Database Users

Where's the mic?

Uhm, yeah, can't find it...

2 microphones actually. The user guide on Acer.com says "Dual microphone with noise and echo cancellation" and they are located next to each other along the top of the LCD. If you look closely at the top of the LCD while it is in landscape mode (with the docking port pointing down), you'll see the opening for the microphones. =)

man i looked for ages for these mics i still cant see squat. know they are there though as ive used em for recording, and for video calls

Do you have good mic performance in gtalk when on video call?
Mine was acting a bit weird.
They could hear me for a minute or so after starting the conference, but then my voice would fade away and they would only hear some backround noise.. sometimes they could hear me if would only talk directly into the usb host port lol!
When recording mic works fine. Havent tried skype yet.
Is this the case for any of you???

i had issues with the mic with the first a500 i got, the person on the other end would would hear a lot of static. But i've got the tab replaced and its been working fine now!

My mic performance is terrible. My wife has an I-pod 4, and her mic works great (using Hey Tell) sitting in same room, her voice on the Tab is great...mine on the I-pod is terrible. Hardware possibly? Any updates? Skype is terrible also...
Remidies?

Mic is pretty horrible. Often does not pick up voice to text and recorded voice is terrible. First mic is literally between the bezel and the glass in the middle top of the screen. Second mic is in sd card slot which makes no sense. Other than the size and weight it is my only real complaint so far.

my first a500 mic was horrible, it started off fine but after a little while it crapped out and the other side could not hear me, oddly enough whne just doing a voice recording rather than gtalk/skype call it was fine. anyways exchanged it for a new one this one works very well.

!!!???Nooooo

!!!Please keep your Ipod talk out of the android forum. Thank you very much ;(
JimFPU said:
My mic performance is terrible. My wife has an I-pod 4, and her mic works great (using Hey Tell) sitting in same room, her voice on the Tab is great...mine on the I-pod is terrible. Hardware possibly? Any updates? Skype is terrible also...
Remidies?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Rishikesh said:
i had issues with the mic with the first a500 i got, the person on the other end would would hear a lot of static. But i've got the tab replaced and its been working fine now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you can video chat just fine? You don't have the problems stated in my thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1096042
?

Here is a good teardown I found on techrepublic that shows the two microphones in the A500.
(sorry, low post count, I can't post external links yet)
www_techrepublic_com/blog/itdojo/acer-iconia-tab-teardown-easy-to-service-3g-ready/2861?tag=content;siu-container

[Q] Mic volume

I am having issues with the mic on the iconia. Volume is pretty low. While using gtalk the other side can barely hear me. Has anyone else been experiencing this?

Same here. Testing Fring and using the built-in mic or a headset mic, it is impossible to hear what I am saying. There is no mic adjustment in the Fring app and I can't find one in the tablet settings? Am I missing something that should be very obvious? How do you adjust microphone senstivity?

same problem with gtalk. It's sometime hard to hear what I say

I ve been having the same issues with gtalk. Havent tried any other voip app yet.
Mic works fine in voice recording apps though, so it can't be hardware related.
Maybe honeycomb issue??

Where are the mics?

i think the mic is atthe top of the screen in the crack dead center .click the vol up and click on the/pop up the middle i think is the mic volume .if/im/wrong sorry

I have the same problem on my galaxy tab 10.1 but mic volume seems low on all apps.

Just got the a500 and have experience similar results, mic volume is extremely low.
I have tried it with various voice apps, including gtalk, voice recorder, camcorder, etc, and the voice is really low.
Im begining to wonder that this is a hardware issue.
Is this issue consistent with all a500s? or only some models?

My mic is so low volume as to be virtrually useless. I tried plugging in an external mic and that was slightly better but not enough.
When using the voice recorder app I notice that the meter hardly moves off the stop, something wrong here.

I wonder if this issue is more common than it should be?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1162054

But some people here have said their mic is fine. I am going to check a few out in the shops and see if they are any better. Really, at the moment it's not suitable for skype or google talk which is what I got it for.

I still think its a honeycomb noise canceling issue. Plug In headphones while u record and u will see the difference.

I bought a second A500 yesterday and the microphone records my voice far better than the unit I've had for almost 2 weeks. With the old unit I can barely hear what I speak, but the new one I can hear myself clearly. Manufacturing date of the old one is may, the new one is manufactured in april. It did not get the 3.1 update yet so it's still running stock 3.01. One other thing I like about the new one I just got is that the volume buttons work a bit easier and don't require as much force to push them down.
Rob

silverball.slayer said:
I bought a second A500 yesterday and the microphone records my voice far better than the unit I've had for almost 2 weeks. With the old unit I can barely hear what I speak, but the new one I can hear myself clearly. Manufacturing date of the old one is may, the new one is manufactured in april. It did not get the 3.1 update yet so it's still running stock 3.01. One other thing I like about the new one I just got is that the volume buttons work a bit easier and don't require as much force to push them down.
Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the key right there.
It's a software problem not a material one.
I experienced the exact same thing as you.
Bought a new tablet and tested the mic with stock 3.0.1. The volume was fine.
Updated to 3.1 and the volume was very low.

