Why is my Mic Picking up Headphone Sound?

The reason why is your mic picking up headphone sound is that your computer has a built-in microphone. When you use your computer to take notes or record audio, the built-in microphone picks up the audio from the surrounding area. If you are using headphones to listen to music while using your computer, the audio is coming from the headphone jack on your computer.

Have you ever been in the middle of an important meeting or a gaming session and had your microphone start picking up headphone sound? It can be frustrating when all you can hear is yourself talking, especially if it’s not coming through loud and clear. Several things can cause your microphone to be too close to your headset, and there are some pretty simple fixes.

Why is my Mic Picking up Headphone Sound?
  • The first thing you should check is the position of your headset’s microphone. It should be just above or just below your mouth. If it’s not in either place then gently move it until you get a good sound. If you have a detachable microphone, it may be picking up the sound from your headset, in which case you should detach it and position it correctly. 
  • Another thing to check is that your headset’s volume isn’t up, especially if you’re using USB headphones. Check both the “out” and “mic” volumes on your computer, and turn them down a little bit.
  • A third thing that can cause sound to be picked up by your microphone is the volume of your speakers. If you have no sound coming from your headset because it’s switched off, but you’re still hearing sound from your speakers, then those speakers may be sending noise over to your mic as well as through to your ears. You should check both the “out” and “mic” volumes on your computer and turn them down a little bit if necessary.
  • Another thing that can cause this problem is an error with the electret microphone module (EMM) used in some headsets. The EMM has two separate components; one picks up vibrations while the other converts these vibrations into electrical signals. If the components are too close, then the sound from your headset can be picked up by your microphone.
  • You could try opening up the EMM and moving it slightly away from the second element, but you should always seek professional advice before tampering with any internal components in an electronic device.
  • If none of these steps help resolve the issue then chances are your microphone is faulty and needs to be replaced. Replacing a microphone usually requires some technical knowledge and we would recommend you take it to a computer expert for repairs rather than trying it yourself. However, if all else has failed then this is also something you could consider doing yourself as long as you have the correct tools and follow safety procedures such as unplugging your power supply.

Why mic picking up headphone sound but not voice?

The most common reason why your microphone is picking up the sound from your headphones is that you either have no mic monitoring set up or it’s not turned on. Mic monitoring allows your speaker output to be heard through the microphone input. Many USB headsets will not allow this feature to be turned on so if you are using a USB headset, you simply won’t have this functionality.

Another reason why your mic could be picking up the sound from your headphones is that they share an audio jack that’s connected to the output of your motherboard or laptop–so when you plug in your headphones, the microphone will pick up the sound.

If you are running an audio cable to your mic input/headset, try unplugging it and see if the problem goes away. If not, check to see if there is a mix control or headphone volume adjustment somewhere–if so turn that down or off.

How to fix the issue if you’re using a PC

If you’re using a PC, ensure that you have set up your microphone monitoring appropriately. 

If you see an option for something like ‘Listen to This Device’ or ‘Playback through this device’, be sure to use the correct recording or input device and make sure that it is set up to be heard by your headphones (don’t forget to turn up the volume). 

If you don’t see any options for playing sound through your headphones, try using an external device like speakers.

If you have tried all of that, check the Windows Sound settings to make sure that nothing has been muted or set to a low volume. 

You can change this in Control Panel. 

If your mic is still not working properly, try updating your sound driver.

If that doesn’t fix the problem, you might need to change your microphone jack or update its drivers; this can be done by checking your motherboard/laptop manual.

My PC has an option for ‘Listen to This Device’ but I cannot turn it on? Why?

It’s probably been muted. Check the Windows Sound settings to look for an option that allows you to play sound through a specific device. 

If you cannot find anything, try using a headset with a built-in speaker and see if this works.

If your mic is still not working properly, it might be because your motherboard or laptop doesn’t have an audio jack for your headset. 

If this is the case, you’ll need to buy a USB headset or use speakers instead of a mic and headphones.

How to fix the issue if you’re using a Mac

If you’re using a Mac, check to see if there is an ‘Input Source’ option in the Sound menu. 

If it’s been set on ‘Internal Microphone’, choose another option like ‘Line In’.

You might also want to go into the Output menu and select which device you want to be reproduced through your speakers–choose something other than ‘Internal Speakers’ for the best results.

If you still have no luck after trying all of that, try connecting your headset through a different USB port to see if that solves the problem. 

Sometimes, it just takes a slight change to fix the issue–it’s worth a shot before you do anything else.

If none of that works, you might have to update your sound driver.

If nothing seems to be working, it could be that the mic jack on your Mac doesn’t pick up any audio from your headset or external speakers/mic. 

You can purchase an adaptor for this purpose though they are not always sold–you might want to check online for more information.

How to fix the issue if you’re using an iPhone or an Android phone?

If you are using a mobile device, try switching audio sources: go into your phone’s settings and switch from ‘Internal Speaker’ to ‘Speaker + Internal Mic’. This will hopefully solve the problem. 

If not, it might be that your device doesn’t support using both the speaker and microphone simultaneously.

If all of that fails, try unplugging your headphones and see if the mic starts working again. 

If it does, it means that there is something wrong with your plug or wiring and you’ll need to determine which is causing the problem and fix it accordingly. You might also want to try using a new pair of headphones.

If you don’t want to buy another set, you can use this workaround by plugging your headphones into an external device like speakers and see if that works for you. It’s not ideal but it does solve the problem until you get another headset or something equivalent.

Conclusion 

In most cases, this is a software issue and can be fixed without having to buy any extra equipment. If nothing seems to work, you might want to make sure that your computer’s sound drivers are up-to-date or update them if they aren’t.

If none of these solutions seem to work, you might want to look into updating your microphone jack or the audio driver for the device that you’re using. You can also try asking a specialist if they can help you fix this problem.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

How do I stop my mic from picking up my headset noise?

The main reason why the headset mic is picking up the noise is due to the background sound while recording. To eliminate the noise, you can turn off the sound in the speakers and just use your headset. If the problem is still there, you can use a noise-eliminating plugin or noise cancellation software. It will help you capture your audio regardless of the background sound. You can also try using the noise cancellation feature on the Blue Snowball. It will cancel out the background noise in the Blue Snowball and adjust it for a crystal clear sound.

Why is my headset audio going through my mic?

Although your computer might be picking up your audio from your headset, you may need to check your settings. Open up the control panel in your computer and navigate to sounds. Once there, you should see a tab with a headphone symbol, which you should click. From there, you can check the volume of your microphone and ensure that it is not too hot. You can raise or lower the volume, to ensure that your voice is not picked up in the recording.

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