How to connect an external microphone to a laptop. What a horror this is!!! What to do if your laptop only has one input for headphones and microphone

Many laptop models already have a built-in microphone and audio speakers. The capabilities of a laptop computer's sound card allow you to additionally connect other external audio devices. Connecting a headset to a laptop is much simpler than to a computer; there is no need to install drivers or configure devices. However, sometimes users experience difficulty connecting them.

First, take a look at the side of the laptop. The sound card on it has two line outputs for connecting a microphone and headphones. They may be marked with a color, but more often with a corresponding icon. If the marking on the input is green, then this is a headphone input. The headphone plug is also marked green. Take the plug by the housing and insert it into the jack with the headphone symbol or marked in green. When connecting headphones, it is not necessary to turn off the laptop; the main thing is not to touch the connector with your hand.

Connect the microphone to the pink connector on your laptop's video card or the one with the headphone icon. The pin plug of the headphones is also marked in pink. Both devices are connected and ready to use.

In the Windows 7 operating system, setting up sound recording and playback is quite simple. Follow the sequence of actions: “Start” – “Control Panel” – “Hardware and Sound” – “Sound”. On the “Playback” tab, select “Speakers” by double-clicking. Now you can turn the device on and off, and adjust balance levels.

Adjust the audio playback volume. To do this, do all the above steps and in the “Hardware and Sound” menu, select “Volume Settings”. Another way is to adjust the sound volume using the Speakers icon. It is located in the “Taskbar” on the right side.

Configure audio recording settings. Enter the "Main Menu" using the "Start" button. Then go to the “All Programs” - “Accessories” folder, find “Sound Recorder”. Click the Start Recording button. Make a test recording using a microphone. Then, on the sound recording panel, click “Stop Recording.” You will be prompted to save the resulting sound file - select a folder to save the file, enter its name, then “Save”. Check the recording using any installed player.

In other, earlier versions of Windows, connecting and configuring additional audio input/output devices is a little more complicated. To make settings, similar to the previous points, perform a series of actions: go to the “Standard” folder, find the “Entertainment” folder, in this folder you will need to manipulate the “Volume”, “Record”, “Sound Recording” menus.

When connecting speakers and a microphone to a laptop, driver installation is usually not required. When the device is connected to its jack, it will identify itself and a message will pop up on the screen on the right side indicating that the microphone has been detected and is ready for use. If this does not happen, install the device driver from the disk that comes with it, or download it from the Internet.

When buying a new device, things don't always go smoothly. First of all, you need to listen to how the microphone sounds and what its volume is. Simple instructions will help you connect the correct input and debug the settings.

Correctly connect the headphones to your computer or laptop. If you have two wires, there will be a red jack for the microphone, and a green jack for the headphones. If there is only one wire, then simply insert it into the black connector. On laptops, there is usually an earpiece and a microphone above the input.

For professional headphones, you will need a preamplifier. But such models rarely have a microphone. Therefore, if your headset turns out to be studio-class, consult with the seller or company representative and find out if you need an adapter.

Go to Start – Control Panel.

Find the line “Hardware and Sound”, click on it.

A new menu will open in front of you. Select “Sound”.

In the window that appears, click on the “Record” tab. Very important: if you do not see a connected microphone in the window, then most likely the device drivers have not been installed. Update your audio drivers, then manually search the Internet for drivers specifically for your headset model. If after this the device is not displayed, check that the connection is correct.

Select the microphone and click “Properties”.

In the new window, select “Listen”, then check the box next to “listen from this device”. Confirm by clicking “OK”.

Now you can hear yourself and analyze the sound quality of your microphone. If you are satisfied with everything, the setup is complete. If not, go to point 7.

To increase or decrease the microphone volume, as well as adjust the noise, go to the “Levels” tab. The topmost line with a slider allows you to adjust the volume. Bottom gain, which can suppress or reduce noise, be careful when adjusting this option. Confirm your choice by clicking on the “OK” button.

Your headphone microphone is now tuned and ready to use. Don't forget to update your sound card drivers on time.

You can learn several new ways from the video:

Don't know how to properly connect headphones and a microphone to a computer/laptop and configure them on Windows 7/8.1?
Or have you encountered difficulties in configuring your audio devices?

Choose the step you're stuck on or start from scratch if you can't figure out the connectors.
All information is given step by step in the content.

The first stage is preparatory. Let's consider two types of 3.5mm connector: combined and “separate”

Exists two type of audio connectors ( 3.5mm): combined and “separate” (standard). You can read more about the differences between them here:,.

If you are using USB headphones and microphone, connect them to anyone working port (preferably version 2.0 - gray) and immediately proceed to configuration.

