Test your external microphone jack

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iraf

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
66
1
I purchased 2 Nexus 7 tablets from Google and both appear to :(have the same manufacturing defect; if you insert a headphone/mic, the headphone works fine but the external mic does not. Perhaps a solder joint is bad in both receptacles. I wanted to use the tablet for Skype and SIP so I am returning both units. :(
 

iraf

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
66
1
Yes, various posts as well as Google support have confirmed that it should work.
 

neilrl79

Senior Member
Aug 15, 2010
816
222
Maryland
My N7 only has 1 channel coming out of the headphones. I tested the headphones and they definitely work. I don't have headphones that have a mic so I can't test if that works tho.
 

krazichinaman

Senior Member
Mar 20, 2008
51
1
I have the same issue of the sound only coming out of 1 side on the headphones. I've tested multiple headphones on different units and it's the nexus 7 which I will be exchanging this coming Sunday.
 

brianjr1

Senior Member
Jul 23, 2012
103
25
I haven't had an issue with my headphones at all - crisp sound out of both ears. The microphone on the unit works as well (haven't had a chance to try out the wired ones). The only gripe I have about sound is that I wish the speakers were a bit louder, but a slight handcup on the back normally takes care of that!
 

kenyee

Senior Member
Dec 11, 2008
74
4
My N7 only has 1 channel coming out of the headphones. I tested the headphones and they definitely work. I don't have headphones that have a mic so I can't test if that works tho.

Did you hear a loud click when you put your headphones in?

If not, ram it in HARD. It's seriously the tightest headphone jack I've ever seen...
 

iraf

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
66
1
Just to be (crystal) clear, it is the external mic input that is not working. The internal mic works fine. This may not be important to you if you never intend to use a headphone/mic. What is happening on my defective units is that the jack is not cutting out the internal mic and connecting the external mic so when you do a test make sure that the input is in fact coming from the external mic (tap on the external mic to be sure).
 

clubtech

Senior Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,908
353
USA
I don't think it supports the mic through the 3.5mm jack. I just tried a few headsets i have and none of them worked with the mic.
Where did you see any reference to the mix being enabled to the headphones jack?

Thanks.
 

iraf

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
66
1
Google support says it does but then maybe they don't know what they are talking about? I have seen others say that it works but I am dubious as to whether they have actually tested it. Could someone else confirm that it works (or doesn't)? It could be that many units have this defect or it could be that it was never intended to work.
 

NuShrike

Senior Recognized Developer
Sep 18, 2007
1,128
69
It's probably the same design-flaw problem the original iPhone had. Probably only fixable with a special adapter jack.
 

iraf

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
66
1
That would certainly be nice to know before I return these supposedly defective units. Any have such an adaptor that could test this theory?
 

aquadoodle

New member
Jul 24, 2012
4
0
That would certainly be nice to know before I return these supposedly defective units. Any have such an adaptor that could test this theory?

I'm curious about this too. I was just about to contact Google for the same reasons until I found this thread.

I've spent the last hour looking for adapters and cannot find anything.

I want to use the Nexus 7 for multitrack recording but cannot seem to get the microphone working either, it's driving me nuts. I've heard that Jelly Bean supports usb microphones but I can't get mine to work.

I may send the N7 back and get a replacement as the speaker also distorts at around 40% volume, I think the speakers must be blown in this one I have. Such a pity people have been having issues with them.
 

iraf

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
66
1
I wrote to the iFixit folks who did the teardown on the Nexus 7 to see if they could provide a definitive answer as to whether the jack is wired to accommodate an external mic or not.
 

Pond-life

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2011
369
132
I wrote to the iFixit folks who did the teardown on the Nexus 7 to see if they could provide a definitive answer as to whether the jack is wired to accommodate an external mic or not.

Good thinking they could know.
Thought mine was working but on unit mic was just picking up the noise rather than the headset.
That was an ipod headset though.

------
Is this perpetual recaptcha every time I post just because I've not posted much on here as it's a real irritant
 
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iraf

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
66
1
Based on these replies (one working unit is enough to prove it should work) and the number of people who say their external mic is not working, I believe that Google/Asus may have a mass defect in the units they have been shipping.
 

jbot

Member
Dec 4, 2007
12
1
I just posted a thread about this (I did search before creating, and didn't see anyone with my problem), but this post matches my symptoms.

I am having the exact same problem. My headset jack works for headphones, but when plugging in a headset, it treats it like headphones. the mic on the tablet is still working when the headset it plugged in.

