HP Pavilion Gaming 15 - Audio Driver prioritizing headset microphones over it's own

[KentHouse]

Serial Number: [edited]

Trying to repair realtek audio issues for the past 2 days. Initially the problem was that my microphone was incessantly quiet (basically dead). This was unusual as I later found my laptop was using my headset's 5 year old microphone (basically dead) instead. How did I find this out, I literally clicked one of the buttons on the remote mic controller of the headphone and the Sounds bar spiked right up. Huh.

Before the error occurred, despite using my old apple headphone (that come with that volume control and mic on the right ear piece), I was able to listen to calls/streams fine while able to talk normally into the laptop's onboard microphone. Now it instead prioritizes the headphones inbuilt microphones (which don't work, as in they flat out don't work, they output noise only when you literally scream at the remote mic or press a button).

I have no idea what caused this. After an extensive troubleshooting escapade involving uninstalling/installing/updating the realtek audio drivers. I eventually found a solution which was to uninstall the realtek audio drivers completely and replace them with [High Definition Audio Device]. The tradeoff was that the B&O Play Audio control center no longer works and that audio quality became noticeably worse.4

On an interesting note: Upon using the generic [High Definition Audio Device] two microphone options appeared (one that worked with the headphones and one that did absolutely nothing, I could also manually control the output for audio {whether it be speakers or the plugged in headphones].

This solution obviously didn't appease me, as I wanted to return to original functionality and not replace it with a subpar generic software. So I also took to this HP's Support website for drivers for my computer: https://support.hp.com/gb-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-pavilion-gaming-15-cx0000-laptop-pc/20284020/mod... . I downloaded the audio driver that should come default on my machine as I bought 3 years ago. Installation went smoothly until it stated that the "software not compatible with OS system". So clearly that didn't work either (also yes I did in fact set it to my 64 bit operating system and not 32). 

I'm at a loss. My laptop's microphone now unnecessarily uses the poor microphone of my nearly 5 year old apple headphones over the perfectly functional internal microphone. Worse yet. I can't choose the audio outputs/inputs. The realtek audio software only ever gives [Microphone Array] in all cases.

How do I know that the internal microphone is working? I simply disconnect my headphones. That's it. It outputs fine on the laptop's speakers and the mic works clearly. It is literally the fact that the realtek driver software no longer prioritizes the laptop's own internal mic over headphones and that I literally have no option to enable/disable adjust prioritization (from control panel device viewer). 

 

[praveen196]

@KentHouse Welcome to HP Community!

I understand that you are facing issues with the internal microphone.

There are a number of options in Windows sound settings that need to be configured so that the computer recognizes and works with the microphone. Use the steps below to modify the sound configuration as necessary for your microphone.

Open the Sound window

1. Connect the microphone to the computer.

2. In Windows, search for and open Sound.

   The Sound window opens.

3. Click the Recording tab in the Sound window.

   Figure : Recording tab in the Sound window

   

4. Then use the following steps to troubleshoot the microphone.

Step 1: Make sure the computer recognizes the microphone

1. In the Sound window, click the Recording tab.

2. Right-click an empty area of the Sound window.

3. Click Show Disabled Devices and Show Disconnected Devices.

   Figure : Disabled and disconnected devices shown in the Sound window

   

4. If the microphone is listed as Currently unavailable or Not plugged in, disconnect it, then reconnect it to the port. If the microphone is still not detected, refer to the Check the microphone section of this document.

5. Test the microphone by speaking into it.

   Look at the gray bars next to the device name on the Recording tab:

   • If the gray bars next to the device name change to green, the device is active and an audio signal is passing through the microphone port. The issue should now be resolved.

     However, you might still want to make sure the microphone is set as the default microphone using the Step 2: Setting the default microphone section of this document.

   • If the bars remain gray and inactive, the computer is not recognizing a signal. Leave the recording tab open and refer to the Step 2: Setting the default microphone section of this document.

   Figure : Sound window with Recording tab showing a detected signal for the Microphone device

   

Step 2: Setting the default microphone

The microphone you want to use might need to be set as the default microphone. Follow these steps to set your microphone as the default microphone:

1. From the Recording tab of the Sound window, select the port that you want to use. There could be one or more ports.

2. If the device you want to use contains a small circle with an arrow pointing down, the device is disabled. To enable the device, right-click the device name and select Enable.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE STEPS AND INSTRUCTIONS.

(By the end of this article all the issues should be resolved)

Keep us posted,

If you would like to thank us for our efforts to help you, 

Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!

[Killertruth186]

Please don't give out your serial number in the community forms. All you need is to give out the Make and model of your laptop. This is article can give you a reason why, it is a bad idea to give out serial numbers. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.howtogeek.com/294471/should-i-keep-my-techs-serial-numbers-private/...