Here's a quick question.
Where is the mic pick-up located on the tab? Reason being, I got a new leather cover for New Years present. And now, people say my skype video comm (audio) is "garbled" unless I remove it from the cover.
The microphone is located in between the top bezel and screen, dead center of device. If you look VERY closely you can see a little 'dash' for the microphone in the crevice. Look where my finger is pointing in the picture.
And yes, my case has the same effect on the microphone. Sucks.
@tgtoys Thanks! I never would have found it! That explains why my audio was garbled.
Related
I got some moisture in my A500 while putting a screen cover on it and the unit was misbehaving. I have that cleared up now (hopefully), but noticed something about the microphone. It was partially covered by a tag from one of the wiring looms! I don't know if moving this tag out of the way will improve the microphone, but it sure as heck aint going to hurt it! Since the microphone points away from you as you hold the tablet, I'm not sure it's ever going to pick up your voice properly.
Pics are attached
Rob
update: I put my a500 back together, but forgot I had the sd card still in there. The end result was that I cracked the sd card which renders it useless. I'll have to buy another one now. The microphone recording volume is still quite low, no improvement there. I think it's a design oversight and any tablet should probably have front and rear facing microphones. Only use the one facing away for video recording, othewise use the one facing the user.
Did you try turning the mic over? Maybe they made two mistakes. Putting the mic in wrong and then covering it with the tag
The A500 has a 2 microphones array, for noise canceling effect.
The microphone you put the tag label away from is the noise canceling one, the main microphone is just at the left of that one and its facing front. As you put away that tag you may have an improvement on the noise canceling effect, if you try to turn over the mic it will not harm the device but I'm pretty sure it will not help noise canceling.
Holding the A500 landscape and dock port down, the gap of the front facing mic is between the screen glass and the upper frame, is just right in the middle, it is hard to see but can be seen from certain angles and light conditions.
Also you provided the proof that I'm not writing nonsenses, in the first picture attached, there are those two alike connectors, both have plugged microphones, and they have the same tag flap with the same codes and digits imprinted. If you look closely you can see the edge of the front facing mic, it's at the left of the back facing mic and it's almost covered by the circuit board where both microphones connectors are.
I as well had taken my tablet apart due tons issue with video cable loose.and noticed exactly where the mice are at. Thinking about going tobeadeo shak or order from black box better mic to out in.I have done this on laptop before
silverball.slayer said:
update: I put my a500 back together, but forgot I had the sd card still in there. The end result was that I cracked the sd card which renders it useless. I'll have to buy another one now. The microphone recording volume is still quite low, no improvement there. I think it's a design oversight and any tablet should probably have front and rear facing microphones. Only use the one facing away for video recording, othewise use the one facing the user.
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I did a few recordings to test the noise canceling array, and be able to notice the noise canceling effect when recording video with front facing camera, when recording with back facing camera, I notice no noise canceling, the recording level is a little low, but was ok, I'm not sure if this feature is binded to which camera the user is using during record, also I have no professional equipment or applications to make sure that the noise canceling effect/feature was working or not.
I agree that this kind of double microphone array should be a lot more user friendly, letting a user decide to use both microphones, or using only one and which one, or turn on or off noise canceling, or any other feature as the recording level, will not harm anyone. And having the device defaults to record using front facing camera with front mic and noise canceling, and when using back facing camera with back mic, without noise canceling, will work as most users wanted it to work.
The microphone on my third A500 is working great so far. I returned the second one today because the microphone audio was very low. It's still running 3.01 stock because the 3.01 OTA update isn't available yet for my unit.
Rob
So I opened the back of the A500 and looked around abit and switched places with the microphone and the noise canceller. And now at least when I record, peoples voices can be heard pretty decent. Plus I drilled a hole in the 'hole' to open up the space for the sound to come in abit.
So even with the Acer case on you can hear the voices pretty well
Before you couldnt hear anything. But now the whole google voice thing isnt so easy to use since the mic is face the opposite way but I never used it anyways, plus for VOIP calls its much better to use a headphone.
Just sharing
Please feel free to ask any questions.
Cheers!
Edit: From what I saw in the back I believe the microphone could be changed to a better one some day. Just a matter of finding a good replacement.
(01/08/2011)Add: Here is a sample of the sound when you record a person speaking infont of the iconia now with my mod.
Link sample with modded microphone: [http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33166156/Test.3gp
This is my son and as you can see you can hear him perfectly well
I think the noise canceller could be adjusted to 'muffle' the screeching sound abit.
Cheers!
Edit: Link was broken, fixed now.
i am really thinking about doing that. Iit easy to open the case?
mnaderi said:
i am really thinking about doing that. Iit easy to open the case?
