Windows 10: Win10 Settings & CP shows Microphone Levels Jumping, but NO APPS can hear

On a new Win10 Laptop with a Webcam, when I go into either Win10 Settings / Sound or Control Panel / Sound, I can see the levels jumping under the microphone test area. And there's only one input device Mic Array / Intel Smart Sound Tech for Digital Mics. And it's the default recording device.But Zoom can't hear it, and Voice Recorder can't hear it. I have the correct input device selected in Zoom. I have experience fixing this stuff but I'm stumped.

:)

 

Cortana can’t hear me – Microphone level keeps getting set to zero.

There is a known issue in Windows 10 that may cause the microphone gain to be set to zero.
We are currently investigating a fix and are hoping to release an update soon.



In the meantime, you can use the following troubleshooting steps to work around the issue.
Use these steps in general whenever you are having trouble getting Cortana to hear you on your microphone,



Run the Microphone Setup Wizard

• 
  Type “Set up Mic” in Cortana’s Search box.
  
• 
  Follow the instructions provided to set up your microphone.
  

Check your microphone’s drivers

• 
  Type in “Device Manager” in the Search box and select it from the list.
  
• 
  Expand Sound, video and game controllers
  
• 
  Right-click (or tap and hold) your microphone device and select
  Update Driver Software.
  
• 
  Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
  This option will scan the Internet for the correct version of the driver or determine if you already have the most recent driver installed.
  You may be prompted to restart your computer to install the driver.
  

Manually turn up the mic gain

• 
  Type in “Sound” in the Search box and select
  Sound (Control Panel) from the list.
  
• 
  Select the Recording tab.
  
• 
  Right-click (or tap and hold) on the active microphone input device and select
  Properties.
  
• 
  Select the Levels tab.
  

Manually drag the Microphone gain to a higher level and click
Apply.

 

Error: "You need to set up microphone in settings" while trying to access microphone on Windows 10

Hi,

As you are facing issue with accessing the microphone on your device, we will help you with this issue.

I suggest you to refer to the below post replied by Wasim Asad
on August 18, 2015 to setup microphone on your device and check if it helps.

Cortana can’t hear me – Microphone level keeps getting set to
zero.

Also, In order to check if your microphone is set to the default value, you must check it from the “Recording” tab.

To access this option, follow these steps:

• Right click on the volume icon and select Recording Devices.
• In the window that opens, select the device which has the status Ready.
• Click on the Set Default from the bottom of the window.
• If you’ve done this correctly you should see the green mark on the correct microphone and audio level reacting to sound.

Hope it helps. Get back to us with an updated status of accessing the microphone for further assistance.

Thank you.

 

Headphones' Microphone Volume Under the "Levels" Tab Disappeared

We suggest that you check the following steps on how to raise the mic volume:

• Check the Speaker icon on the system tray. Right click on it and choose "Recording Devices" menu.
  
• This will show Sound window. Go to Recording tab of Sound window, you will notice the microphone which is active that has a green check mark. Right click on the active microphone and select "Properties".
  
• You will now see Microphone Properties window. Go to the
  Levels tab and you will now see Microphone and
  Microphone Boost. You can use the sliders to modify your volume settings. Click
  OK button to save changes.

Let us know how it works so we can further assist you.