Why The Microphone Does Not Work

After connecting the microphone to the computer, many users are faced with the fact that it does not work. In this article, we will discuss several reasons that may lead to the fact that the microphone will not work on your computer.

Reason number 1. Sound card drivers are not installed.

If your microphone does not work, then the first thing to check is the drivers for the sound card. Indeed, for the sound to work normally, drivers for the sound card must be installed on the computer.

To make sure that the drivers for the sound card are installed on the computer, press the Win R key combination and in the window that appears, enter the command “mmc devmgmt.msc”. After that, the “Device Manager” window will open in front of you. Here you need to open the section “Sound, gaming and devices” and see if your sound card is displayed there or not.

If this section of the “Device Manager” does not have your sound card or it displays as “Unknown device”, then this means that you need to install the drivers. If your sound card is integrated, then drivers for it can be downloaded on the motherboard manufacturer’s website; if the sound card is discrete, then you need to look for drivers on its manufacturer’s website.

Reason No. 2. The microphone is turned off or not connected correctly.

If the sound card drivers are okay, but the microphone still doesn’t work, then the next thing to check is whether it is turned on. Very often, microphones have a special button that allows you to quickly turn off the microphone. If there is such a button on your microphone, then click on it and check the microphone again.

You also need to make sure that your microphone is properly connected. The microphone is always connected to the sound card connector, which is highlighted in pink. If your sound card does not have a color symbol, then perhaps there is a small icon next to the connector indicating the input for connecting a microphone.

On laptops, the microphone jack can be combined with the headphone jack. In this case, for the normal operation of the microphone, you will need a special splitter.

If you checked all of the above, but your microphone still does not work, then you should look into the system settings of the microphone. To do this, right-click on the speaker icon on the taskbar and select the “Recording Devices” menu item.

After that, a window opens in which your microphone should be displayed. If it is not there, then the system does not see it and the cause of the malfunction must be sought elsewhere. If the microphone is present, select it with the mouse and click on the “Properties” button.

After that, a small window with microphone settings will appear. On the first tab, which is called “General”, you need to make sure that the option “Use this device” is selected at the bottom of the window. If everything is fine, then go to the “Levels” tab.

On the “Levels” tab, you can adjust the volume and gain of the microphone. If your microphone does not work, then try to increase the volume to the maximum, save the settings using the “Apply” button and test the microphone again. Your microphone may not work because it is too quiet.

Reason number 4. Problems with the front panel.

There are also situations when the microphone does not work when connected to the front of the computer. While using the connector on the rear panel everything is fine. If you have a similar problem, then you need to look for the cause of the front panel malfunction.

To get started, open the driver settings for your sound card and find there the switch between the front panel operating modes: AC97 and HD Audio. Try switching the front panel of the computer to a different mode and test the microphone again.

Also, it cannot be ruled out that the front panel of the computer was incorrectly connected to the motherboard or was disabled by mistake. In this case, you need to reconnect it. The instructions from your motherboard will help you with this.