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Eliminate background noise in Skype. How to remove microphone hiss on Skype

Having an audio microphone is an important component on every PC. After all, almost every second communication application requires a microphone. Therefore, you always need to be ready to communicate with relatives, loved ones or work colleagues.

Thus, this article will explain how to enable the microphone on a Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 laptop. Apart from this, we will also cover how to configure and fix common microphone problems.

How to enable the microphone on a computer, laptop Windows 7, 8/8.1 and 10?

Initially, you need to decide which microphone is installed on your device; it can be a built-in microphone or an external microphone. In the case of a built-in microphone, there is no need to turn it on. But, there are cases when malfunctions occur in the operation of sound recording devices.

So, below we will look at the steps by which you can enable the microphone on Windows 7, 8/8.1 and 10.

  • Click on the Windows icon and wait for the main window to appear. You need to find and click on "Control Panel".
  • In the new window you need to select a section "Equipment and Sound".

  • In the audio equipment section, select "Changing system sounds."

  • In the window "Sound" in subsection "Record", you need to find the muted microphone. An inactive microphone will have a black and white image and a mark that says "Disabled".

  • Activate the microphone by right-clicking and selecting "Turn on".

  • Ready! You have activated the microphone. Now try to say a phrase and you will notice green bars appear on the right. This means your microphone is ready to use.

How to set up an external microphone on a computer, laptop Windows 7, 8/8.1 and 10?

For example, if you purchased an external microphone and want to adjust the sound recording quality and set it to default, then for this we have prepared detailed instructions, which you will learn about below.

  • In the taskbar, right-click on the sound icon, and then select "Recording Devices".

  • In the image below we have shown how the built-in microphone and external microphone are displayed in recording devices.

  • By default, the built-in microphone is set as the main microphone. In order for an external microphone to become the main (conversational) microphone, click on its icon, and then click on the button "Default".

  • Now the external microphone is set as the main microphone.

How to record your voice on a computer from a microphone on Windows 7, 8/8.1 and 10?

In order to record any playback or voice from a microphone on your computer/laptop, you need to use the appropriate utility from Windows. Below we have listed a few steps that will help you record your voice on your computer.

  • Click "Start">"All programs"> "Standard"> "Sound recording".Be sure to make sure that the microphone is connected to the PC.

  • After pressing the button "Start recording" the sound will be recorded. Once you finish a speech or phrase and want to stop recording, press "Stop recording".
  • Then a window will appear asking you to select a directory to save the recording. Set the audio file to the desired name and then click on the button "Save".

  • Now double click on the audio file to listen to it. If the sound is clear and does not hum, it means that the microphone is configured properly. Otherwise, move on to the next section of the article, which talks about what to do if the microphone is humming or hard to hear.

What to do if the microphone is humming on a computer or laptop running Windows 7, 8/8.1, 10?

So, if you have problems such as extraneous backgrounds, hissing and other interference, then this indicates that the microphone is not configured correctly.

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to fix the microphone background noise problem:

  • First you need to open the audio hardware settings panel and then go to the section "Record".

  • You need to click on the microphone icon and select "Properties".
  • Then go to the subsection "Listen", and check the box next to “Listen to this device.”
  • Now go to "Levels" and adjust the microphone volume slider until there is no more background noise. Don't forget that as you lower the volume level, your voice will become less audible and you will have to speak louder. You can also use the microphone volume boost function, but do not set the volume more than 12 dB, otherwise interference will inevitably occur.

  • Once you are done with adjusting the microphone volume, go to the section "Improvements." Activate the settings as necessary, and also do not forget to enable the function "Emergency mode" to listen to the changes live.

  • After all changes, click on the button "OK" so that all changes to the microphone settings are saved.

What to do if your computer or laptop does not see the microphone on Windows 7, 8/8.1, 10?

Many inexperienced users have encountered a similar problem. But in this situation there are two problems:

  • Hardware
  • Software

Reason and solution No. 1. The microphone is not connected correctly

Initially, it is important to make sure that the microphone is connected to the appropriate jack on your PC. As you know, there is a pink port for the microphone. But one way or another, the equipment must be connected according to the colors. For example, green to green, blue to blue, etc. This way, you will be sure that the microphone is connected correctly.

