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January 9th, 2013 01:00

external mic not working

recently purchased a zalman zm-mic1 mic for my dell xps15 l521x laptop and when i plug it in to the headset (not headphones) jack it sees that it has been plugged in but does not recognise it anywhere. i have been into the settings and it is not seen. even if i click "show disabled devices" it does not show up. how can i fix this?

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13.6K Posts

January 9th, 2013 05:00

The L521x model has a regular headphone jack socket plus a combo jack of the "smart phone" variety. Those combo jacks work with either regular headphones or with "smart phone" type of headsets, the kind that combine headphones and mic into a single 4 segmented plug instead of the normal 3 segment plug. They do not work with regular mic plugs because those plugs do not mate correctly, and don't  work with line-in devices because the combo jack input is only mono, not stereo.

Here is a shot of a smart phone headset that works with a combo jack. Notice the 4 segmented plug.

You can make a regular mic  or regular headset wodk in the jack by obtaining an adapter. Below is a shot of one called the Headset Buddy:

There is another Headset Buddy adapter that looks similar but is the wrong kind, in the shot below.

10 Posts

January 9th, 2013 05:00

Thanks for the reply. I realized that was the problem when I found a phone headset and tested it. And thank you for posting pics of the headset buddy. Appreciate the help

10 Posts

February 18th, 2013 03:00

hi,

i just received my headset buddy and it doesnt work with the dell l521x. ive tested apple earbuds that come with an iphone and theyre fine but the headset buddy does not work with the l521x. i even tried plugging the iphone earbuds into the headset buddy to get it to work. still no luck and yes it is the correct headset buddy. any other options? ive been through the settings but it just wont pic up anything through the mic.

or will i have to bite the bullet and get a gaming headset?

thanks

10 Posts

February 18th, 2013 04:00

the headphones work fine. just the mic isnt working with it. i even tried plugging the iphone earbuds into the mic to see if that would work with the headset buddy as the earbuds work in the headset port including the mic. does this sound like a headset buddy issue or is it just not compatable? it doesnt seem to want to cut out the inbuilt mic. when i plug in the headset buddy it continues using the inbuilt mic. and there is nothing in audio device settings to change it. i'll contact headset buddy just in case

thanks again

4 Operator

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13.6K Posts

February 18th, 2013 04:00

i even tried plugging the iphone earbuds into the headset buddy to get it to work. still no luck

I know your question is about mics but are you saying that even headphones will not work when connected to the Headset Buddy, but if you connect headphones directly to the laptop's combo jack they do work? If so then I would think the Headset Buddy is defective. Maybe you should contact Headset Buddy and see what they say about this.

10 Posts

February 18th, 2013 18:00

Yes it is. It's the Realtek hd audio driver. I've decided to buy a USB sound

Card dongle to resolve the problem. Really appre Kate the help though. Thanks again

4 Operator

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13.6K Posts

February 18th, 2013 18:00

Is the Realtek audio driver installed in the laptop?

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June 10th, 2013 12:00

I'm having the exact same problem as gricho27.  I have an L521x and the 4 segment Headset Buddy. I can only get the headphones portion of the adapter to work.  I cannot get an external mic to work.  Anyone have any luck?

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