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Fred Weston
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February 15th, 2022 10:00
Latitude 7420 microphone array low input level
My org has purchased a few dozen Latitude 7420s and has noticed that recent variants (ordered within past ~6 months) have an issue where the input level of the built-in RealTek microphone array is very low. When on collab apps such as MS Teams, WebEx, Zoom, etc. and using the built-in mic, other participants in the call have a very hard time hearing our users because their input level is so low.
If we use an external audio device like a USB headset, everything is fine.
Through trial and error, we've also noticed that if we manually uninstall the RealTek audio drivers through Device Manager, and then click the button to scan for hardware changes, the system will reinstall the driver and the problem will go away. We thought this was a permanent fix but recently we've seen the same issue recur after we've done the uninstall/reinstall step. Another uninstall/reinstall fixes the problem again, but it seems now that we're stuck in an infinite loop. Reinstalling the driver will solve the problem for a while, but eventually the issue comes back and we have to do it again.
We've checked the driver details in Device Manager and as far as we can tell, when we do the uninstall/reinstall, the system is installing the same version of the same driver, so the driver is never actually changing, just being uninstalled and reinstalled.
Running Windows 10 21H2, all latest Windows Updates installed, latest BIOS / firmware from Dell support page, with all of the latest driver updates through Dell SupportAssist.
We've seen this same behavior on at least 20 systems, probably more.
Any thoughts as to the cause and what we might do for a permanent fix?
DELL-Cares
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Posted February 16th, 2022 04:00
We tried reaching you on a private message asking for the Service Tag number to ascertain the warranty but did not receive a response. Please feel free to reply to the private message whenever you are available.
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Dell Partner GEM Program, Out of Warranty Support Options, BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certificate, Get a copy of your Dell invoiceDELL-Cares
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Posted February 16th, 2022 07:00
Thank you! We have received the required details. We will work towards a resolution. In the meantime, you may also receive assistance or suggestions from the community members.
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Dell Partner GEM Program, Out of Warranty Support Options, BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certificate, Get a copy of your Dell invoiceJohn Comes
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Posted March 18th, 2022 10:00
Identical issues as well with Latitude 7420s in our fleet. External mics/web cams work fine, but internal microphone array does not work well. Tried multiple updates and reinstall of drivers with no luck. Finally, first uninstalled the "Realtek(R) Audio" device in Device Manager's Sound,Video and Game Controllers section. Then scanned for hardware changes and it automatically reinstalled. Fixed for now but not ideal the vast majority of our user base do not have admin rights on their systems.
Fred Weston
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Posted March 21st, 2022 10:00
@Mary G I think you may have misunderstood the problem. Microsoft is pushing a driver update through Windows Update which is causing the trouble.
UWTechSupport
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Posted April 20th, 2022 09:00
We are having the same problem with 7420's at our institution. I can only speak for the 7420's in my area. We have contacted our Dell Account Ex and Dell Tech getting absolutely no help. They are taking the position that it worked when out of the box and subsequent updates from Microsoft or changes to the laptop within our environment are not their concern.
Fred Weston
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Posted April 20th, 2022 10:00
Unfortunately, I believe they are correct. As far as root cause, this is a Microsoft and Realtek issue (Realtek for releasing a defective driver and Microsoft for pushing it via Windows Update).
We ended up setting our GPO to exclude device driver updates from Windows Update which solves the problem, but is a horrible solution as it also means we aren't getting other potentially important driver updates. Unfortunately that seems to be the only solution to work around this issue.
If you can find the specific update that is pushing this driver you could try reporting it to Microsoft as problematic to try to get them to pull it.
Fred Weston
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Posted March 21st, 2022 07:00
We found that the driver in the KACE driver feed works and the problem is related to a newer driver that (we presume) is being installed by Windows Update.
What we ended up doing is creating a domain-wide GPO which prohibits device driver installation for the Realtek hardware IDs. You can find info on this here:
https://www.ghacks.net/2017/06/03/stop-windows-from-installing-drivers-for-specific-devices/#:~:text=This%20opens%20the%20Group%20Policy,of%20the%20preference%20to%20enabled.
Longer term, Realtek / Microsoft need to pull that faulty driver from the Windows Update catalog, but this should be an effective workaround.