Reason and solution No. 2. Microphone is muted in the sound panel

If the first solution did not help you and your microphone is still not working, then the second method will definitely save you from this problem.

  • Open the audio hardware panel, and right-click on an empty area. Then click on the item "Show disabled devices."

  • After this, you will see that your microphone, which previously seemed not to be visible to Windows, is simply disabled. Right-click on the microphone icon, and then click on the button "Turn on".

Video: 5 ways to remove noise and background from your microphone!

During a conversation on Skype, it is not uncommon to hear background and other extraneous noise. That is, you, or your interlocutor, can hear not only the conversation, but also any noise in the other subscriber’s room. If sound interference is added to this, then the conversation generally turns into torture. Let's figure out how to remove background noise and other sound interference in Skype.

First of all, in order to minimize the negative impact of extraneous noise, you need to adhere to certain conversation rules. At the same time, both interlocutors must comply with them, otherwise the effectiveness of actions is sharply reduced. Follow these guidelines:

  • If possible, place the microphone away from the speakers;
  • Be as close to the microphone as possible;
  • Keep the microphone away from various noise sources;
  • Make the sound of the speakers as quiet as possible: not louder than necessary to hear the interlocutor;
  • If possible, eliminate all sources of noise;
  • If possible, use a specialized plug-in headset instead of built-in headphones and speakers.

Adjusting Skype settings

At the same time, to minimize the influence of background noise, you can adjust the settings of the program itself. We sequentially go through the Skype application menu items – “Tools” and “Settings...”.

Here we will work with the settings in the “Microphone” block. The fact is that by default Skype automatically adjusts the microphone volume. This means that when you speak softer, the volume of the microphone increases, when you speak louder, it decreases, and when you become silent, the volume of the microphone reaches its maximum, and therefore it begins to pick up all the extraneous noise that fills your room. Therefore, uncheck the “Allow automatic microphone setup” setting and move its volume control to the position you need. It is recommended to install it approximately in the center.

Reinstalling drivers

If your interlocutors constantly complain about excessive noise, then you should try reinstalling the recording device drivers. In this case, you only need to install the microphone manufacturer's drivers. The fact is that sometimes, especially often when updating the system, the manufacturer's drivers can be replaced by standard Windows drivers, and this has a rather negative effect on the operation of the devices.

Original drivers can be installed from the device’s installation disk (if you still have one), or downloaded from the manufacturer’s official website.

If you follow all the recommendations described above, this is guaranteed to help reduce the level of background noise. But, do not forget that sound distortion may also be caused by problems on the side of the other subscriber. In particular, it may have faulty speakers, or problems with the computer's sound card drivers.

After reinstalling Windows 7, I noticed that my microphone began to record with a lot of noise and crackling. I kept blaming my simple microphone that came with the headset and the sound card that is built into the . I recently bought a better microphone and decided to check it out and to my surprise the recording did not improve at all, quite the opposite. I immediately realized that something was wrong here. I searched the Internet for a solution to the problem. It turned out to be very simple - outdated drivers were installed on the Realtek sound card.

In general, I updated the drivers for the sound card and then the “Improvements” tab appeared in the microphone settings, where you could set noise suppression and several more options to significantly reduce noise when recording.

Now let's talk in more detail about how you can do all this if you have The microphone is very noisy. Let me make a reservation right away that I will show it using Windwos 7 Professional as an example, because... This is the system installed on my computer.

First of all, check the driver version of your audio device. Right-click on the “My Computer” icon -> Properties -> Device Manager -> then open the list of Sound, video and game devices, right-click on the driver of your sound device and select “Properties”.

In the window that opens, switch to the “Driver” tab and just below we find the line “Date of development”. If you have a date there, say, 2009 or 2011, then most likely your driver is outdated and needs to be updated.

To update the driver in the same window, switch to the “Information” tab and in the “Property” drop-down list, select “Hardware ID” and in the “Value” field copy (right click -> Copy) the first value in . The next thing we will do is go to the website http://devid.info/ru. In the search field, enter the code of our driver from the clipboard (Ctrl + V). Click on search and select the driver for your OS from the results. Download the driver and install. After this, the system may ask to reboot. Let's reboot. Now, if we go to the information about our driver, we will see that the driver development date is already much more recent. My development year changed to 2013 and a speaker icon of a different color appeared in the tray.

