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How to connect headphones with a microphone to a computer or laptop

Hello.

Quite a lot of questions always arise with the sound: either it is not there, then it is hard to hear, then the connectors are not the ones to connect the plug, then something else ...

In this article I would like to dwell on the issue of connecting and setting up computer headphones with a microphone (approximately the same as in Fig. 1).

After all, without them it is quite difficult to imagine a normal work at a PC: you will not talk with friends and relatives on the Internet, you will not listen to music or watch a movie in the evening (so as not to disturb anyone), etc.

👉 Background

I recommend the articles below for your reference:

  1. if your sound is too quiet and you want to amplify it;
  2. if you have no sound at all on your computer.

Fig. 1. Headphones with microphone // as an example (not an advertisement!)

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Connecting Headphones: Highlights

Types of connectors and plugs / adapters

The most common classic computer headphones with a microphone have two plugs: green and pink (see Fig. 2). Green is for the signal to the headphones and pink is for the microphone.

Fig. 2.2 plugs on classic computer headphones (also called Mini Jack)

Actually, if you look at the back wall of the computer system unit, you will see 3 connectors (Fig. 3). Their colors are usually always standard: pink (for a microphone), blue (line-in for connecting audio devices), and green (line-out for headphones, speakers, etc.).

👉 By the way, such connectors (as in Fig. 3) may not be available if you do not have an audio card installed on your PC. How to find out its model and determine whether it is installed, you can from this article.

Fig. 3. Outputs on the back of the computer

Actually, if everything is so, you just need not to mix up the colors and connect the plugs to the necessary connectors. It's simple ...

As for laptops, their connector is not always marked with a color: often the headphone or microphone icon is just drawn.

By the way, please note that newer laptops have headset jack (see fig. 4). Those. if there are 2 classic audio outputs, then when you are dealing with a headset jack - it is 1 (there is a characteristic icon on it, see the difference in Fig. 4)!

Fig. 4. Connectors on laptops

If you have classic computer headphones, and your laptop has just such a headset jack, you have several outputs:

  1. buy a special adapter (see fig. 6). It is not expensive, it is sold in many computer stores;
  2. buy a small audio card that plugs into a USB port (there are also cheap options);
  3. you can buy new headset headphones (or exchange with someone 👌);
  4. if you do not need a microphone, you can try to connect the green plug from the headphones to the headset jack. In most cases, the headphones will work for you (although this is not recommended!).

Fig. 5. Different plugs on the headphones

By the way, please note that the plug on the headset has 4 pins (the plug on classic headphones has 3 pins). Even on this basis, you can easily determine what kind of headphones you are buying ...

Fig. 6. An adapter for connecting classic computer headphones to the headset jack (by the way, there are also reverse adapters to connect headset headphones to classic audio outputs)

👉 Another article to help you!

One headphone and microphone input in a laptop - how to connect them

👉 One more moment!

On expensive (most often studio) headphones, a Jack plug is installed (on classic Mini Jack headphones). If you do not have a Jack-connector on your computer / laptop, you can buy a small adapter from Jack to Mini Jack (see Fig. 7) and use these "ears" calmly ...

Fig. 7. Plugs (Jack and Mini Jack). Adapter

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If you have one line-out for headphones and speakers

Sometimes they ask me what to do if you need to connect both headphones and speakers to a computer, but it has one line-out (i.e. one audio jack) on the back wall of the system unit. I will try to give a couple of recommendations in this regard.

1. Use audio output on speakers

Many speakers have dedicated audio jacks for connecting headphones. When you connect headphones to them, the sound in the speakers will disappear. It can turn out not very convenient if suddenly the plug accidentally leaves the socket (especially if it will be in the evening when everyone is asleep ✌). Therefore, see the second option.

Audio jack on speakers for connecting headphones

2. Buy a splitter (special adapter)

You can connect speakers and headphones in parallel to the audio jack (splitter, see screenshot below). Using a bifurcator, in my opinion, has its advantages:

  • sound goes to both speakers and headphones at the same time;
  • if you do not need speakers, just turn them off (this way, even if the headphone plug comes out of the socket, there will be no noise from the speakers!);
  • the price of the issue is a penny ...

Bifurcator

3. Use the front panel on the system unit

On some system units, on the front panel, there are additional multimedia connectors (if there is no such panel, you can also get it, many service centers easily connect it). Actually, you can easily connect both headphones and a microphone to such a socket (and much more useful 👌).