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Yes its actually very easy, you have to begin at the corner either left or right on the bottom of the A500 (meaning the Dock port area) you take something very thin and sturdy but be careful not scratch it up or bend to hard just make an opening maybe 2,3mm then stick something plasticky (like a protective shield cover slate) but strong and stick in the opening and drag slowly to the right until the entire left side is open (left to the Dock port I mean) and then from there you just gently lift up up until you have the whole bottom open and then you just again you the plastic tool to drag the sides (left and right) and just gently lift with the plastic tool and slowly it will loosen bit by bit once you have left and right and the bottom released then you just hold the whole thing and lift it and with will click off by itself from the upper part.
Here is a video showing pretty much what I described, its very easy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIvbWo_p3KI
That tear down video makes things look easy
UnicornKaz said:
That tear down video makes things look easy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...there's a tear down vid?
thanks, i opened it up and did some tweaking unfortunately it's only about 30% better, i also made a hole for the case as well. how much did yours improve when you did your mods. i'm guessing the rear mic has to be tweaked as well. thanks
Did you switch places with the mic and the noise canceller?
Pull the Mic out take it to radio shack and get a better set of mic to go in there.I have done this with Michael and internal speakers on notebooks. But I have Bluetooth high def headset. So no need here
this mic problem is seriously killing me.
I often use my tabto record videos but i can never hear any voices cause they are really low. So i am ready to do anything to the tab for a better microphone experience.
As far as drilling holes is concerned, i would want to know where is the mic suitated if there are two. I do noe that one is on the top of the screen in the middle gap between the metal cover n screen glass. Is there another one?
And what can be possibly done to fix or better this issue?
I even tried voip and no1 could hear me, very disappointing pls help sum1.....
i found a kind of solution on youtube...
WuS47cbxyC0
I moved from an iPad to the N7. When I first got it I accidentally and absent-mindedly pushed the SIM opener into the rather stupidly-placed rear mic hole (which is the same size as the tray opener hole) because I'm used to the removal hole being at the side of the tray and was rushing to get it up and running
I can't seem to get it to record anything, so can I assume that I've bust it or does it only kick in under certain conditions or in certain apps? I've tried downloading different voice recording apps but even the ones that allow you to switch mics don't seem to actually switch on the N7 - they just seem to use the mic on the top-right of the device.
Can someone on here test their mics and let me know if it records on both? I know that if I push my finger over the main mic I just get some ambient muffled sound (probably just being picked up by the covered mic).
I don't know how resistant the mic is to having a SIM opening tool pushed quite hard into it, stupid as I feel, I'm sure I'm not the only person to have made this mistake!
Thanks
leoni1980 said:
I moved from an iPad to the N7. When I first got it I accidentally and absent-mindedly pushed the SIM opener into the rather stupidly-placed rear mic hole (which is the same size as the tray opener hole) because I'm used to the removal hole being at the side of the tray and was rushing to get it up and running
I can't seem to get it to record anything, so can I assume that I've bust it or does it only kick in under certain conditions or in certain apps? I've tried downloading different voice recording apps but even the ones that allow you to switch mics don't seem to actually switch on the N7 - they just seem to use the mic on the top-right of the device.
Can someone on here test their mics and let me know if it records on both? I know that if I push my finger over the main mic I just get some ambient muffled sound (probably just being picked up by the covered mic).
I don't know how resistant the mic is to having a SIM opening tool pushed quite hard into it, stupid as I feel, I'm sure I'm not the only person to have made this mistake!
Thanks
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I have not made the same mistake as you but my mic is not working either. Is working only the mic that is in the power button, but not the one on the Sim card tray...
Can any confirm that is a real mic and it´s working?
Thanks!
Mine too... not that loud compared to the main mic in power button.
Confirmed that the microphone is working only when the Nexus is on landscape mode.
I sent an RMA to Google thinking that the unit was faulty and then I came with the solution by myself. What a lack of knowledge of their own product!!
I had to replace my s4 and the one I got has issues with the speaker phone microphone, the one on top. I can't find anything about how to replace it, if possible. Does anyone have a source for that or experience doing it?
hAvAAck said:
I had to replace my s4 and the one I got has issues with the speaker phone microphone, the one on top. I can't find anything about how to replace it, if possible. Does anyone have a source for that or experience doing it?
