Internal mic stops working when plugging in headphones

[Jono Bacon]

I am currently running Quantal and when I plug headphones into my headphone socket (which has an icon of a headset next to it, so I presume it can take some kind of headset), the internal mic on my laptop stops working. If I unplug the headphones the internal mic works as normal.

I tried this with two different sets of headphones (one of which has a mic, and the other I think has a mic too).

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.10
Package: pulseaudio 1:2.0-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-4.4-generic 3.5.0-rc6
Uname: Linux 3.5.0-4-generic i686
ApportVersion: 2.3-0ubuntu4
Architecture: i386
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: jono 1860 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/pcmC0D0c: jono 1860 F...m pulseaudio
Date: Mon Jul 16 11:01:32 2012
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release i386 (20120423)
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: pulseaudio
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 12/06/2011
dmi.bios.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.bios.version: 8AET56WW (1.36 )
dmi.board.asset.tag: Not Available
dmi.board.name: 4239CTO
dmi.board.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.board.version: Not Available
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Information
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.chassis.version: Not Available
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvr8AET56WW(1.36):bd12/06/2011:svnLENOVO:pn4239CTO:pvrThinkPadT520:rvnLENOVO:rn4239CTO:rvrNotAvailable:cvnLENOVO:ct10:cvrNotAvailable:
dmi.product.name: 4239CTO
dmi.product.version: ThinkPad T520
dmi.sys.vendor: LENOVO

[Luke Yelavich (themuso)]

Please get a log from PulseAudio as per https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PulseAudio/Log.

[David Henningsson (diwic)]

Hi Jono,

If you plug a headset (i e, headphone + mic) into a headset jack, the speakers and internal mic are muted, and the headphones and headset mic starts working instead. It looks like you're reporting the expected behavior as a bug?

[Raymond (superquad-vortex2)]

you need the phantom port for the internal mic

control.18 {
  iface CARD
  name 'Dock Mic Jack'
  value false
  comment {
   access read
   type BOOLEAN
   count 1
  }
 }
 control.19 {
  iface CARD
  name 'Mic Jack'
  value false
  comment {
   access read
   type BOOLEAN
   count 1
  }
 }

[David Henningsson (diwic)]

@Raymond, no - these controls cause the internal mic to be picked up:

Simple mixer control 'Internal Mic',0
  Capabilities: cvolume cswitch penum
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 80
  Front Left: Capture 80 [100%] [6.00dB] [on]
  Front Right: Capture 80 [100%] [6.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Internal Mic Boost',0
  Capabilities: volume penum
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: 0 - 4
  Front Left: 1 [25%] [12.00dB]
  Front Right: 1 [25%] [12.00dB]

[Jono Bacon (jonobacon)]

David - the internal mic on the headset does not work, so I am left with the laptop mic not working and the headset mic not working.

[Raymond (superquad-vortex2)]

does the pluggin of combo headset mute the internal speaker?

does the mic jack control or headphone jack control become true after you plug the headset ?

combo headset is still not supported, most likely there is only one detect jack circuit

and the driver need to handle the auto mute and auto mic at the same time

[Raymond (superquad-vortex2)]

the driver should not create two volume controls and switches at the same node 0x14

Node 0x14 [Audio Input] wcaps 0x100d1b: Stereo Amp-In R/L
  Control: name="Dock Mic Capture Volume", index=0, device=0
    ControlAmp: chs=3, dir=In, idx=0, ofs=0
  Control: name="Dock Mic Capture Switch", index=0, device=0
    ControlAmp: chs=3, dir=In, idx=0, ofs=0
  Control: name="Internal Mic Capture Volume", index=0, device=0
    ControlAmp: chs=3, dir=In, idx=2, ofs=0
  Control: name="Internal Mic Capture Switch", index=0, device=0
    ControlAmp: chs=3, dir=In, idx=2, ofs=0
  Device: name="CONEXANT Analog", type="Audio", device=0
  Amp-In caps: ofs=0x4a, nsteps=0x50, stepsize=0x03, mute=1
  Amp-In vals: [0x80 0x80] [0x4a 0x4a] [0x50 0x50] [0x4a 0x4a]
  Converter: stream=4, channel=0
  SDI-Select: 0
  PCM:
    rates [0x160]: 44100 48000 96000
    bits [0xe]: 16 20 24
    formats [0x1]: PCM
  Power states: D0 D1 D2 D3 D3cold EPSS
  Power: setting=D0, actual=D0
  Connection: 4
     0x17 0x18 0x23* 0x24
Node 0x15 [Audio Input] wcaps 0x100d1b: Stereo Amp-In R/L
  Amp-In caps: ofs=0x4a, nsteps=0x50, stepsize=0x03, mute=1
  Amp-In vals: [0x80 0x80] [0x4a 0x4a] [0x4a 0x4a] [0x4a 0x4a]
  Converter: stream=0, channel=0
  SDI-Select: 0
  PCM:
    rates [0x160]: 44100 48000 96000
    bits [0xe]: 16 20 24
    formats [0x1]: PCM
  Power states: D0 D1 D2 D3 D3cold EPSS
  Power: setting=D0, actual=D0
  Connection: 4
     0x17* 0x18 0x23 0x24
Node 0x16 [Audio Input] wcaps 0x100d1b: Stereo Amp-In R/L
  Amp-In caps: ofs=0x4a, nsteps=0x50, stepsize=0x03, mute=1
  Amp-In vals: [0x80 0x80] [0x4a 0x4a] [0x4a 0x4a] [0x4a 0x4a]
  Converter: stream=0, channel=0
  SDI-Select: 0
  PCM:
    rates [0x160]: 44100 48000 96000
    bits [0xe]: 16 20 24
    formats [0x1]: PCM
  Power states: D0 D1 D2 D3 D3cold EPSS
  Power: setting=D0, actual=D0
  Connection: 4
     0x17* 0x18 0x23 0x24