First you need to determine where to insert the devices. To do this, we need to understand what type of equipment we are dealing with. Let's take three configurations of audio equipment, which we will subsequently focus on:

Headphones and microphone – one device, the wire contains directly two plug (usually red and green). On the “jack” itself there is a pair of contact pads (circular strips) for the left and right ears, respectively;
Headphones and microphone - also one device. It differs from the equipment from the first point in that it only has the only one plug. However, on the “jack” there are three contact “strips” for the left and right ears, as well as for powering the microphone. Typically this connection scheme is used in mobile headsets;
Microphone and headphones are two individual devices that independently exist without each other (as in the first case, there are only two contacts).

Please note: regular system speakers 2.0 And 2.1 (a subwoofer is added) are connected to the same jack as the headphones. Columns 5.1 , basically imply installation via a standard 3.5mm"jack" and the so-called "tulips"(RCA). To do this you need a special sound card that supports 5.1.
“Live” examples of each of the points are shown below.

Figure 1. Three types of audio devices.
Next, we will look at connecting each of the listed configurations depending on the available audio outputs on your computer or laptop.

What do separate audio outputs look like?

The first picture shows ordinary“Jack” connectors (typical for computers using built-in and external sound cards). Figure 2. Separate jack connectors.

The structure of the connectors itself may be slightly different, this is not so important. The main feature of separate audio outputs is separate connection headphones and microphone (red and green port, respectively). Let's consider the installation of various equipment (configurations).

The headphone plugs with microphone are connected to the corresponding connectors on your motherboard/case/laptop;
Combined devices (headset) are connected only through a special adapter. Otherwise, the microphone simply will not work;
Individual devices: “red port” – microphone, “green port” – headphones.

With the right approach, the equipment will work. Now you can go directly to at a construction site sound. To do this, go to the chapter "".

What does a combined audio output look like?

The second picture shows combined or a “combined” audio output connector (typical of most inexpensive/thin modern laptops).
Figure 3. Combined audio output in a laptop.
Please note that this type of connector is not common.

You can connect a microphone and headphones separately or combined devices (for example, a mobile headset) to this audio output. Connection principle - compared to first type audio output - has changed a little (consider our configurations):

Equipment with two plugs is now connected via a special adapter. Otherwise, you can “force” only one of the two parts of the device to work (on a laptop it is better to choose headphones, since the microphone is usually built-in);
The combined device is fully operational;
Here, as in the first case, it is recommended to select headphones for connection.

After choosing the best option and carrying out a simple procedure for connecting devices “via connectors,” proceed to the next chapter. It will describe some of the subtleties of sound settings using Windows 7 as an example.

The second stage is sound configuration. How to set up headphones/microphone on a computer with Windows 7/8.1

Setting up standard 3.5mm headphones

Let's move onto setupaudio devices.
If you are using headphones with a standard jack ( 3.5mm), That, when connected correctly, the sound will automatically appear in the headphones and disappear from the speakers. No sound from both speakers and headphones? Go to the chapter "".

Setting up USB headphones (the sound continues to come from the speakers or is absent altogether)

Sometimes you have to turn on USB headphones yourself. Before you start setting up, make sure:

The correct installation of drivers for your audio equipment;
The functionality of the USB port and the headphones themselves;

This quick and simple test will help identify the culprit in your system hardware. If problems are not found or corrected, set USBheadphones as a device "Default" V "Playback devices" . To do this you need:

Right click on the icon sound in the taskbar (bottom line where the clock is located) → select "Playback Devices" . The audio output device settings window will open;

Figure 4. Open “Playback Devices”.

On Figure 4 The icon of disconnected headphones is shown. When you connect for the first time, the icon will be different (standard, like on the speakers). But unlike speakers connected via a regular audio output ( 5mm), the description of USB headphones will be different. Need to find device containing the inscription « Generic USB Audio Device » (or something similar);
Click on this device → click on the button "Default" → "OK" (it is also advisable to change the icon in the properties so as not to get confused in the future).

Ready.
The sound will now go to your USB headphones.
To use the speakers again, unplug the headphones or change the setting.
With further connections, the sound will be automatically output to the “Default” device. If necessary, proceed to setting up the microphone in the next chapter.

Connecting a microphone (built-in, regular 3.5mm or USB) on Windows 7/8.1

If Microphone is not working, let's configure it in the window "Recording Devices" . To do this you need to do the following:

Right-click on the icon "Sound" on the taskbar (where the date and time is) → select "Recording Devices" ;

Figure 5. Open “Recording Devices”.

On Figure 5 two microphones can be seen. In this case: the first one is connected via 5mm connector, and the second is built into the laptop (as a rule, next to the built-in microphone icon there is a “home” phone icon in a green circle).
We need define microphone that we will use (to do this, find them in "Properties" and look at their connectors);
Now you need to give the desired device a value "Default" by clicking on the desired item and pressing the corresponding button.

Ready.
Microphone settings are described in the next paragraph of this chapter.

