Why has my mic stopped working?
QI have a condenser microphone that I use for language learning. It does not require drivers but plugs into the pink socket on my desktop. After applying Windows 10 Creators Update (CU, version 1803), my mic stopped working. Device Manager states that it is working correctly, but there’s no response when it is used. I have tried taking it out and plugging it back in when the PC is turned off and when it is on. I have tried updating the driver, but Device Manager says no drivers are needed. Can you help? Brian Yates
AIt's a bit odd, for sure. Does your PC have a separate sound card installed? It’s possible that CU has detected this and disabled the motherboard’s onboard sound card, or vice versa. In that case the mic might show up as working in Device Manager, but it’s connected to a disabled card. Look at Device Manager’s ‘Sound, video and game controllers’ category. Rightclick each device in turn and, if ‘Enable device’ appears on the pop-up menu, click it (see screenshot above left). Now restart your PC.
If this fails, click Start followed by the Settings cog, then System followed by Sound. In the right-hand pane, under Related Settings, click ‘Sound control panel’. Select the Recording tab, then right-click in the device window and click to tick ‘Show disabled devices’. If your mic appears, right-click it and choose Enable (see screenshot above right).