Troubleshooting Headphone or Microphone Jack Issues on a Dell Latitude and OptiPlex

Using a headphone/microphone on a OptiPlex

By design, when a headphone or headset is connected to the audio port on the front panel, the rear audio port is disabled. This allows for private audio using headphones, and the rear jack is enabled when the headphones are disconnected.

Using a headphone/microphone on a Latitude laptop

The two most common types of connectors for audio jacks are a two ring (three conductor) connector and a three ring (four conductor) or Tip, Ring, Ring Sleeve (TRRS) connector. The difference between the two can be seen in the image below.

Figure 1: Example of two different types of headphone or microphone connectors

Most Latitude laptops have a microphone/headphone combo jack. Headsets with a three-ring TRRS connector support both audio playback and recording using the microphone on the headset. The E-series docking stations have a separate headphone and microphone port. This setup requires a headset that supports a two-ring connector, one each for headphone and microphone.

In order to use a headset/microphone combo device on the Latitude laptops, you must disable the internal microphone in Windows sound properties.

1. Press Windows + Q to open the search panel.
2. Type control panel and press Enter.
3. In the Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound, and then click Sound.
4. Select the Recording tab.

5. 
   Figure 2: Screenshot of audio properties in Windows

6. Choose the Microphone Array on the IDT High Definition Audio CODEC device.
7. Click Properties to open the Microphone Array Properties window.
8. From the General tab, use the dropdown menu and choose Don't use this device (disable).

   
   Figure 3: Screenshot of microphone array properties in Windows

9. Click Apply.
10. Click OK to exit the Microphone Array Properties window.
11. Click OK to exit the Sound properties window.

If the issue persists, see the Dell Knowledge Base articles below:

• How to Troubleshoot No Sound on Computer or Audio Playback Issues.
• How to Troubleshoot Audio or Sound Recording Issues.
• Microphone Not Working Due to Privacy Settings in Windows 11 or Windows 10
• How to Connect Speakers or Headphones to a Dell Computer