Well, my mic sucks in a big way. I tried many times to use google talk, tango and so on with horrible results. I have to yell like crazy and they can barely hear me.
So... as a lot of ppl are complaiing and it's a software problem, is it possible they do nothing to solve it????? It shouldn't be that difficult...

dominuspaulus said:
I am having issues with the mic on the iconia. Volume is pretty low. While using gtalk the other side can barely hear me. Has anyone else been experiencing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened up my acer and moved the microphone to the front because before when recordingi couldnt catch a sound coming from recording eg. a person talking.
Now I can at least hear the voices of the people im filming.
For gtalk and skype and stuff i use a headphone set with a mic via the headphones jack, much nicer.
Cheers!

Johnny0906 said:
I opened up my acer and moved the microphone to the front because before when recordingi couldnt catch a sound coming from recording eg. a person talking.
Now I can at least hear the voices of the people im filming.
For gtalk and skype and stuff i use a headphone set with a mic via the headphones jack, much nicer.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't say things like these and not tell us the how's and the what's. For example, what headset did you use? How did you move the mic to front?
BTW, I'm on 3.1 and have never had an issue with the mic. Just did a recording while I was driving and talking. Still sounds pretty good to me.

goodintentions said:
You don't say things like these and not tell us the how's and the what's. For example, what headset did you use? How did you move the mic to front?
BTW, I'm on 3.1 and have never had an issue with the mic. Just did a recording while I was driving and talking. Still sounds pretty good to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is actually a thread further back if you bother to look that I opened and described everything and also uploaded a video to see the mic improvement.
Edit: Here is my thread, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1169050
Edit: Headset I used is a brand called EXIBEL Art.no 38-4061, cheap and works PERFECTLY I can hear and be heard as if in the room.

same issues. Sound seems to just stop as well after I use camcorder

Mine works well on any app except gtalk. Although I recently installed voodoo on my rooted Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the mic adjustments helped. Without Voodoo I usually just plug in headphones when I use gtalk and that solves the issue 100%.

[Q] Microphone and Speech Input Questions

I have the OG Droid as phone and have gotten quite used to speech input, particularly with Vlingo. THe recognition is surprisingly good.
So I was disappointed (probably my only disappointment) when the speech input on my A500 wasn't producing equivalent results.
Part of the problem, I thought, was that Vlingo doesn't run yet on the A500. Part of the problem might be the tiny little microphone in the crevice between glass and frame (I think), which is coverec by the Acer case that came with the A500.
So I tried my Motorola S305 stereo headphones on bluetooth and imagine it was a little better, but still not like the old droid.
So I am wondering if someone can guide me on what to do to improve speech input on the A500. Also find myself wondering if there is a really good headset (stereo + good mic) that works well with voice input.

I'm having similar mic issues. I find the mic to be sub par in talk and absolutely awful with skype. So far after almost 2 months solid use this I my only gripe with this lovely device. I'd also love to have a recommendation on a headset to use with the A500.
Thanks.

I've been wondering this too... for use with GTalk and/or GrooVe IP.

mic is sub standard.
i got my a500 replaced and found the mic on the new one much more effective.

Where is the microphone exactly?

If you hold the tablet with the multiport at the bottom, the mic is just above the screen where the black glass part of the bezel meets the metal part... there's a tiny hole you can see there, and that's the mic. I vaguely remember reading in the dev section that someone took it apart and there is some noise cancelling thingy that's causing issues. I even tried recording using a high quality recording app like PCM Recorder (set at 44.1KHz), and it sounds like it was recorded off of someone's old landline telephone... kind of a shame.

excuse my stupidity but I still can't find the mic.
By "multiport" you mean the dock port at the bottom?

ACER A500 Microphone Fix?

Hi, guys Ive been looking for microphone fix on my A500 , when i record any video it has this loud background noise...which in fact my room is silent , also when I'm recording videos outside & using Skype . Im using HC 3.2.1 rooted with thor's CMW ver 1.5 . I been searching the forum for a fix but i cant find it or so as I read that they will fix this issue on HC 3.2, but still i get this issues . Is this a Hardware problem or OS issue?
Also can I still return this tablet to walmart & get a refund? I already exchange the first 1 cuz It got a charging issue. SO basically I'm returning an exchange tablet. It hasn't been 14 days yet. as they mentioned for returns & refunds.
Thanks.

hatyrei said:
Hi, guys Ive been looking for microphone fix on my A500
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny, I was coming here to ask for help about something similar...
In my case, I have a refurbished A500 which has been awesome so far, with the exception of the microphone. It records terribly, lots of noise and distortion in any recording I make (using Recorder as the test app I made a short .amr recording which I attach 7zip-compressed).
A friend has an A500, and it doesn't seem to display this issue. While it's no deal-breaker (I can live without recording audio...playback of tv shows loaded on the card works better-than-fine!), I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to fix it, or at least make it a little less...noisy.

