things do not work as expected.

    Please answer these questions to get more clarity on this issue:

    • Did you make any changes to the computer prior to this issue?
    • Have you installed all pending Windows Updates and updated all device drivers?
    • What is the make and model of the USB device?
    • Does the device work fine on a different computer?

    Reply with more information to help you further.

    Please note that if you read all these posts, you will see people are having exactly the same problem with all kinds of microphones that work perfectly well with systems other than W8, and there are no drivers other than Microsoft's.  I certainly have all Windows updates installed and I'm sure others do too.   The fundamental problem is that the MS drivers simply don't work properly.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-12-27T07:05:15+00:00

    Hi Monica,

    Sorry for the delay in reply. I can understand that it must be difficult for you when things do not work as expected.

    Please answer these questions to get more clarity on this issue:

    • Did you make any changes to the computer prior to this issue?
    • Have you installed all pending Windows Updates and updated all device drivers?
    • What is the make and model of the USB device?
    • Does the device work fine on a different computer?

    Reply with more information to help you further.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-12-03T00:59:43+00:00

    Hey guys, let´s bombard their twitter account until someone competent bothers to read and understand the issue @microsoft

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-12-02T03:51:46+00:00

    I have attempted this step and continue to have difficulty. Please assist me at your earliest convenience as I need this feature for work. Thank you.

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