Enabling the built in microphone using Ubuntu on a Dell PC

This article focuses on enabling the microphone on your system using the Ubuntu operating system on your Dell PC.

Enabling Your Computer's Built-In Microphone in Ubuntu

This article takes you through how to enable the built-in microphone on your Dell PC using the Ubuntu operating system.

Note: This guide is useful as some users have advised their microphone was not working with Ubuntu, when it was turned off. This has been seen on systems like the Dell Inspiron Mini.

1. Open the alsa mixer by double-clicking the speaker icon in the Top Panel.

2. Click the Recording tab.

Note: If the Recording tab is not available, you can turn it on. Click Edit, then Preferences, and ensuring there is a check mark next to the option for Capture.

3. Raise the Capture level to a reasonable volume (80%) and verify that there are no red 's on the icons below the levels.

4. Click the Options tab.

Note: If the Options tab is not available, you can turn it on. Click Edit, then Preferences, and ensuring there is a check mark next to the option for Input Source.

5. Select Front Mic from the pull-down menu.

Note: The pictures on this article may not represent the version that you have installed. However, the steps carry across several different versions of the Ubuntu LTS distributions.

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Additional Information:

Note:
Software support is supplied by Canonical through the following methods:

• Ubuntu Community Support - Ask Ubuntu
• Ubuntu Community Forums
• Search for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Ubuntu 14.04

Technical Support is provided by Dell:

• Contact Us

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