Windows 10: No microphones are working, levels only move in "Test Audio" in Settings?

StartFragmentHi, I've been trying to figure this out since yesterday but haven't come across anything that has helped fix the problem.I have a Lenovo Yoga 7 running Windows 11. The audio input has not been working almost at all. I have tried three different microphones built-in, headphone, and external usb microphone and none of them pick up any noise in Voice Recorder or any other apps. The only place that there is any sign of the audio being picked up is in the "Test Audio" button in Audio Input in Settings, and in the Sound app, the levels go up. The green bars. However, in the button

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Line level audio not accepted as a "microphone" input

Hi Greg -

Thank you for the quick reply!

I do understand the differences in signal levels. The references you provided explain the different levels, but do not address my question.

My problem lies in the internal connections the OS provides.

I want to use a specific program that is looking for a microphone input.

I use an external preamp to boost the microphone signal up to an instrument level, which allows me to use a switch to select between the 'mike' input and other higher level inputs before it gets routed into my audio interface to the PC.

The program I want to use doesn't see the input from my audio interface as a 'mike' input.

Any program that works with 'mike' inputs must be relying on the motherboard or soundcard to have already amplified the 'mike' signal to a level it can work with. I don't believe the programs are working with the low level microphone output signal.

I want to be clear here - I am not suggesting putting the amplified microphone signal into a "microphone" input on the PC. In fact I have turned off the internal motherboard sound system, because I use a high quality audio interface to bring audio into the PC on a USB line.

So it is a question of internal routing. How can I get a boosted 'mike' input found on a 'instrument' level input line to be accepted as speech by a program?

 

Windows 10, Recording "level" in Windows Audio Control Panel?

Hi Benny,

Thank you for posting to our Microsoft Community.

Yes ,setting the level to 100 give you 100% of the input signal from your microphone.

Please check the steps and see if it helps,

Step 1: Testing for an audio signal



1. Click Start, and then Control Panel.

2. Click Hardware and Sounds, and then click Managing audio devices...

3. Click the Recording tab.

4. To test the microphone, speak into it. To test line-in, send a signal to the line-in port from the source audio device (press play from the audio player). Look at the gray bars next to the device name on the recording tab:

5. If the gray bars next to the device name change to green, this device is active and an audio signal is being passed through the microphone or line-in port. This step shows that problem is related to sound settings in the software that uses the microphone.
If you have not already done so, set the selected device to default and adjust the levels. Once the device is set to default and the levels are set, use and adjust the sound recording or voice carrying software.

6. If the gray bars remain gray and inactive, the device is not recognizing a signal. Leave the recording tab open and go to the next step.

Step 2: Check volume levels and mute.



1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2. Click Hardware and Sound.

3. Click Sound.

4. Select Speakers, and then click Properties.

5. Click the Levels tab.

6. Click the Muted button next to Microphone and any other line-in that is muted.

7. Use the slider bar to raise the level for Microphone and each line-in to at least 75.

8. Click OK.

Reply us if you have further queries we will be glad to assist you.

 

Audio recording settings / microphone settings on skype not working

Hi Bill,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

There is an option ‘Automatically adjust microphone settings’ in Skype. Try adjusting Skype sound in the application by following the below steps:



a. Open Skype.

b. Navigate to Tools > Options > Audio Settings > Microphone.

c. Select the default device.

d. Uncheck the ‘Automatically adjust microphone settings’.

Also, I suggest you to adjust Skype sound in the control panel to fix the recording issues. You can do this by following the below steps:

a. Open ‘Control panel’.

b. Select ‘Sounds and Audio Devices’.

c. Click on ‘Playback’ tab.

d. Verify that nothing is set to mute.

e. Verify that microphone is checked under the ‘Recording’ tab.

Try updating Skype, if any update is available. Please follow the above steps and get back if the issue persists.

Hope it helps.

Naveen M

Microsoft Community – Moderator