Laptop using internal mic instead of external

Hi DestroyerWithPi,

Thanks for posting.  Apologies that your system is not performing as expected.

From your description, it would appear that possibly a recent Microsoft update has caused this issue.  Please perform a systems diagnostics by either pressing F12 at startup or by using Support Assist.  Make a note of any error messages encountered and post back.  Since you've already done troubleshooting with the headset, and if there's no hardware errors on the system, it would lead to probably a software issue.

Here is information from the Dell knowledge base you may find helpful:

Sound/Audio Problems in Microsoft Windows 

it said that everything passed and it gave me a code which is 76976

how do you do this please?

Hi, I right-clicked, but there is no "recording devices" option, only "Open volume mixer", "open sound settings", "spatial sound (off)", "sounds", "troubleshoot sound problems".

Thanks, jphughan, for the fast reply!

I didn't mention the model since it was already in the train.  I'm new to the forum and was trying to show proper netiquette.  I've got an XPS 13 9365 - it's about two months old now.  I'm using a Sennheiser Game One headset with the 3.5mm jack.  I've not seen a popup when I plugged in the headset, although the first time the screen went black, then returned.  I'm certain the internal mic is working - tapping on it registers noise whereas the boom mic is not registering. 

I can get a USB adapter - the headset - which I got today - has the 2x3.5 plug interface as well.  I had bought a ZealSound mic earlier - connects with the 3.5mm plug, but I couldn't get the mic to work (same problem with the laptop).  The Zeal has a sound card built in, so I thought (perhaps wrongly) that the Realtek drivers didn't like this.  I wanted headphones anyway, so the Sennheiser seemed like a nice choice.

Thanks again for the help.

Hi.  I'm having the same issue.  I've tried reinstalling drivers, deleting the device, and right clicking on the speaker icon more times than I care to count.  MaxxAudioPro says my audio driver isn't up to date, but windows update and the device manager say otherwise.  My output device says Speaker/Headphones, but the input device says Microphone (3-Realtek Audio).  There's also a disabled Stereo Mix version, but enabling that doesn't seem to help or matter.

I hear the noise (output) through my headphones, but the mic is only working with the internal device.

Any help is MUCH appreciated.

New to Dell.

   Mike

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@MikeFromNEU wrote:

Hi.  I'm having the same issue.  I've tried reinstalling drivers, deleting the device, and right clicking on the speaker icon more times than I care to count.  MaxxAudioPro says my audio driver isn't up to date, but windows update and the device manager say otherwise.  My output device says Speaker/Headphones, but the input device says Microphone (3-Realtek Audio).  There's also a disabled Stereo Mix version, but enabling that doesn't seem to help or matter.

I hear the noise (output) through my headphones, but the mic is only working with the internal device.

Any help is MUCH appreciated.

New to Dell.

   Mike

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@MikeFromNEU  since you didn't mention the laptop model you have or the headset you're using, the first question to ask is: Does your headset a) plug into one 3.5mm jack for audio output and another jack for the mic, b) use a single 3.5mm jack for both audio output and mic input, or c) plug in via USB?

If it's Option A, then when you plug the mic connector into a jack, you should see a popup dialog asking what you plugged into that jack.  If you select "Microphone", then having the Realtek device selected as your input should be the correct option, because when you tell your system that you have a mic attached to the 3.5mm jack (which is wired to the Realtek chipset), it automatically ignores the internal mic.

If it's Option B and your audio output works but your mic doesn't, these "combo headset jacks" that can handle audio output and mic input on the same connector (technically called a TRRS connector) actually have two different pin assignment standards, namely OMTP and CTIA.  In each case, there are 4 pins on the connector: Audio Out Left, Audio Out Right, Mic In, and Electrical Ground.  Both the OMTP and CTIA standards assign the two audio output channels to the same pins, but they swap the microphone and electrical ground pin assignments.  So if your headset is set up for OMTP and the laptop's jack is set up for CTIA, or vice versa, that would explain why you have audio output but not mic input.  In that situation, you need an OMTP/CTIA adapter.  Note that those adapters aren't "directional", i.e. you don't have to know which device uses which standard and purchase the correct adapter.  Since the adapter just inverts the mic and ground pins, if your headset is OMTP, the adapter will switch it to CTIA, and vice versa.

