Windows 10: Audio not playing through wired headphones while mic is recording.

I've recently gotten a new USB mic. It plugs into my laptop, and then I have wired headphones that are plugged into the mic. I can hear audio from the computer through the headphones just fine, but when recording through the mic any and all sound is quiet, garbled and sometimes flat-out does not play. I have tested the software I'm using and the issue is not with it, so any fixes would be much appreciated. Thanks.

:)

 

Mic/Headphone ports not working correctly - Acer Aspire 7745

The speakers are 'plugged in' already as it is a laptop. With no external mic, headphones or external speakers plugged in, the Sound Control Panel lists three things under 'Playback' - HDMI, 'Speakers' and 'Realtek Digital Output' - the Speakers under 'Playback' is set as the default.

Under 'Recording' with no external mic plugged in these are listed - 'Microphone', 'Line In' and 'Stereo Mix' (Disabled) - the microphone (in this case, the internal one) is set to 'Default' under 'Recording' as well.

I don't have my headset here to test an external mic right now, but with normal external headphones plugged in, there is no change to the Sound Control Panel under 'Playback' - the same three listings (HDMI, 'Speakers' and 'Realtek Digital Output') with 'Speakers' set as the Default. If I make a noise, say, play a video, I can see the sound meters move to the sound, but no sound comes out of the headphones.

 

Computer Won't Use Headphone Mic

Are you using a wired or wireless connection?

If you are using Bluetooth you will find there is a gotcha when using a headset with a microphone. With Bluetooth 4.x there is not enough bandwidth for both the headset's stereo speakers and the microphone at the same time. If the headset's speakers are used in mono mode then the microphone will work. Here is the information from my computer:
I I left-click on speaker icon on taskbar tray I see my options for the speakers:

• Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) = Laptops built-in speakers
• Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Stereo) = Headphones stereo mode
• Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Hands-Free AG Audio) = Headphones mono mode

I found out that if I select "Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Hands-Free AG Audio)" the headset microphone will work.




However, I found that next time the computer might choose "Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Stereo)". Then the headset speakers will work but the the headset microphone will not work.

To ensure that the right selection is always done automatically I have to go further and set the default to "Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Hands-Free AG Audio)".
Note I can always override this at any time. To do this...
I right-click on speaker icon on taskbar tray and left-click on Sounds




The first tab Playback is for the speakers

• Headset = Headphones mono mode
• Headphones = Headphones stereo mode
• Speakers = Laptops built-in speakers

The second tab Recording is for the microphone

• Headset = Headset's microphone
• Microphone Array = Laptop's built-in microphone
• Stereo Mix = N/A

To ensure that both the headset speakers and microphone work at the same time I set the default playback to Headset. This will put the headset in mono mode and allow the microphone to work. Note that if I disconnect the headset the computer will automatically revert back to using the built-in speakers and microphone.

 

Bluetooth headphones only play audio when mic is active

Hi Cristiano - thanks for your response. Unfortunately still no success. To confirm, I tried:

• Disabling Handsfree Telephony (per this MS guide)
  
• Disabling the AVRCP driver in Device Manager (this disconnected the Bluetooth headphones entirely)
  
• Confirmed in Device Manager that the device is working properly
  
• Reviewed sound settings in the Control Panel (tried enabling Mono audio, tried disabling Audio Enhancements on both output and input, checked for driver updates, Reset sound devices and volumes for all apps to the recommended defaults)
  
• Ran both Windows 11 sound troubleshooter and Bluetooth troubleshooter
  
• Unpaired and re-paired headphones
  
• Confirmed that this is the issue with multiple pairs of the same model of headphones
  
• Confirmed that this is an issue with multiple laptops (Dell Latitude) using the same headphones
  

One observation is that when audio is playing, there is a faint clicking in the headphones. So there is some audio transmission when the mic is not enabled. As soon as the mic is enabled, the sound resolves and is crystal clear.

I reached out to Altec Lansing support and received a generic response.

Thanks again for any further suggestions!