Setting up a working microphone

If the audio recording equipment is very quiet or vice versa "fonit", you need to configure. To configure the squelch level and test the device, do the following:

Go to "Recording Devices" (described in the previous chapter);
Choose necessary microphone right click → click on "Properties" ;
Go to tab “Listen” → put tick on “Listen to this device” → in the drop-down list, indicate the headphones or speakers that are currently in use. If configured correctly, the voice from the microphone will be output from the selected output device with a certain delay. This way you can hear and evaluate the sound quality and volume of the microphone.

Figure 6. Turn on “wiretapping”.

Now in the tab "Levels" you need to configure the device to ensure maximum quality. Slider « Microphone" responsible for configuration volume equipment, and regulation point "Microphone Boost" – for eliminating outsiders noise and “coverage” of the distance around the microphone (try to choose no more 20 dB, otherwise there may be problems with the “background”);
After setup you need to disable "Listening" from point 3.

The microphone is set.
If you have questions or encounter configuration problems, continue to the next chapter.

The third stage is additional. Solving possible problems connecting and setting up headphones and microphone (no sound on Windows 7)

Typically, when you connect an audio device to the 3.5mm sound is played or recorded automatically. But sometimes things may not work.

To resolve the issue, follow these steps:

Step 1.
Examination performance devices and audio output ports.

If your headphones/microphone don't work, try connecting them to another audio system (for example, to a telephone) to check their serviceability.
If the equipment works correctly, proceed to the next step.

Step 2.
Check

To do this, open it by right-clicking on the sound icon (near the clock) → select "Open Volume Mixer" .

Figure 7. Monitoring the actions of the sliders.
Now play any audio track (or start talking into the microphone). The sliders of the player (browser) and the devices you need should “move.”
If the slider for the speaker you want is not responding, take a closer look.
Step 3 (extreme case).
Reinstall driverssound devices.

Go to "Device Manager" → find the sound card you need → right click on it → “Properties” .

In the tab "Intelligence" select property « Equipment ID" → copy the first line into the search engine → download and install driver from the manufacturer's official website.

Figure 8. Find out the “ID” of our device.
Restart your computer.
In most cases this will solve the problem.
Attention!
If the error occurred after, we recommend that you read the article “” and “Preparing for reinstallation”.
In them you can find a lot of important information on solving problems that have arisen.

Good day!

After purchasing a new laptop, many people wonder why there is only one connector (input) on the case for connecting headphones and a microphone (previously there were always two, or even more).

The fact is that many modern laptop models have a headset (combined) jack. Manufacturers save space on the body of the mobile device, and users again have to buy additional adapters and puzzle over how to connect regular computer headphones to such a connector.

In this article I will consider this question: what, how, why and why...

How to distinguish the headset jack

To begin with, I want to show how the headset jack on the laptop body is designated. If before there were 2 inputs (at least): on one there was a microphone icon, on the other - headphones (see photo 1); then when using the headset jack, you will have a combined icon, and only one (see photo 2).

Photo 1. Laptop - microphone and headphone jack

photo 2. Headset jack

If there is such an icon on the case of your device, then you are 100% dealing with a headset jack. Naturally, you will not connect ordinary computer headphones with a microphone to it (such as in photo 3. Probably the most common headphones for a PC).

Photo 3. Computer “ears”

Note! If you are buying new headphones for your laptop and don’t want to get into trouble, pay attention to the plug on the headphones. For the headset jack it must have 4 contacts (see photos 4 and 5)! If the headphones have 3 contacts, then they are for a regular (and familiar to everyone) audio input.

Photo 4. 4 contacts on the plug (for the headset jack)

Photo 5. 3 contacts on the plug (for a regular audio input)

Connecting regular computer headphones with a microphone to a laptop with a headset jack

1) Direct connection

If you don’t need a microphone, you can try connecting headphones to the headset jack - in most cases the headphones will work for you (note: the red audio plug from the microphone does not need to be connected anywhere) .

In this case, however, there is one significant drawback: you will not be able to communicate with other people, for example, in such a popular application as Skype. Therefore, I still offer other options below...

2) Using a special adapter

The cheapest way is to purchase a special adapter. It is not expensive and is available in almost every major computer store (or audio-video equipment store).

Important! Among the adapters there are those that are just a splitter for audio output: i.e. you can connect to it, for example, two pairs of headphones, or speakers and headphones. As a rule, on adapters for connecting regular headphones and a microphone to the headset jack, the outputs are marked green (headphones) and red (microphone) (see photo below).

Photo 6. Adapter

3) Using an external sound card

If you don't like your built-in sound card, you can buy an external one that connects to a USB port. Many of them are slightly larger than a regular flash drive.

On such a sound card, as a rule, there are several audio inputs, just for a microphone and headphones (speakers). An example of what it looks like is shown in the photo below.