---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 PM ----------

Based on these replies (one working unit is enough to prove it should work) and the number of people who say their external mic is not working, I believe that Google/Asus may have a mass defect in the units they have been shipping.

i think this as well, but the ones that are saying it is working, are they absolutely positive that the tablet mic isn't what's picking up their voice?

any easy test would be to do the skype test call, say "test 1" directly into the headset mic away from tablet, then "test 2" into the tablet mic. on the playback, you should be able to determine which mic is the one that is working since it should be much louder.

Another note... the little pamphlet guide that comes with the tablet describes the jack as a "headset" jack, not "headphone" jack. if it does not support a mic, that would be a typo.
 
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    I would have sworn my headset mic was working. I have been using grooveip regularly on the Nexus 7(with a wired headset) to make and receive phonecalls. However after reading this thread, I did some more testing and was disappointed to realize that the headset mic was not working.

    When the tablet was covered with a bunch of pillows and the headset plugged in...Google Now couldn't hear me. However, when I removed the pillows, google now heard me just fine(even when I spoke softly).

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
    1
    Using a Plantronics BackBeat 903+ stereo headset with mic, I was able to make a phone call using groovip, however the only way I was able to get sound out of the headset was to turn off the Bluetooth button from within grooveip during a call. Doing this transferred the sound from the Nexus 7 speaker to the headset. Unfortunately it didn't appear that the headset mic was working because as a got farther away from the Nexus 7, the person I was talking to told me it sounded like I was talking to him from across the room(Which I was).

    I had the same issue. I'm thinking it's a software issue. It seems no external Mics are working, Jack or Bluetooth. Maybe a Dev can investigate.

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
    1
    iFixit reply

    I received a reply from iFixit regarding what is inside the Nexus 7:

    foobario wrote:

    The Nexus 7 has a normal 3-pole headphone-only jack at the
    bottom, and two microphones: one on the top left (on a
    little daughterboard plugged into the mainboard) and one on
    the lower left edge (soldered directly to the mainboard)
    about 1" above the docking pins.

    I don't know why they chose to do that. It is possible to
    replace the jack with a 4-pole and reroute the top
    microphone through it so it behaves as you would expect, but
    it's not a simple hack and it requires a willingness to
    shred your warranty and the equipment & skill to work with
    small SMD parts and flex-cable. Also, physically fitting
    and securing a 4-pole jack will probably involve epoxy and a
    dremel in addition to soldering little jumper wires.

    The Realtek ALC5642 - the (micro|head)phone driver chip -
    has Echo Cancellation and Noise Suppression built-in; one
    potential issue is whether the boost gain on the microphones
    (which is software selectable when the chip is used in PCs)
    is fine the way it is set, or if it can be tweaked. I
    haven't yet looked into how Android deals with this, nor do
    I know if it is a software or firmware setting - I strongly
    suspect it is software as that is the only way that makes
    sense, but putting in a 4-pole jack in the first place makes
    the same kind of sense and they didn't do that.

    I suspect the second microphone strips out ambient noise,
    such as the noise of the speakers - which it is much closer
    to - when the top mic is being used... that would be an easy
    way to prevent feedback, but it wouldn't be necessary when
    using a headset w/microphone. If it doesn't cause any
    problems I'll leave it alone so everything works the same
    without headphones.

    I'll be tearing into my N7 next week to experiment with this
    stuff... I'll post results when I have them.

    I think that the matter is now closed...notwithstanding reports to the contrary, the Nexus 7 does not support a headset mic via the audio jack.
    1
    I paired my plantronics 520 headset to my n& and it appeared to me the bt mic works fine. While talking on grooveip I was able to close the case, and move 15' and whisper and the person on the other end said I sounded fine.

    I still cannot get the N7 to see the phone profile of my MotoS305 though unfortunately.

    But grooveip works great with my Plantronsics headset.
    1
    Ah I see. Yeah as I mentioned mine being stereo shows up as media and phone which I understand to be correct, but no joy so far in bluetooth recording.

    There aren't many apps that boast bluetooth recording support. I tried this one:

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samalyse.free.tapemachine&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLnNhbWFseXNlLmZyZWUudGFwZW1hY2hpbmUiXQ..

    That indicates it supports bluetooth recording. You have to enable it in the options. For my it gives an error 'unable to open audio input'

    I could not get that one or another one to work. The other one FCed, and this one couldnt find the bluetooth audio source and then fced. I do not know if it is JB or what at this point.