Now, to apply noise reduction options, let's go to the sound recording settings. To do this, go to the control panel (Start -> Control Panel), go to the “Sound” category. If you cannot find this category, then switch the viewing mode to “Large icons”. In the window that opens, switch to the “Recording” tab, right-click on the microphone and select “Properties”.

Another window will open and here we see the “Improvements” tab. Switch to this tab. We have available options such as: DC removal, noise suppression, beamforming, echo suppression. Here you can play with these options and see how the sound recording changes. For me personally, checking the boxes for “noise reduction” and “echo suppression” was enough.

Alternatively, you can go to the “Advanced” tab and select the “2 channel, 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD)” format.

That's all. Thank you for your attention. Bye everyone...

PC users and people in show business have more than once encountered a problem that forced them to rack their brains for a long time and look for ways to solve it. What are we talking about? About the noise and feedback that occurs when using a microphone. And it doesn’t matter whether the device is built into your laptop or whether it’s expensive recording equipment. Due to its physical properties, the membrane that captures sound perceives interference in one way or another. This becomes an unpleasant moment when talking via IP telephony, audio recording, or simply when performing on stage. Today we will try to figure out how to remove noise from a microphone.

Required Tools

First, let's look at methods that allow you to avoid noise when using a computer. So, for this the user needs to have:

  • basic skills in working with a sound manager;
  • skill in using the program;
  • ability to configure a voice transmission program (Skype, Google Hangouts, ooVoo, etc.).

Below are instructions on how to suppress microphone noise.

Why is there a noise?

There are several reasons why interference occurs. The first thing you need to understand is that various programs on a PC physically cannot generate noise. That is, in the vast majority of cases they arise through the fault of the user himself. One of the most common causes of noise when using various IP telephony services is the poor quality of the Internet connection. Although voice transmission programs usually do not require a powerful communication channel, it is necessary to have at least an average connection speed. Too “weak” Internet causes not only poor sound quality, but also frequent disconnections. How to remove noise from the microphone in this case? The answer is very simple - increase your connection speed. To do this, during a communication session, you must disable the downloading of media files and torrents. If the connection speed is initially low, then it makes sense to switch to a faster tariff plan or change provider.

Noise due to a faulty microphone

The next most common reason is problems with the equipment itself. First you should check that the microphone is working properly. If you are dealing with a PC microphone, then to do this you need to launch any sound recording program (a simple utility is included in the Windows OS). To do this, in Windows XP, go to the "Start" menu - "Programs" - "Accessories" and in the "Entertainment" section find the "Sound Recorder" program. If you have Windows 7 or 8 installed, then this is even easier. Click and enter the word “sound recording” in the search field. Launch the program. With its help, a short segment of your speech is recorded, after which the sound quality is checked.

If noise is heard in the recording you made, then you need to deal with the microphone itself. The right solution in this case may be to use another device. But if you don’t have this at hand, you can make do with improvised means. You need to make a foam or fur ball around the microphone (like TV news reporters). Also make sure that the microphone is not too far away when speaking. If it is placed outside its sensitivity zone, then the likelihood of interference increases significantly.

Error in drivers and settings

The last cause of noise is software errors. How to remove noise from a microphone if the previous two methods did not work? You need to reinstall the drivers. Usually the disk comes with the motherboard (if the card is built-in) or in the box itself. For Realtek audio cards, you can enable noise and echo suppression. To do this, go to the “Microphone” tab in the sound control panel, and check the boxes next to the appropriate parameters.

Another effective solution could be to reduce the sensitivity of the microphone, because it is possible that it simply captures much more than it should. To do this, in the Internet telephony program you are using, you need to find the “Sound Settings” menu. In the window that opens, you should adjust the volume slider (you may have it in the maximum position).

