Is the Mic button in my headphones not working?
Is the Mic button in my headphones not working?
I recently bought my own PC and ran into some quick issues. But the most important thing to me is that Soundcore Q35 headphones don't detect any input sounds when I use them with a wire instead of Bluetooth. I've tried every audio jack on the PC, front and back, and nothing worked. Even if I try Bluetooth, I have to really smack or tap my fingers against the outer shell of the ear cup where the internal mic is located until I get two tiny green bars showing that it recognizes some input. I've updated my drivers and Audio software, graphics... I'm running on the latest Windows 11 update. I also upgraded my MSI motherboard to the latest BIOS (though not in beta). These headphones have no such problem on my iPhone, of course! The mic isn't great but it does pick up my voice via Bluetooth if I speak at a normal volume. However, using the wire I could be whispering and still hear me very clearly. Any help or advice on anything I haven't already tried would be awesome. Thanks... edit: Just to note that even after going back to Windows 10 with everything updated, it doesn't work either, so please don't blame Windows 11! I know many people dislike the (Win11) OS but it's not really helpful and I've tried with a pair of Apple earpods wired too, same issue for them.
So based on what you're saying, do these headphones work by putting a microphone into a wired connection? If that's the case, then it sounds like the main reason I can figure this out is because you probably aren't using a combo jack on your computer and instead are just plugging in regular headphones that only send sound without receiving audio. You might need to use one of these things: either get a special connector that fits both the headphones and mic, which isn't very common on desktop computers especially when mixing off-the-shelf parts, or you could buy a USB device that gives you a combo jack so you can plug your headset into the back of the motherboard into those headphone and mic ports. BUT!!! You might also not even be using your microphone at all while plugged in by wire, and...
So if what you are saying is true, do these headphones let you use the mic through a wire? If so, then I can probably guess that you aren't using a combo jack on your computer, but instead a regular headphone jack where only output works and no input exists. You might need to buy a combo jack (which isn't common on desktops or custom builds), or get a USB device with a combo jack, or use a splitter to turn the combo into separate headphone and mic cables for the motherboard's ports. HOWEVER!!!! Also, you might not even be using the mic on your iPhone when it is in wired mode. The reason I say that is because most headphones like these only let you use the mic through blue tooth, and when you connect with a cable you are just in headphone mode only. You could very well be using the built-in phone microphone instead. To check if the cable even has three rings on it, look closely at the connector: two thicker rings mean left and right for music, and one smaller ring means mic. If there is no third ring, that cable doesn't support this feature at all, so neither does the headphones. If you have three rings, make sure your iPhone is using the mic by turning off blue tooth on your phone, connecting with the cable, then testing with a friend over a call or something to see which one makes the noise and which one stays quiet.
Thanks for your help! Yes, you were right when you said that first. I did keep looking for reasons afterward and bought a female Trrs to two male Trs Y splitter cable, and it works great now. Of course, there are no controls on the apple earbuds because apparently Apple made their own kind of CTIA connection that includes volume and control buttons. But the microphone still works fine!