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Click to collapse
Looks pretty easy & you can get the assembly fairly cheap...and looks like it's attached to/with the charging port http://www.amazon.com/ePartSolution-Samsung-SPH-L720-Charging-Microphone-Replacement/dp/B00EZ69E34
Here's a vid for the charging port replacement (since mics are part of that assembly)
youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54aYNLlmad0
some general teardown pics:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S4+Teardown/13947
BTW....that should also just be covered if you have ins.
sainthooligan said:
Looks pretty easy & you can get the assembly fairly cheap...and looks like it's attached to/with the charging port http://www.amazon.com/ePartSolution-Samsung-SPH-L720-Charging-Microphone-Replacement/dp/B00EZ69E34
Here's a vid for the charging port replacement (since mics are part of that assembly)
youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54aYNLlmad0
some general teardown pics:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S4+Teardown/13947
BTW....that should also just be covered if you have ins.
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Is this for the mic at the bottom of the phone near the microUSB port? I'm having issues with the mic at the top near the audio jack.
hAvAAck said:
Is this for the mic at the bottom of the phone near the microUSB port? I'm having issues with the mic at the top near the audio jack.
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Yep, I did notice you initially mentioned the mic at the to of the phone, which is why I posted what I did.
I personally don't have a need to open my phone up to see for myself at this time, but if I did I'd chronicle the process for you and share some pics.... but again, in the links I shared, pics and vid are relatively easy to follow and access those particular parts for you to see what you actually need.
That said, the assembly for the link I shared looks like it includes the ribbon for the top mic as well as the bottom mic.
Also, from the links that I shared, the teardown only shows the mic location at the bottom, which would be on the assembly. The other mic isn't necessarily shown. So, I think you'll need to do some homework and see how the tear down is. It looks relatively easy to get to, so you can see where the mic is/how it sets for the top...or if it is like the mic at the bottom.
These are what would appear to be the bottom mic http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-Replacement-Internal-MIC-Microphone-for-Samsung-Galaxy-S2-S3-S4-I9300-/261421772171?pt=US_Cell_Phone_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item3cddf3ad8b
So, it isn't necessarily clear if the top mic is the same or not - that's where the links are for, so you can take a look at what you'll need. Crack that puppy open and take a look.
The other thing I was thinking is that it is so close to the headphone jack, it might be a part of that assembly, which is also viewable in the teardown pics. http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-SAMSUNG-GALAXY-S4-SPRINT-SPH-L720-REPLACEMENT-AUDIO-JACK-HEADPHONE-PLUG-/141236749614?pt=US_Cell_Phone_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item20e25dc52e
It's hard to tell what it is exactly without seeing it upfront, so I'm just trying to help point you in the right direction...but I suspect you'll have a better idea if you can take a look on the inside. And judging from the previous links I shared, it doesn't appear that difficult to access where the top mic would rest to see what you need.
EDIT: one other thing, have you simply tried pushing the tip of a push pin or needle to possible clear any debris out of the hole for the mic? is the mic just not working at all? How do you know it's the top mic?
Excellent, thanks. I'm told it's intermittent when I'm speaking on speakerphone (top mic), but not on the regular headset (bottom mic) or bluetooth.
hAvAAck said:
Excellent, thanks. I'm told it's intermittent when I'm speaking on speakerphone (top mic), but not on the regular headset (bottom mic) or bluetooth.
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Just curious, but have you tried turning off the noise cancelling/reduction option? it might be trying to adjust with background noise and is actually working against you...
you can get that from the dialer > Menu > call settings > and deselect "Noise Reduction" ...or during a call hit the little sound wave icon that has a line diagonal through it... it is directly above the "Add call" button - so that it's "grey" rather than green.
Sounds more to me like the noise reduction. Just a thought.
sainthooligan said:
Just curious, but have you tried turning off the noise cancelling/reduction option? it might be trying to adjust with background noise and is actually working against you...
you can get that from the dialer > Menu > call settings > and deselect "Noise Reduction" ...or during a call hit the little sound wave icon that has a line diagonal through it... it is directly above the "Add call" button - so that it's "grey" rather than green.
Sounds more to me like the noise reduction. Just a thought.
Click to expand...
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That might be it. I'm on AOSP, but I turned off the noise suppression.
hAvAAck said:
That might be it. I'm on AOSP, but I turned off the noise suppression.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you might be able to narrow it down at least to software or hardware for sure by trying a different ROM and see if it persists...
Hey guys just got my S5 and I am told that the mic volume is quote low by people I speak to. Is this normal or I have a faulty device on my hands
Very unlikely to be a hardware problem. Usually it's a user error e.g. not holding the phone close enough to your mouth or using the phone in very loud environments.
Try using the phone normally i.e. not in speaker phone mode where performance is worse and you annoy everyone within earshot. You can also try disabling noise reduction in the settings menu. Infrequently you may have water, dirt or your finger (when you hold the phone) obscuring the microphone hole on the bottom of the phone.