Perhaps only a couple of disadvantages:

Such a sound card costs more than an adapter, and even more than many cheap headsets;
one USB port will be occupied (which, for example, is critical on a laptop).

Note! Despite the small size of the sound card, many of them can produce sound quality higher than your built-in sound card.

Photo 7. Using an external card on a laptop

4) Bluetooth or Wi-Fi headset

Another option is to buy headphones with a microphone that work over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. In this case, you will not need a headset jack on your laptop at all...

There are several disadvantages:

are more expensive than regular headphones;
There are batteries that will need to be charged.

Photo 8. Wi-Fi headset

Connecting headphones to a regular audio input

I decided to say a few words about the opposite situation: what if you have a headset that you want to connect to a laptop that does not have a headset jack?!

In general, this situation occurs less frequently than the first.

In this case, I recommend purchasing an adapter: it consists of one jack (for a headset) and two audio plugs (connected to the connectors on the laptop, an example is shown in the photo below). True, such an adapter is less common than its “reverse” analogues - it’s easier to find and order in an online store (in my opinion).

Photo 9. Another adapter

That's all for me. Good luck and fast connection!

It is not always the case that a new headset connected to a computer starts working automatically after connecting the plug to the correct connector. Often, different OS require additional manipulations to activate the device. Let's look at how to set up a microphone on headphones and then check its functionality via Skype or another program.

Variety of plugs or correcting incorrect connections

Before buying headphones, check how many audio and microphone connectors are in your system unit. Modern computers and laptops have a combined jack that transmits both signals through one input.

Older system units have separate microphone and headphone jacks. In such a situation, you need to purchase a headset with two plugs. They will be in different colors:

pink or red – microphone;
green – headphones.

Recommendations: How to set up headphones for high-quality sound reproduction
, How to properly set the equalizer (for headphones)
How to make a microphone from headphones

They must be connected to the computer by color into the corresponding sockets. If you bought a headset with one wire, but the system unit needs a model with two, you can buy a special adapter. On one side it will have an input for a combination jack, on the other - two outputs with plugs of different colors. The cost of such a cord varies between 300 - 500 rubles.

Connection sequence and settings

When the headset is connected, you need to check if the sound and microphone are working. With the first option everything is simple, just turn on the music. The second one is a little more difficult. To check the functionality of the microphone, you can use:

1. A classic voice recorder that can be installed on any OS. Typically, in Windows, the program can be opened through: Start - Accessories - Voice Recorder. Start recording and find out if the sound works.

2. You can go to the installed Skype program, find the sound test (Echo/Sound Test Service) and run it. However, in this case, the settings of Skype itself may be configured incorrectly.

3. Immediately go to the computer settings and check that the microphone is turned on.

Each OS has its own path to sound settings, but even users with basic PC knowledge should not encounter any difficulties.

How to enable microphone on headphones on Windows XP, 8, 8.1

The microphone activation procedure takes no more than 5 minutes. To do this, after turning on and checking the headset, if it does not work, do the following:

1. Find the sound image in the lower right corner, right-click on it and select “Playback Devices”.

2. The “Playback” subsection will open. Find “Speakers”, right-click and set “Set as default”. There, look for “Speaker Settings” and set “Stereo” in the configurations.
3. Returning to the subsection, find the “Record” column at the top. And do the same with “Microphone”, only instead of settings, select “Properties” and “Levels”, where you set the indicator to the maximum.

4. After such manipulations, check the operation of the headset in a way convenient for you.

If the accessory does not work, double-check that it is connected correctly. As well as the functionality of the device on another computer or mobile phone (if the model has a combined plug). So, you can determine the serviceability of the headphone and microphone jacks themselves in the system unit.

Important! Setting the default settings and volume level are the same everywhere, only the search paths for the window to make changes are different.

Configuration via control panel for all Windows, including 10

The control panel is a window where shortcuts for settings of all main computer functions are displayed, including sound and recording. To open it in Windows XP, 7 or 8, just click on the “Start” button and find the corresponding entry. Then, select “Sounds” and carry out the manipulations listed above.

Headphone wiring

The Windows 10 interface is designed differently, where there is no usual “start”. To get to the settings, do:

press Win+S to open the menu;
find the image of the “house”;
Select Control Panel (desktop app);
in the window that opens: Equipment and sound – sound.

This will take you to the necessary columns for configuration.

"Microphone not detected" error

Sometimes, in order to understand how to set up a microphone on headphones, you first need to “force” the computer to see it. For this:

go to the control panel and find “Device Manager”;
look for the column “sound, gaming and video devices”;
Find the microphone you need, right-click and select “Enable”.

After this, carry out all the manipulations described above and use the microphone in your headphones, if it is working.

Video material on the topic

To make it easier for you to understand the sequence of actions, watch the video about microphone settings on Windows 7.