If it's Option C, then you shouldn't be trying to manage this through MaxxAudioPro, because a USB headset has its own audio chipset that doesn't depend on your system's internal Realtek chipset and therefore has nothing to do with MaxxAudioPro.  In that case, go to the Start menu and select Settings > System > Sound and change your input device to your USB headset.  If you click the "Sound control panel" option in the Related Settings section in the upper-right corner, you'll be taken to another applet that allows you to make additional customizations.  For example, if you set your USB headset as the default playback device and default recording device (they're on separate tabs), then Windows will automatically switch to that headset's speakers and mic whenever you plug it in going forward.

@MikeFromNEU   ok I was just checking.  The original poster in this thread had an XPS 13 9360, but since the thread title just mentioned "Laptop", people sometimes jump in to discuss the same issue with other systems.  (And sometimes they do that even if the thread title DOES mention a specific system...)

In any case, just to check about the lack of a popup, open MaxxAudioPro, click the Playback tile, then click Advanced in the bottom center, and make sure the option to show a popup when a device is connected is checked.  If it's not, then check it and disconnect and reconnect your headset.  If it's already checked, then considering your headset uses a single 3.5mm connector, I'm guessing that the CTIA/OMTP dual standard is the issue in your case.  If your headset has a USB adapter, that should resolve this because it will cause the headset to appear as a completely separate device, and it might even give you higher quality audio since the digital to analog conversion will now be occurring inside the USB adapter and therefore away from other sources of electrical noise inside a laptop.  As for the ZealSound mic, if it plugs in using a 3.5mm jack, it wouldn't be using an external sound card.  It may well have DSP chips, but it wouldn't be able to show up as an entirely independent sound card / audio output device.  You'd need a USB connection for that, or a PCIe card in a desktop system.  The reasons that's the case are that a) the 3.5mm jack is directly wired to and managed by the Realtek audio sound card, and b) a 3.5mm jack would only be carrying audio; it wouldn't be able to carry the type of raw data traffic that would be required for the PC to interface with an outboard sound card the way a USB connection would allow.  As for interference between Realtek drivers and drivers for USB audio devices, that shouldn't be an issue because the Realtek drivers wouldn't manage other audio output devices, and vice versa.  I've used external sound interfaces from USB headsets to full external sound cards like Creative X-Fi boxes, and they don't interfere with my onboard audio.

@MikeFromNEU  great news!  Glad you're all set even if it took jumping through quite a few hoops. :)

Hi Mike,

I faced similar issues.

Found on the web that using a USB-A or Type-C to audio converter works better.  I even tried the Logitech H650e USB-A headset/mic (still has a high pitch hissing).

Best (for me) was the Creative SfXi headphone amp (comes with Type-C to 3.5mm converter) paired with a Sennheiser Momentum wired earphones + mic.  Works beautifully with Grado 225e headphones. No hissing, clear sound into earphones.  No more complaints when Zoom or other video conferencing.

Another solution was the adaptor from Apple Type-C to 3.5mm audio for iPad Pro.  Sound not as clean.

Seems plugging any type of headphone, earphone, or Bluetooth earbuds using the onboard sound card produces intereference.

Hello! I have a Dell Inspiron 15-3567

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-7100U CPU @ 2.40GHz 2.40 GHz
Installed RAM 6.00 GB (5.87 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

I'm using Rand McNally Clear Dryve 210, Premium on ear 2 in 1 Headphones/headset, which offers BT connection, as well as 3.5mm connection. It's made as a interchangeable Work/Play headset for truck drivers, which I do as a profession, in that one ear comes off for mono/mic BT Communication with phone while driving, or add the missing ear, for stereo sound for media, gaming etc. It also has USB connection for charging, i've never tried to connect to computer for any 2 way sound bit purposes, idk if it would work as a headset/phone plugged in via USB. 

Anyway. It seems with Headset plugged in with 3.5 jack, i can hear sounds fine, but it doesn't seem to pick up anything from my microphone on headset. The mic works just fine, i use it on my phone for phone calls. When it's plugged in on computer, the mic does not work, seems to be over ridden by the internal mic on my dell, which is only about a foot max from my face, where as the boom-mic on headset is only inches from my face, and should have clearer input. 

I use Audacity as an audio recording device making videos and voice over of my video game play throughs, and the Audacity detects the headset mic for input, but when I select it, does not pick up sounds. When I select the Realtech internal mic for input, it does work. When I open sound settings, and look at input devices, I only get Realtec Audio, and Stereo Mix. 

Would it be better if I plug it in USB? Or use BT (i don't much on computer as it drains the battery more). Dell support assist does say I need a driver update, but I didn't think this was a driver issue.