[David Henningsson (diwic)]

@Jono,

Not sure I'm following. How would the computer know whether your headset mic is broken or not?

As soon as you plug something into that jack, the kernel autoswitches from the internal mic to the headset mic - just as it switches from internal speakers to headphones.

I clearly see there is a use case for a 4-pin headset jack, where you only want to use the headphones and still use the laptop's internal mic, (and likewise, use the headset mic with the internal speakers) but we don't provide a solution for that use case today. If this is what you mean, I guess the report should be a wishlist bug and titled differently.

[Raymond (superquad-vortex2)]

refer to t520's specification
conexant 20672 codec stereo speaker,mute buttons, dual array mic, mic mute button, combo audio mic jack
but the docking station has pink and green jacks.

this seem that the headset with mic (TRRS connector) can only plug into combo audio mic jack and headphone (TRS connector) can plug into dock station

[Raymond (superquad-vortex2)]

the driver should create the ext mic playback volume and switch at node 0x14 and create ext mic boost at node 0x18

pulseaudio mute the other input source when ext mic is plugged

the workaround is change the ext mic conf of pulseaudio so that it will not mute the dock mic

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for pulseaudio (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Valentas (vk-registrator)]

shouldn't be marked as expired. a pretty annoying thing and occurs for me on Lenovo T430.

[Rafal Koterwa (rafal-koterwa)]

I have the same bug on 14.04 LTS (Lenovo T430).

When I plug the headphone the internal microphone starts to work incorrectly.

In the mixer I have two controls (1. for the headphones, 2. for internal mic) When the headphones are plugged in the mic starts to make some noises.

Please let me know if you need anything from my end. Thanks for help.

Raf.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Raymond (superquad-vortex2)]

https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/tiwai/sound.git/commit/sound/pci/hda/patch_realtek.c?id=84f98fdf7865fbd35b312eb39ea91e5618c514c7

Do you mean headset mic not automatically switch when there are headphone and dock headphone?

[Rafal Koterwa (rafal-koterwa)]

The headphones I am using have no microphone. When I plug them in the sound is switching for the headphones, and that is working fine - sound is crystal clear - no problems.

The issue starts when I plug them in the built-in microphone starts to work incorrectly (it makes some noises). So I am not able to use Skype with my headphones without mic and built in microphone.

[Rafal Koterwa (rafal-koterwa)]

I am not using docking station

[rohan dandage (rraadd-8)]

Same issue as #17, when I connect my headphone with combo jack (works great with other devices) to laptop with ubuntu 16.04.

In PulseAudio volume control gui, in 'Input devices' tab, it shows that internal microphone is 'unplugged' and microphone (external, from combo headset) is 'plugged in'. But it does not work!

So as I find out that the combo headset clearly does not work due to lack of drivers, there should be a workaround to let users use the internal mic instead.

PS: This issue has been for 5 long year (see #1 above), somebody please do something. If we have commonplace headset with combo jack and and recent laptops with combo port, we evidently can't use ubuntu for video chatting. That's quite a downfall.

[alex (alex1024)]

The same bug for me, when I plug an external microphone (only a microphone with no headphone) on my laptop Lenovo W541 with Ubuntu 16.04.3, my internal speaker stop working. It is very annoying since I have only one jack and my internal microphone does not work with Ubuntu 16.04.3.

[wai lee chin feman (skatenerd)]

Hi, just chiming in to say I've encountered this behavior as well. When my headphones are plugged into the combo jack, the internal microphone is listed as 'unplugged'.

Current workaround is simply to unplug the headphones when I want to talk into the mic.

[Filippo Giunchedi (filippo)]

I'm running into the same behavior too on a carbon x1 5th gen: namely when headphones are plugged in I can't use the internal microphone.

[Roman (malro)]

Confirming x1 5th gen. Any updates?

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

I think you'd need someone to figure out what/where is detecting the combo jack is in use and whether it thinks an external mic is plugged in or just blindly assumes one is plugged in.

I don't know what component is responsible for that detection so adding a kernel task in case that's relevant...

