XPS L502X Microphone not working

Hi Debabrata Biswas,

Thanks for posting.

Apologies that your system is not working as expected.  Your post does not say whether you've tried an external microphone.  Please connect an external microphone and post back so the experts here can assist.  Thanks.

I tried an external microphone as well to test the sytem but neither the external microphone nor the internal microphone is working.I can't use skype or anything that needs voice coms just because of the issue.

Regarding just the external microphone, from what I can see on my 3 newer systems, an external wired headset microphone will no longer work if the system has a combined audio port.  Since I don't have any experience with your system, this may be system specific but 3 systems out of 3 seems fairly certain it is being done for a reason..

The internal ones may be related to the camera. 

A Bluetooth headset is still capable of using an external microphone.

Update reagarding my issue related to the MIcrophone.

Today (29/12/2017) a service engineer came up with a new Microphone and a Display cable and a new LCD wich is exactly the same from LG.And even aftyer the replacements my issue did not resolved.So the Engineer reverted all the changes after consulting with Dell India Tech. Support and now I don't have any idea what is going to happen next.Even the Dell is silent in this case wich brings me to the conclusion that Dell doesn't takes care or looks into their customer's problems.

I have been requesting for a replacement with a new LCD manufactured by Samsung as there was a samsung LCD earlier in my system and was using it fir 6 years without even any single issue and now whatever issues I am facing,it started exactly after the installation of a replacement of a LG LCD and also escalating to some issues as well in my system.

I request everyone in the community to please respond to the thread with any information regarding this problem.I'll be more than happy to hear from you and from the Dell as well.

Please Help.

Hey Jimco,

You are absolutely right about the Mic Jack.So can you suggest me any possible fix to resolve my issue?

combined audio port.

but 3 systems out of 3 seems fairly certain

Hi Saltgrass. The XPS L502x model was before Dell started using smart phone (combo) jacks. It had a separate mic jack. Also there hasn't been  new  Realtek driver for the L502x since 2012. I would be surprised if the XPS L502x has the same mic issue you are seeing in your recent models that have combo jacks.

I request everyone in the community to please respond to the thread with any information regarding this problem.

Hello. It's kind of hard to help you through this forum because there seems to be hardware issues that can only be fixed by a technician on the spot. You have raised multiple issues that I'll try to tackle, not in any particular order.

BTW, what is the operating system you have on the laptop?

on 25th October, the LCD has been replaced and then after the replacement of the LCD, my mic is not working.

The internal mic is part of the camera assembly in the bezel. Did they just replace the screen itself or the bezel. Could they have put one in that did not have the camera in it?

So I contacted Dell India (I am from India) and they replaced the mic

Not sure what that means. Did they replace the camera?

They replaced the LCD cable on 24th November and still, the replaced LCD Cable did not resolve the problem.

But did they check the camera connection?

replace the existing LG LCD again with a Samsung LCD which was built for my system

I believe that Samsung was the manufacturer of the original screen, as you say, but as the camera is not part of the screen I don't think that would matter.

I tried an external microphone as well to test the sytem but neither the external microphone nor the internal microphone is working

What audio driver have you installed? It should be one of the Realteks that Dell provided for your model. Only Windows 7 and 8 are supported, so it matters which OS you have.

Also, the external mic will not work if you have your laptop set up & configured for 5.1 surround sound.

There is a hardware diagnostic test for the mics. It was on the original hard drive. Do you still have that? If not, the only way to use it is to install it on a flash drive or cd and run it from there. Let me know if you want to do that and I'll get the instructions and links for you.

a service engineer came up with a new Microphone and a Display cable and a new LCD wich is exactly the same from LG.

Still not clear if the camera has been replaced or the connection re-seated.

also escalating to some issues as well in my system.

What are the new issues?

Hey Starglass,

I appreciate your help.I am using a wired Headset with a mic since 2012 without any issue.I also used the Bluetooth Headset with a mic without any problem at all.

