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

Good day!

After buying a new laptop, many people wonder why there is one connector (input) on the case for connecting headphones and a microphone (before there were always two of them, and even more ...).

The fact is that in many modern laptop models it is installedheadset connector (it is also sometimes called combined).

Manufacturers save space on the case of a mobile device, and users again have to buy adapters and puzzle over how to connect ordinary computer headphones to such a connector ☝.

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

So...

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How to distinguish a headset jack from a classic

First, I want to show how the headset jack is indicated on the laptop case. If before there were 2 inputs (at least): on one of them 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 such an icon on the case of your device - then you are 100% dealing with a headset jack. Naturally, you cannot connect ordinary computer headphones with a microphone * (such as in photo 3. These are probably the most common headphones for a PC).

Photo 3. Computer "ears"

* Theoretically, you can connect ordinary headphones to the headset jack. However, in some cases, the headphones do not work correctly!

Note!

If you buy new headphones for a laptop and do not want to fall into a hole - pay attention to plug at the headphones. For headset the connector on it should be 4 pins (see photos 4 and 5)! If the headphones have 3 contacts, then they are for the classic (and familiar to everyone) audio input.

Photo 4.4 pins on the plug (for headset jack)

Photo 5.3 pins on the plug (for normal audio input)

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

Direct connection

If you don't need a microphone, you can try connecting the headphones to the headset jack - in most cases, the headphones will work for you (note: you don't need to connect the red audio plug from the microphone 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 ...

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). By the way, it is convenient to order such a "trifle" in Chinese online stores.

👉 To help!

Chinese online stores in Russian (where the cheapest products are)

Photo 6. Adapter

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 ordinary headphones and a microphone to the headset jack, the outputs are marked with green (headphones) and red (microphone) colors (see photo 6 above ☝).

Using an external sound card

If you don't like your built-in sound card (with one headset jack), you can buy an external one that connects to the 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.

👉 To help!

You can buy such a "baby" on AliExpress.

Photo 6.1 Audio Card

Perhaps only a couple of disadvantages:

  • such a sound card is more expensive than an adapter, and even more expensive than many cheap headset headphones;
  • one USB port will be busy (which is critical on a laptop, for example).

Note!

Despite the small size of the sound card - many of them can deliver sound quality higher than your built-in sound card.

Photo 7. Using an external card on a laptop

Alternative : using a bluetooth or wifi 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 ...

👉 To help!

How to connect wireless headphones (via Bluetooth) - see instructions

Photo 7.1 Example of headphones without wires (headset included)

There are several downsides:

  • are more expensive than conventional headphones;
  • there are batteries that will need to be charged.

Photo 8. Wi-Fi headset

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Connecting headset headphones to the normal 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 is less common than the first one 😎.

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 a laptop, an example is shown in the photo below).

True, such an adapter is less common than its "reverse" counterparts - it is easier to find and order in an online store (in my opinion 👀).

Photo 9. Another adapter

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That's all for now. Add-ons will always come in handy!

Happy and fast connection!

Until!

👋

First publication: 16.12.2016

Correction: 01/05/2020

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