I believe the culprit has to do with the speakers creating feedback. The workaround is to use headphones. Hope this works for you.

Take a look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1065219

tabasco22 said:
Take a look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1065219
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did read that entire thread, which only tells me there are multiple unrelated issues around audio recording on the A500...these issues seem to get all mixed-together in that thread, with people who only care about Skype focusing on that and cross-talking to people who have completely different recording issues. I was hoping this thread could avoid the whole need-to-use-Skype distraction and focus on the specific issue of seemingly over-driven recordings. (With the refurb, I'm also out of the whole keep-complaining-to-acer-until-they-do-something-to-fix-it focus there seems to be on that thread. I can't really complain, and any warranty I had expired a while ago.)
The earlier suggestion to use a headset is, however, something I should have considered first (even read in the earlier Skype-centric thread), and am a little embarrassed I didn't. Sometime this weekend I'll pick up a cheap 3.5 mic/headphone set and see if that makes any difference. If it does, and the recordings though it are cleaner, I can be more comfortable it will work for one thing I care about...using the A500 with the SquareUp CC processor.

Mic - Solution for me.
Problem: Microphone recordings sound terrible. Soft, Choppy, Mechanical, like a bad cell call, bathroom (NOT the severe helicopter sound as others have reported). My hypothesis like others have suggested, seems to be noise cancellation issues. Especially since the issues vary app to app. These mics are right beside each other and I assume they're pretty much hearing the same thing, and the rear is trying to cancel what it hears, which is the same as the front! End result being filtering what it hears, ie filtering everything? FAIL.
Test 1: Using Recorder and Skype Test call, I tested different distances talking to the front/back, covering front mic, covering back mic, case on, case off, headphones plugged in/out, etc. In some instances you could hear some, and other hear nothing, some sound ok, some sound horrible. I wasn't satisfied with ANY.
Test 2: Popped off back of tablet and disconnected REAR facing mic. They are side/side, make sure you disconnect the correct one, the one with the diaphragm pointing out. Simple connector. Then tried Recorder/Skype Test call and both sounded Excellent. I have not tried a call with Skype, just the test. EDIT: Tested a real Skype call last night. No sound issues on my end or other end.
Conclusion: Removal of rear mic provided the best quality. There is zero filtering/cancellation/etc.

Gotta try this
Hmm!
Should of thought of this myself. Going to give it shot and post back later!
Unhooked the rear mike --it helps the front m ike is usable now. Not perfect but works.
So for me
1 Run Flexreaper ICS by Civato = better mike
2 Drill hole for front mike = not as muffled
3 Disconnect rear mike= almost as good as a phone but not as sensitive.
Okay on recording and search but Skype still noisy without headset.
Damn connectors were a pain to unhook.

appoaf said:
Problem: Microphone recordings sound terrible. Soft, Choppy, Mechanical, like a bad cell call, bathroom (NOT the severe helicopter sound as others have reported). My hypothesis like others have suggested, seems to be noise cancellation issues. Especially since the issues vary app to app. These mics are right beside each other and I assume they're pretty much hearing the same thing, and the rear is trying to cancel what it hears, which is the same as the front! End result being filtering what it hears, ie filtering everything? FAIL.
Test 1: Using Recorder and Skype Test call, I tested different distances talking to the front/back, covering front mic, covering back mic, case on, case off, headphones plugged in/out, etc. In some instances you could hear some, and other hear nothing, some sound ok, some sound horrible. I wasn't satisfied with ANY.
Test 2: Popped off back of tablet and disconnected REAR facing mic. They are side/side, make sure you disconnect the correct one, the one with the diaphragm pointing out. Simple connector. Then tried Recorder/Skype Test call and both sounded Excellent. I have not tried a call with Skype, just the test. EDIT: Tested a real Skype call last night. No sound issues on my end or other end.
Conclusion: Removal of rear mic provided the best quality. There is zero filtering/cancellation/etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did and I agree this is a fix if you want to use recorder, Skype, talk, tango, etc. But I also learned to forget using the video camera UNLESS you have it using the rear camera (this is one you use by default when you Skype). Looks like it uses the microphone that points in the direction of the active camera.
So I would suspect the noise cancelling algorithm settings are to blame for poor sound recordings.

