Headset Port Doesn't Recognize Mono Microphone

shishkebab

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Jun 19, 2009
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Hi there!

I've been using a laptop to stream to Twitch, but it has an issue I've never encountered before: the laptop won't recognize a standalone mono microphone. My guess just looking at the port is that since there is only one 3.5mm port with a little headset icon, as opposed to two separate ports for headphones and mic, the port must be designed to use what would normally be the L and R channels for ingress and egress audio. If I'm right, it's probably obvious to anyone who knows anything about this stuff, but I've never seen this before. This would mean that the mono mic is only sending a signal to the egress audio channel, so the laptop thinks no mic is connected at all. Is all this right?

My current solution is a USB dongle that has 3.5mm headphone and mic ports on it, but this crappy little thing causes a little bit of static noise, and about 200 milliseconds of delay which sounds terrible when I'm streaming a rhythm game.

So my question is (TL;DR): If I used a 3.5mm Mono Female to 3.5mm Stereo Male adapter like this one, would the laptop recognize the incoming audio?

I imagine it would no longer produce sound out of the speakers since it would really think a complete headset was plugged in, but that doesn't really matter since the USB hub I'm using causes this effect anyway.

Thanks!
 
Is it an Asus system? It sounds like a combo port. Several Asus laptops employ these to save a bit of real estate on the board, I think.

I have no personal experience with testing the adapter you mentioned, but I would say go for it. If you can get it locally or order one with a return policy that doesn't lay a restock fee on you, it's worth a shot. :)
 
Ah, well it doesn't make all the difference really. We're just accustomed to hearing feedback on the combo port on some Asus models since most users are confused by it. :)

Give the adapter a shot! If you need to purchase one, then as long as you can return it and, ideally, not face a restocking charge, then it's worth the effort.
 

shishkebab

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Jun 19, 2009
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Thanks, Jarotech! Indeed, the adapter I listed did not make a difference. The adapter you listed looks to spell out that it solves exactly the problem I have, so I'll give it a shot and let you know.