What Causes a Laptop Microphone to Stop Working?
Laptop microphones can stop working as the result of a variety of software and hardware problems, including issues with settings, configurations, and even driver conflicts. To fix your laptop microphone, you’ll have to check the most common issues in each of these categories and fix any problems that you come across. Here are the most common issues that may be behind your laptop microphone not working:
Microphone settings and configuration: Simple issues like a muted microphone or an incorrectly configured microphone often cause this problem.Bad microphone drivers: If your microphone driver is bad or out of date, the microphone will fail to work properly.Bad microphone hardware: Your microphone may have simply gone bad due to a defect or old age, or there may be a problem with the internal wiring.
How to Fix a Laptop Microphone That Doesn’t Work
There are a number of laptop microphone problems that you can fix yourself without any special tools or knowledge. Other issues are more complicated and will require the assistance of a professional. To fix your laptop microphone, follow these steps in order: If you have a Lenovo laptop, try these tips. Your microphone may also be muted in your sound settings. To check this: To check and change your default microphone: To check and fix this issue: Try unplugging and plugging your microphone back in if you’re trying to use an external microphone, or try plugging an external microphone in and unplugging it if you’re trying to use the internal hardware. Doing so may cause the software to finally switch to the correct microphone. To run this troubleshooter, open the Control Panel > Troubleshooting > Hardware and Sound > Recording, then click Next and follow the on-screen prompts. Alternatively, you could either take the laptop in for professional repairs or purchase an external microphone or headset to get around the problem. If you want to physically examine your microphone yourself, here’s what you’ll have to do:
If All Else Fails, Consider Professional Repair
If your laptop microphone still doesn’t work, and you don’t see anything wrong with it after physically inspecting it, then you may need to take your laptop to a professional. The microphone might have gone bad in a way that you can’t see just by looking at it, or there may be another repair that requires professional expertise or special tools to fix. Need more help? Try these microphone troubleshooting steps if you have an HP laptop.