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Checking the drivers for the audio card

We will assume that we have sorted out directly with the plugs and connectors, the "wires" are now connected 👌. The next step is to check and configure the drivers.

And I must say that drivers sometimes cause a lot of problems with sound. Drivers, most often, simply do not exist, or the version is not up to date, causing conflicts.

To see if there is a driver in the system for your audio card - open device Manager (to do this, press the WIN + R key combination and enter the devmgmt.msc command).

Fig. 8. How to open the device manager // WIN + R (Run window).

Then open the tab "Sound, game and video devices" - there should be the name of your audio card (in my case "Conexant SmartAudio HD").

Fig. 9. Sound, game and video devices

If a yellow exclamation mark is lit in front of your device, then there is no driver in the system. By the way, usually those devices for which there are no drivers are located in the tab "Other devices" .

Fig. 10. There is no driver for the audio device! Needs to be updated!

When it comes to updating your drivers, I recommend reading the articles below. I already had such thematic articles on my blog, I will not repeat myself ...

👉 To help!

1) How to install a driver for sound. Search for audio drivers (for example, Realtek).

2) Programs for updating drivers - my selection of software.

3) How to install drivers on a computer, laptop.

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Configuring Windows and Audio Driver. No sound from headphones

If the plug from the headphones is correctly connected (to the correct connector), the drivers are installed - you should already have sound (albeit not very high quality yet). If you have absolutely no sound, I also recommend 👉 to read the materials of this article.

The first thing to do is check the volume control on the headphones themselves. Such a regulator is found on most computer "ears" (see Fig. 11).

Fig. 11. Turn on / off the microphone; turn up / turn down the volume

Then pay attention to the volume level: click on the sound icon in the tray. Often such a banal thing is the reason for the absence of sound ...

Fig. 12. Turn up the volume

After that, I recommend that you also check the volume mixer (it is quite possible that you have turned down the sound in a specific application). To open it - just right-click on the sound icon in the tray, in the menu that appears, select "Volume mixer", as in fig. 13.

Fig. 13. Open Volume Mixer

In the screenshot of the volume mixer in Fig.14, for example, system sounds are reduced (more precisely, even disabled). For an initial check and adjustment, I recommend moving all the sliders higher.

Fig. 14. Volume Mixer - Turn Up Everything!

After that, open the 👉 Windows Control Panel section "Hardware and Sound" (relevant for Windows 7/8/10). In this section, open the tab "Sound" , see fig. fifteen.

Fig. 15. Open the SOUND tab

In it, be sure to check that there is a green checkmark in front of your playback device - i.e. it was selected by default!

Note: the default device for playing sound can be selected by Windows, which is generally disabled! And then, there will be no sound!

If you do not know which device to make by default for playing sound - try each one, one by one, having previously turned on some song / movie ...

To check the sound quality - select the desired device: right-click on it, and select from the menu "Check" ... A short melody should sound first from one speaker, then from the second.

Fig. 16. Checking speakers, headphones

👉 And one more thing!

Don't forget to check and configure the audio settings in your audio drivers. You can open their settings using the tray icon (next to the clock, if there is an icon there), or in the control panel in the "Hardware and Sound" section, as in fig. 17.

Fig. 17. Configuring audio drivers

Actually, the driver setting itself will depend on the specific manufacturer. It is rather difficult to give any specific recommendations here ...

An example of such a fine tuning of the headphones is shown in Fig. 18: you can turn down the volume of the left or right "ear", set the headphone and microphone volume, check the operation of the audio jacks, set the desired sound effect and much more ...

Fig. 18. Smart Audio - fine tuning the sound

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Microphone check

Your interlocutor does not hear you well (or does not hear at all), there are extraneous noises, hissing, etc. "delights" - and other problems may be due to the fact that the microphone is not fine-tuned in Windows and the application for conversations that you are using (Skype, Viber, etc.).

In Windows, you can configure the microphone in the "Sound" tab (you can open it in the control panel, in the section "Hardware and Sound" ). To set the main parameters - open the properties of the microphone, see fig. nineteen.

Fig. 19. Microphone properties

In general, I recently had an article on my blog on checking and configuring a microphone in Windows, so I will not repeat myself here (link to the article below).

👉 To help!

How to check the microphone on the headphones (something is hard to hear me ...).

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Additions in comments are welcome ...

Well, that's all, all quick and successful settings.

Good luck!

👋

First publication: 17.11.2017

Correction: 02/15/2020

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