It's also possible to tweak the mic volume in the service menu /audio submenu. A forum search will explain the details if you wish to try that.
.
fffft said:
Very unlikely to be a hardware problem. Usually it's a user error e.g. not holding the phone close enough to your mouth or using the phone in very loud environments.
Try using the phone normally i.e. not in speaker phone mode where performance is worse and you annoy everyone within earshot. You can also try disabling noise reduction in the settings menu. Infrequently you may have water, dirt or your finger (when you hold the phone) obscuring the microphone hole on the bottom of the phone.
It's also possible to tweak the mic volume in the service menu /audio submenu. A forum search will explain the details if you wish to try that.
.
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Click to collapse
HI, thanks for the info.. i have seen almost the same in the forum and outside like here http://droidtricks.blogspot.ae/2011/09/how-to-increase-or-boost-low-microphone.html
Is this still valid ?
Same issue with me
dusk1911 said:
Hey guys just got my S5 and I am told that the mic volume is quote low by people I speak to. Is this normal or I have a faulty device on my hands
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Click to collapse
I have the same problem on the same device - but from all the googling I did - It turns out it a common problem with the S5 (single or dual SIM).
So far I did not find any solution to the problem...
Please share if you had any luck?
I am even considering widening the hole of the microphone (it is about 30% narrower then the S4), I do not care that much of the water protection...
Solved!
Happy to report I solved my low mic. problem!
Unfortunately it compromises the waterproofing, but I gladly sacrificed it!
I did poke in the microphone hole with a tin wire about 3-4 mm into the hole. I did not feel any resistance, but apparently I broke the waterproofing membrane on the microphone hole.
Now people can hear me even when I am whispering! I am so happy with my phone! (at one point I was thinking of replacing it because of the muffled mic.!)
The membrane I am talking about can be seen on the middle frame over the mic. hole on the attached picture.
Please if you do what I did - be careful, it might damage the microphone...
armsel said:
Happy to report I solved my low mic. problem!
Unfortunately it compromises the waterproofing, but I gladly sacrificed it!
I did poke in the microphone hole with a tin wire about 3-4 mm into the hole. I did not feel any resistance, but apparently I broke the waterproofing membrane on the microphone hole.
Now people can hear me even when I am whispering! I am so happy with my phone! (at one point I was thinking of replacing it because of the muffled mic.!)
The membrane I am talking about can be seen on the middle frame over the mic. hole on the attached picture.
Please if you do what I did - be careful, it might damage the microphone...
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Click to collapse
Hi armsel,
Good Spot!!! thanks for sharing the trick. I am having the same problem with my and I wish to follow your procedure in my phone.
Please provide more information with detailed steps and screen shots because I'm little confused in figured out microphone hole why because found two holes in bottom and top of the phone. I knew its my own risk and don't consider about waterproof.
Thanks in advance...
Tvm G said:
Hi armsel,
Good Spot!!! thanks for sharing the trick. I am having the same problem with my and I wish to follow your procedure in my phone.
Please provide more information with detailed steps and screen shots because I'm little confused in figured out microphone hole why because found two holes in bottom and top of the phone. I knew its my own risk and don't consider about waterproof.
Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your primary microphone is the one on the bottom - next to the USB port (the top microphone is used for noise cancellation and you can leave as it is). You only need to poke the bottom one. Be gentle - if you feel resistance - don't push (I did not feel any resistance as far as I can remember). Test afterwords and see if there is an improvement - if not, try to penetrate little bit further (I believe I went something like 3, maybe even 5 mm in).
Best way to test - if you have another phone and call it on Viber (I did that with my wife galaxy S4 mini). And leave your next to a radio set with talk show on.
Good luck! :good:
Solved!!!
armsel said:
Your primary microphone is the one on the bottom - next to the USB port (the top microphone is used for noise cancellation and you can leave as it is). You only need to poke the bottom one. Be gentle - if you feel resistance - don't push (I did not feel any resistance as far as I can remember). Test afterwords and see if there is an improvement - if not, try to penetrate little bit further (I believe I went something like 3, maybe even 5 mm in).
Best way to test - if you have another phone and call it on Viber (I did that with my wife galaxy S4 mini). And leave your next to a radio set with talk show on.
Good luck! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi armsel,
Problem is solved now !!! Microphone is working fine now my voice is audible.
Poked with small needle at least 3mm to 4mm and test my voice with voice call and some messenger apps works fine :good:
I am wondering how you got this trick bcos searched whole web but could not get a right solution.
Great help and Thanks Man...