Built in Mic Distorting Guitar sound

Question

I recently purchased a new Inspiron. I am trying to record / use Zoom to play my guitar and sing.The built in mic on my Inspiron makes the guitar sound distorted. I have successfully recorded and zoomed while singing and playing  with a different Dell laptop as well as on devices like a chromebook and my phone without a problem. I have gone through all the settings and can't seem to find a fix. Any help would be appreciated.

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

squeenan,   To what other Dell laptop model are you comparing? Did it use the same operating system and onboard audio as this Inspiron laptop?

squeenan · Answer

I changed jobs and no longer have the computer, so I'm not sure. I just know it was a few years old.

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

squeenan,   Do you hear any distortion when playing a video or other music on your system?

squeenan · Answer

No sound distortion from any media. It seems to be related to the microphone.

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

squeenan

Run SupportAssist for Microphone

Download / Install SupportAssist

To download and install SupportAssist:

1. Visit https://dell.to/2BIz6tv or Click the link Download SupportAssist for PCs and Tablets

to download SupportAssist.

2. After downloading, double-click the .exe file to install SupportAssist.

1. Click on "Troubleshooting" from the Home Screen.
2. Click on "I want to check a specific piece of hardware".
3. Click on "Microphone".
4. Click on "Record" to check if the Microphone is working

NOTE:Once recorded click on "Play" to check the Microphone functionality
Did the Microphone test pass?

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

squeenan,   Checking to see if you connected to support assist for the mic issue? If so, what was the outcome?

squeenan · Answer

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to get back to this messaging location! (I know, pretty stupid) It failed the sound test. I had tried this same recording test before seeking help.

squeenan · Answer

The mic test failed. It has had this problem since we bought it, but I thought it was a zoom or system setting. It seems to be a problem with the mic itself.

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

squeenan,

Thank you for getting back to us. Does an external mic work on the system? If so,

The internal microphone you want to use might need to be set as the default microphone. Follow these steps to set your microphone as the default microphone:

1.From the Recording tab of the Sound window, select the Internal microphone that you want to use. There could be one or more ports.

https://dell.to/3fpxAKy Set Default to make this device the default audio input device.

https://dell.to/39TIsis OK to make the changes.

Test for microphone by speaking into it.

Update the audio driver

Updating the audio driver can resolve many microphone issues. Use the following steps to check for and install audio driver updates:

1. Connect to the Internet.

2. In Windows, search for and open Device Manager.

3. Double-click Sound, video, and game controllers.

4. Right-click the name of the sound hardware and select Update Driver Software.

5. Windows checks to see if the updated driver software is available.
If an update is available, let Windows install the update.

6.When the update is installed successfully, a Windows has finished installing the driver software for this

device window displays.

Test the microphone.

Install Drivers from Support website

To perform the audio driver update perform the following steps:

Uninstall the drivers from the device manager and restart the system and update the audio drivers.

1) Browse to the Drivers and Downloads page.

2) Under the Yes subheading enter your Service Tag to get a concise list of drivers for your specific product model. 3) Click Submit to continue.

Note: If the Service Tag is not available, under the No subheading select from the following options: Click the automatically detect my Service Tag for me button and click Continue. This option will only work if you are using the Internet Explorer browser Or Click the Choose from a list of all Dell products button and click Continue. Next, select your product type, then product line, and finally your computer model.

4) If you are using Download Manager, click here for download and installation instructions.

5) Under Refine your results you can optionally select your desired operating system and category settings from the drop-down boxes.

6) Select the audio driver from the categories listed on the download page.

7) Review the information on the page and take note of Installation Instructions and Important Information.

Click Download. You may receive a warning and an option to run or save the file.

9) Click Save.

10) When the Save As window appears, designate a folder to save the file that is being downloaded and click Save. 11) The download progress window displays.

13) Make sure the checkbox next to Close this dialog box when download completes is unchecked. When the download completes click Run or Allow.

Note: The User Account Control window may appear, click Continue

14) A small window will appear with Continue and Exit buttons, click Continue.

15) In the Select, the folder where you want to unzip the files to window, click OK.

16) If a message appears asking to create a folder, click Yes. If a message appears asking to overwrite the folder, click Yes to All.

17) In the All files were successfully unzipped window, click OK

A new window will appear, follow the prompts that appear to finish the installation.

Note : Few systems have Wave Maxx audio installed, ensure Realtek drivers are installed along with Quickset drivers.

Note: After updating the audio driver proceed to update the Intel HD video driver as it has the drivers for the HD audio package. Not all systems don't support both the drivers if the audio is still not working uninstall the Intel video driver if there is a yellow bang next to it. Install the compatible video driver based on the system.

NOTE: You can refer to the below video link or share them with the customer (if required) :

How to Update Audio and Video Drivers https://dell.to/2PkCuxQ

How to Update the Audio Driver https://dell.to/39VyehF

How to update the Audio Driver https://dell.to/30maUq8

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

squeenan,   Checking to see if you completed the troubleshooting steps listed? If so, let me know and I will send some other steps to try and resolve the mic issue.  We will need to complete the troubleshooting information to determine if and what will need to be replaced.

squeenan · Answer

Hi Jesse, The drivers are up to date. An external mic works fine. Uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers. The internal mic is still not working properly. Anne

squeenan · Answer

Is it just a garbage mic? I have a Chromebook that records far better. I'm really disappointed in Dell and will try to return the computer.

squeenan · Answer

Hi, I'm wondering where I should go from here? Do I need a replacement mic? Thanks, Anne

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

squeenan,   I am speaking to an engineer about this issue. I will reply back once I hear back from them.

squeenan · Answer

Thank you.

Inspiron

Built in Mic Distorting Guitar sound

Was this post helpful?