We perform on stage or record

How to remove noise from a microphone while performing or working in a recording studio? Before performing live, you should pre-set your microphone. To do this, you should select the optimal ratio of sensitivity and volume controls. Often noise occurs because the input signal strength slider is set too high. That is, it makes sense to reduce the signal sensitivity.

If it was not possible to get rid of extraneous sounds and they are audible in the recording, then a program for suppressing microphone noise will help. Its algorithm will reliably remove the entire sound spectrum that has a volume less than the specified one. This way, noise will be removed from the audio track, while the voice and musical instruments will remain intact. Now you know how to remove background noise from a microphone.

Skype is a modern means of communication, thanks to which you can communicate with friends around the world. To make calls. You need a microphone and headphones or speakers. For video communication – an additional webcam. The quality of communication is a very important parameter and depends on many factors. A frequently occurring problem for most users is that the microphone hisses on Skype during a conversation. In the article you will find step-by-step steps, following which you will learn how to remove background noise in Skype.

If you or the person you're talking to hears too much noise or interference when talking on Skype, the problem is almost always caused by the speakers, background noise, or your microphone. Especially the microphone. The higher its sensitivity, the more sounds it picks up, which creates interference in Skype.

Before you do anything serious, try turning down the volume on your speakers. If you communicate without headphones, the sound from the speakers may be picked up by the microphone, and your interlocutor will hear his own echo. In most cases, this helps clear up the noise on Skype. If the noise still persists or you don't have external volume controls, check the audio levels on your computer.

Step 1

Type "sound" in the Start search bar, and then click "Sound" in the results. The Sound Options window will open.

Step 2

Go to the Playback tab in the Sound window if you hear too much noise at the end of a Skype call. Select the speakers or headphones you use for Skype, then click the Properties button.

Step 3

Go to the Levels tab in the Headphones or Speakers window. Levels use a scale from zero to 100. Drag the slider to the left to decrease speaker and microphone volume. Click Apply, then OK.

Step 4

Go to the Microphone tab in the Sound window. Your microphone may pick up ambient sounds in the room during a call. Select the microphone you're using, click Properties, and go to the Levels tab.

Step 5

Move the speakers or microphone so that they are at least 30 cm apart from each other. If a microphone picks up sound from a speaker, it can cause a feedback loop, creating increasing background hum and noise.

Drag the Gain slider to 0.0 dB if it is not zero. Now drag the Microphone slider to any level between 80 and 90, Click Apply, then OK. Check the connection quality. If you are not satisfied with the quality and it was not possible to remove noise in Skype, repeat the procedure by moving the “Gain” slider one position forward.

You can check the settings by making a test Skype call (Echo sound test) or by calling and talking to another person for a few seconds, then go back and change the levels if necessary. If the sound is fine and the microphone is no longer noisy, you can close the Sound window and enjoy your Skype call.

Gradually increase sensitivity while checking the quality of communication. The purpose of boost is to make weak sound audible and remove microphone hiss. Set the level at which your voice can be heard clearly with minimal noise.

Note: Before calibrating the microphone, move it so that it is closer to your lips and further away from any potential source of noise, such as a PC cooler or TV. Many microphones are directional in nature, so if the microphone is on a short cable, try muting or removing the noise source from the room if possible to resolve the problem.

Step 6

Close any applications on your computer that may be using your bandwidth. If your internet is slow or your bandwidth is almost completely saturated, this can cause strange distortions in your voice during your call, and this can cause the words to be unintelligible and also lag behind the video or vice versa.

If you're using Windows 10, it's worth pausing updates, especially if you have a slow internet connection, as they take up a lot of your bandwidth.

Step 7

If the above steps do not help and you cannot remove background noise in Skype, you should make sure that your equipment is working properly. If the microphone wheezes, this may indirectly indicate a hardware problem with the recording device. In this case, the sound from your speakers wheezes. Try connecting a different microphone to your computer, calibrate it using the tips above, and try the ping test again. If the problem is resolved, then you should replace the microphone.

Ask the person you are talking to to check their microphone and speakers if you are sure that the problem is not with you, but with the other person.

Now you know what to do if your microphone is buzzing on Skype. These are the main ways to troubleshoot call quality and microphone noise issues. They work on both Windows 10 and other operating systems, including Android.