But my every single Headsets (wired) stopped working after the replacement of LCD.Although my Bluetooth Headset Mic works fine.

Hey Jimco,

I am still using the preloaded Windows 7 Home Premium.

They Replaced the whole Module which consists of Camera and Mic.And today they came up with another compatible (not the one which was specifically built by Samsung for my system) LCD Display which is Manufactured by LG.

They checked the camera using Dell Webcam Central and the camera is working as it should except there is no Audio recording in the clip that has been recorded using the webcam.

Yes, Samsung is the manufacturer of the LCD Display for my system.

I have installed the Realtek driver that Dell provided me in the Drivers and Resourced CD.

I do not use 5.1surround sound.

I don't have the factory built HDD that came with my system.I replaced it 3 months ago when it completely stopped working.

I would surely follow the instructions to run the Diagnostics tool.Just let me know how can I do that.

Today the Technician came up with another Camera Module and the Display (LBDS) cable and a new LCD Display but after the replacement, it didn't work.So the technician reverted all the changes he made and took all the new parts with him those he brought for the replacements.

Thanks Jimco for your quick reply.I'll be eagerly waiting for your next reply.

I don't have the factory built HDD that came with my system.I replaced it 3 months ago when it completely stopped working.

And you know that the mics were working after the hard drive replacement?

instructions to run the Diagnostics tool.

The diagnostic tool is called Dell 32 bit Diagnostics. "32 bit" refers to the fact that it had to be on a 32 bit partition on the hard drive, separate from the operating system's partition, and regardless of whether or not the operating system's partition was 32 bit.

The diagnostic is bootable and serves as its own OS. When in the diagnostic you are no longer in Windows and are not using Windows-based drivers. Because of this, the diagnostic serves as a hardware testing tool. If a device fails one of the diagnostic tests then it has hardware failure. If it passes the test but doesn't work in Windows then there is software failure or configuration error.

If you click on the link above, note that the diagnostic is available in 2 "formats". Choose the 2nd one, "hard drive", CW1394A0.exe.

There are instructions for each format at the bottom of that page, but there are clearer instructions written by forum regular Philip Yip. Start where it says "Older Systems" for instructions on installing to media. Philip also gives advice on how to install to a new hard drive, but as he says that is a more difficult process.

Philip's instructions also include a link to version CW1394A0.

After you get the diagnostic onto bootable media and are ready to use it, here are my instructions for how to use it specifically to test the audio components. The version I used to have on an older laptop had a test for both internal and external mics, however the version you use might not contain the tests.

1. Re-start the computer and tap the f12 key as soon as it starts to boot up.

2. Select 'Diagnostics' from the boot menu, then press the Enter key. The computer might run the PSA tests  before Dell 32-bit Diagnostics starts. I'm not sure if that happens when the Dell 32 bit Diagnostic is on external media. The PSA tests are a separate diagnostic tool that resides in the BIOS memory on the motherboard. The PSA diagnostic does not have a mic test.

3. Dell Diagnostics should open after the PSA tests, or you should see an option to open it.

4. Select 'Custom', then the audio tests.

5. The tests will run. There are roughly 6 of them for audio. If the mic tests are there, they will ask you to speak into the mic, or in the case of the jack to plug in a mic, and then ask you if you hear the recording as it plays back.

The tests are of limited use. It is about the same as when you tested the mics with Windows Sound Recorder, except that it can rule out software as the cause of failure. If you have already ruled out software as a possibility then the tests won't add much information. The tests are passive in the sense that they cannot actively trace the signal and tell you where the failure occurs.

The tests can produce error codes but mostly they don't add additional information. For example if you tell the test that you can't hear a recording, the error code it generates means just that.

quick reply

Sorry but my replies are rarely quick these days. The forum no longer sends me e-mail notifications reliably anymore. That means that to see if there is a new post I have to log into the forum once or twice a day and manually check. Not very efficient or timely.