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Question

Lenovo Ideapad 110 Realtek Audio driver - mic not recognized

Jul 20, 2016 9:13PM PDT

Hey, guys, I never really wanted to get Windows 10, but here I am with a new laptop and windows 10 was my only choice So, basically, when I plug my earbuds into the headphone jack, it doesn't detect that a working mic is connected - even though the sound is properly channeled through the earbuds.


Any advice on how to fix this? I've already uninstalled and reinstalled the Realtek drivers

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
A few thoughts.
Jul 21, 2016 7:04AM PDT

1. You wrote about earbuds. Mine don't have a mic so I don't expect it to switch to the mic input.
2. There are folk that go on the web and find a realtek driver. I didn't read where you checked the Lenovo page or asked Lenovo for drivers.
3. Here on my W10 machine I have the old Windows Mixer. On the Recording tab I can select other things just like I have for almost 2 decades. I know folk want it to be automatic but Windows is that old.

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Drivers are legit.
Jul 21, 2016 7:17AM PDT

1. I feel like most earbuds do have mics...especially those that are designed to work with smartphones, but, hey, this is beside the point, the point is that I'd like it to work and every one of my friends with some crappy Macbook from 2008 have no issue with their computer not natively recognizing that there is a microphone in the line.

2. Yes, the drivers came directly from the Lenovo page.

3. I'm not sure what the Volume Mixer has to do with the microphone when it just displays audio levels.

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Re: microphone`
Jul 21, 2016 7:29AM PDT

Does it work in a random Windows 7 or Windows 8 PC or laptop? Maybe one of your friends or family members has one to try?
If it works there, carefully compare all audio settings in that computer with yours.

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I don't currently have access
Jul 21, 2016 8:22AM PDT

to either of those. I am in Los Angeles for the summer right now (I usually reside in Brooklyn), and the only devices I have are this new Win 10 laptop and a Win XP Netbook from 2007.

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(NT) Does it work in the Win XP netbook?
Jul 21, 2016 1:40PM PDT
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I had to go over all that
Jul 21, 2016 8:04AM PDT

Because we had to.

Apple works much harder to have things "just work." On Windows we get to do the work and while I do understand folk want it to just work, that is not the Microsoft way.

As to the volume mixer, I'd have to be there to check what the recording device is selected at the time. As a seasoned or soon to be seasoned Windows user that's where I go next.

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I see what you mean
Jul 21, 2016 8:20AM PDT

Oh you mean look at the recording device! Yes, it is just "Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)" which is, sadly, the internal microphone for this laptop which is very bad and barely picks up any sound even with the levels at 100. Even when showing disconnected/disabled devices, the only other option is Stereo Mix which, while useful, is, obviously, not what I'm looking for.

The problem seems, to me, to be with the Realtek driver itself. Even when I open up the software, it asks me whether I plugged in a Mic In or Headphone/Headset - there's no option for both, haha.

I understand that Apple works hard to make things easy; I am not looking for an easy way out. All that I want is to be able to solve this mystery. Earbuds with microphones have been around for many years - I don't think it's asking a lot for Windows 10 to be able to natively handle this kind of thing.

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You may think you are not asking much
Jul 21, 2016 9:02AM PDT

But you have proven again why Microsoft needs to do better.

I'm not there to check your work or fix it but if this was mine I'd look for other drivers or just pick up the usual under 8 buck USB audio card with dual connections. One for audio, another for mic.

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PS. Next move?
Jul 21, 2016 9:09AM PDT

If you can't research other drivers, try a call to Lenovo and post in a Lenovo specific forum.

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I'm on live chat support
Jul 21, 2016 9:21AM PDT

with a Lenovo tech right now, but I don't have much confidence in his troubleshooting abilities.

I feel as though my earbud mic worked just fine with my netbook and windows xp...I'm not sure what is different on this computer. But, hey, that's Microsoft for you. Take a perfectly good operating system, render it obsolete, then replace it with a buggy one. Way to go.

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I think you're expecting a lot from Microsoft.
Jul 21, 2016 9:34AM PDT

This industry is one I've been involved with since before the PC. At no point did Microsoft own the PC and as such it's up to the maker or us to resolve driver issues. While I've seen some progress it's been very small in the area of drivers and getting the system to "just work."

There are many users that don't see this and will call it a Microsoft issue.

If you want to run XP, you may. Nothing stops you. But it may test your resolve and more.

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True, but
Jul 21, 2016 9:42AM PDT

I just feel that Win XP was a lot smoother and easier to troubleshoot than Vista, 7, 8, and 10. Actually, I take that back, 7 was fairly smooth compared to the others. My desktop at home runs 7 without any issues at all. I do still run XP on my netbook and it works very well, even with no official support, the only limitation is the hardware which is having difficulty keeping up with ever-more memory/processing intensive programs and websites.


Anyway, I've made some progress on this issue. With the levels turned up to 100 and the microphone boost set to +30.0 dB, I do have some sound on the earbud mic....but only when I hold it directly to my mouth and am almost swallowing it.

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Answer
Need a Info
Jul 20, 2016 10:57PM PDT

Need a Lenovo Idea pad info and Operating System ? with version and Headphone Model ?