[Ubuntu Kernel Bot (ubuntu-kernel-bot)]

This bug is missing log files that will aid in diagnosing the problem. While running an Ubuntu kernel (not a mainline or third-party kernel) please enter the following command in a terminal window:

apport-collect 1025388

and then change the status of the bug to 'Confirmed'.

If, due to the nature of the issue you have encountered, you are unable to run this command, please add a comment stating that fact and change the bug status to 'Confirmed'.

This change has been made by an automated script, maintained by the Ubuntu Kernel Team.

[Ohad Lutzky (lutzky)]

ProblemType: Bug
ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: ohad 1755 F.... pulseaudio
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 19.10
InstallationDate: Installed on 2019-06-25 (316 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 19.04 "Disco Dingo" - Release amd64 (20190416)
Lsusb:
 Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
 Bus 001 Device 004: ID 06cb:00a2 Synaptics, Inc.
 Bus 001 Device 003: ID 5986:2113 Acer, Inc Integrated Camera
 Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0025 Intel Corp.
 Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
MachineType: LENOVO 20N8000RUK
Package: pulseaudio 1:13.0-1ubuntu1.1
PackageArchitecture: amd64
ProcFB: 0 i915drmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.3.0-52-lowlatency root=UUID=ac66b098-a06a-4d2e-afac-fcc015944c52 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.3.0-52.46-lowlatency 5.3.18
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-5.3.0-52-lowlatency N/A
 linux-backports-modules-5.3.0-52-lowlatency N/A
 linux-firmware 1.183.5
Tags: wayland-session eoan wayland-session
Uname: Linux 5.3.0-52-lowlatency x86_64
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to eoan on 2020-05-02 (5 days ago)
UserGroups: adm audio cdrom dip lpadmin plugdev sambashare sudo
_MarkForUpload: True
dmi.bios.date: 01/22/2019
dmi.bios.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.bios.version: R0YET27W (1.10 )
dmi.board.asset.tag: Not Available
dmi.board.name: 20N8000RUK
dmi.board.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.board.version: SDK0J40697 WIN
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Information
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.chassis.version: None
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvrR0YET27W(1.10):bd01/22/2019:svnLENOVO:pn20N8000RUK:pvrThinkPadE490:rvnLENOVO:rn20N8000RUK:rvrSDK0J40697WIN:cvnLENOVO:ct10:cvrNone:
dmi.product.family: ThinkPad E490
dmi.product.name: 20N8000RUK
dmi.product.sku: LENOVO_MT_20N8_BU_SMB_FM_ThinkPad E490
dmi.product.version: ThinkPad E490
dmi.sys.vendor: LENOVO

[Ohad Lutzky (lutzky)]

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[Ohad Lutzky (lutzky)]

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[Ohad Lutzky (lutzky)]

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[Ohad Lutzky (lutzky)]

I've run the apport command because the bug seemed abandoned, but I exhibit the exact same symptoms. This is a Lenovo E490, my headphones use a TRS plug, but the system detects it as TRRS (i.e. believes it also has a microphone). To confirm, I've also checked:

* Headphones with a TRRS cable behave correctly on this machine (their microphone is used)
* My same TRS headphones (no microphone), on a Chromebook, have the plug detected correctly as TRS, and the Chromebook uses its internal microphone while sending audio to the headphones.

There does not appear to be a way, in Linux, to configure the system to use the internal microphone while anything is plugged into the headphone jack.

[O Gopal (jswami)]

Same issue as #22 etc. Ubuntu 20.04. Lenovo X1 Carbon, 5th generation. When I plug in earphones that have no microphone, the internal microphone no longer works.

[O Gopal (jswami)]

For a fix that worked for me, see https://askubuntu.com/questions/1218136/internal-microphone-doesnt-work-when-using-headphones/1285982#1285982.

The fix:

 1. Run

  sudo apt install alsa-tools-gui

  hdajackretask

 2. Select the appropriate sound card up top in Select a codec.

 3. Then make the Black Mic (headphone jack) override Not connected.

 4. Lower right corner, select Install boot override.

 5. Then reboot and test.

[Łukasz (sycyhy)]

This became an issue for me after automatic upgrade of pulseaudio which I installed 3 days ago (focal channel). Before that everything was fine. Ubuntu 20.04 on XPS 9570.

My current workaround is to disable module-switch-on-port-available module in config but it forces me to change everything manually whenever I disconnect headphones.

[Cue8Chalk (cuebix)]

I'm using Arch linux and have the same problem on my Razer Blade. Similar to https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+bug/1025388/comments/44, the solution for me was to turn off the jack detection.

However, I went about it similar to what was posted here https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+bug/1025388/comments/43

That is, I used hdajackretask, but instead of making the headphone jack not connected, i turned on the advanced override option which revealed a "Jack detection" option under the mic. It was defaulted to Present, but I set it to not present, installed the boot override, and upon restart, both mic options are present and enabled and I can switch between either in pulse audio volume control.