I solve this issue by using my stereo earphone with mic that came with my Nokia phone. I have tried a bluetooth stereo headset with mic and another wired earbuds with mic, there was either still a lot of noise or the sound level was very low. Basically, it is the same as using a headset. Finally I found one earphone with mic that works well. I actually have two of the same earbuds from 2 identical Nokia 5230. I tested them on two Iconia A500 with voice chat and video chat, it works very well both ways. I have also tried to turned off the Dolby Mobile as suggested by someone. It actually makes it worse and the sound level went down a lot.

acer a501 microphone fix
hi all
today i finally got to the bottom of the microphone issue
versions 3.x had some issues with the mic that cant be fixed - tried different internal and external mics but no good - i thought it was a hardware issue
and not able to solve but after ota update of ics the external mic is perfect - crystal clear and no noise and heaps of level.
the internal mic is crap so i decided to change the microphone with anything i could find - it has to be electret mic.
I had a few lying around and some worked well and some did not - i eventually found one that worked really well will heaps of level - the
only prob was that it was twice the size of the original.
i had to cut some of the plastic away but eventually got it installed.
The internal mic works great now - much better than the muffled one that came with the unit.
I left the second mic connected as it seems to make no difference in or out.
So what i have found -
firmware on 3.x no good for mic
ics makes mic work well if you use exeternal.
internal mic - get rid of it as it is useless.
hope this helps someone as i spent lots of time trying to fix this

OK but...
jzaiter said:
hi all
today i finally got to the bottom of the microphone issue
versions 3.x had some issues with the mic that cant be fixed - tried different internal and external mics but no good - i thought it was a hardware issue
and not able to solve but after ota update of ics the external mic is perfect - crystal clear and no noise and heaps of level.
the internal mic is crap so i decided to change the microphone with anything i could find - it has to be electret mic.
I had a few lying around and some worked well and some did not - i eventually found one that worked really well will heaps of level - the
only prob was that it was twice the size of the original.
i had to cut some of the plastic away but eventually got it installed.
The internal mic works great now - much better than the muffled one that came with the unit.
I left the second mic connected as it seems to make no difference in or out.
So what i have found -
firmware on 3.x no good for mic
ics makes mic work well if you use exeternal.
internal mic - get rid of it as it is useless.
hope this helps someone as i spent lots of time trying to fix this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HoneyComb 3.2 disconnected the rear microphone, Resulted in Better Quality without helicopter noise specially better for skype Etc.
Video recording still Just hardly acceptable. but quality is still bad.
Wont buy from acer anymore.

[Q] Does the N10 have a headset (hp+mic) connector?

For those who think the answer would be an obvious "yes, why the hell wouldn't it?", I don't blame you, I would too, but please see here (tl;dr: the Nexus 7 doesn't). If/when you have access to one, would you please test it by lightly blowing or tapping on the headset's mic? On the N7 thread there were several people that got confused cause the tablet's own mic was picking up their voice anyway and they thought it was the headset's.

i didn't bother reading the entire thread you linked, but from what i could gather, it was stated by google, it should work for the n7. given that the thread was opened in july, when the n7 was still really new, i would agree with the theory that the plug was not it far enough. the same thing was going on with my phone (sgs2), when it was new and people on the forum were worried that the handsfree wouldn't work. in the end, the solution was, "try again, push harder" and then it worked for everybody.
why would they leave out this feature? doesn't make much sense. also, even if they would (and they wouldn't!), it'd still be possible to use a bluetooth stereo headset for both music and mic.

I am as confused as you are as to why they would leave it out, but in that thread it was confirmed independently by various parties, including ifixit, a response from google support, and even some that tested before and said it worked, but then admitted they were wrong when testing via tapping the mic. Besides it not working, a teardown reveals that the jack is TRS (regular stereo headphones) not TRRS (4-connector).
Since that post was started, there's been even more confirmation. When I searched for it that's the only place I could find discussing it, but now if you google for it you can find other threads as well.
Re:bluetooth alternatives. That's OK for communications apps, but for stuff like recording apps it's a problem. If there's one thing Android is lagging WAY behind than iOS is recording apps. Also many apps have BT issues depending on device, Groove IP doesn't work well with it on my N7, and not even on my GB Samsung phone, for which it does work for regular carrier calls -- there's also some BT issues in the thread.

N7 does not have mic in capability via headphone socket.
I record a lot of music and to be able to plug in a mic would be great as I did with my iPod touch, but Google left that bit out for some stupid reason.
N10 would be wise to have it included.
Sent from my Nexus 7

You will just have to wait and see after someone buys one and checks it out.It is all guesswork before then.We all guessed wrong on the N7.

James-NC said:
You will just have to wait and see after someone buys one and checks it out.It is all guesswork before then.We all guessed wrong on the N7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nexus 10 uses a Wolfson audio chip and the 7 uses something else; if that's what controls recording, you can see if a device with a similar chip (like the Galaxy S) has that feature.
I honestly have no idea if that's what determines recording capabilities, so don't make fun of me if I'm wrong lol