Headphones microphone not detecting voice

[Jack Makinson]

Running Linux Mint 18.0 (Sarah) on a HP Star Wars Special Edition w/ an Intel i5-6200U CPU and 16GB of RAM. It has an HDA Intel PCH Microphone running a ALSA k4.4.0_21_generic driver.



I’m using a set of SADES SA-708 headset w/integrated mic.



The issue I’m having is I use Kazam (Desktop Recording) software. It seems to be recording except when I play the video back there’s no sound. I use Totem (Video Playback) and notice the sound defaults to mute. I’ve attached some screenshots of my sound settings to illustrate the issue.



Do I need a new set of headphones……. J/k



Any help as always greatly appreciated.



Jack

 

[Rob]

I actually would try another headset just to rule that out - it appears that you have the common settings correct according to your screenshots..

Headset not muted inline right?

Rob

 

[Jack Makinson]

Right Rob, microphone is not muted on the headset. I suspect your right about trying another set of them. Thanks for the quick response.

Jack

 

[Rob]

Did you try another headset yet? Got me wondering if that was the issue

 

[JasKinasis]

The mic jack is a pretty standard piece of kit. If you plug a microphone into the mic port, it should be detected and used. No special drivers are required for these types of devices AFAIK.

The only potential problems could be if the cable going to the microphone is broken somewhere, or if the induction coil/piezo on the microphone itself is damaged/broken. In which case, you'd need a new headset.

According to the input settings page in your screen-shot, the internal mic IS showing a level for something. So it looks like it IS getting some audio in from somewhere.

However, is the internal mic even the correct device?
Surely the mic is on the headset would be connected to the external mic jack, not the internal mic? Hmmm......

I think the first port of call would be to go to the audio input settings page and try gently tapping the mic on the headset and the internal mic on the PC/Laptop.
Watch the orange 'input level' bar for any movement that co-incides with your tapping and verify which microphone you are actually seeing the settings for.

Try that and let us know what you find.

If you ARE seeing input from the headset mic in the settings page, then it is most likely a problem with Kazam not recording audio from the correct source.

If you ARE NOT seeing input from the headset mic, we need to determine WHY you can't see the settings for the headset mic. In this case - one option might be to install alsamixer (an audio mixer which runs on the command-line) and see what audio inputs/outputs it lists. The fix MIGHT be as simple as unmuting/increasing the input level for the external mic from alsamixer....