If you’ve ever tried your hand at podcasting or streaming, you’ll know the importance of good sound quality.
Microphone problems can make simple tasks like recording yourself and video calls a lot more difficult than they should be!
We’ve all run into microphone volume issues from time to time, but luckily, there are a few things that can solve volume issues. The method may vary depending on your operating system or the type of desktop that you’re using.
You’ll learn some common ways of making your microphone louder in this article, including adjusting your mic sensitivity, placing it in the correct position, and using mic boosting applications.
Keep reading to find out how to make your mic louder (see also ‘What Does “Drop The Mic” Mean?‘)!
Try A Different Mic Position
It may go without saying, but the position of your microphone matters a lot when you are recording. Your voice’s volume level can affect whether listeners are tuning into what you are saying.
You might think that positioning the microphone closer to your mouth might make your volume louder, but this isn’t the case.
If you place the mic too close to your lips, the audio can turn out garbled and lead to frustrating sound issues.
If your listeners cannot understand what you are saying, there’s little point in recording!
Try positioning the microphone in different locations, like to your right, to your left, or a few feet away from you, and see if this makes a difference to the audio volume.
Adjust Mic Sensitivity
If your microphone is too quiet, there may be an issue with its sensitivity, which means the device won’t be able to pick up your voice.
If you suspect that this is the reason your mic is quiet, follow these steps to change its sensitivity.
- Click on the Control Panel.
- Locate and open the Sound tab.
- Select Recordings
- Find your microphone name in the drop-down tab, then select it
- Change the Sensitivity level as needed
Avoid turning the sensitivity up too much, as this may make the microphone pick up small noises in your environment.
Adjust Mic Input
You can also try increasing your microphone’s input and see if this makes it louder. This is a good tip to try if your microphone is picking up your voice, but others can’t hear what you’re saying.
Increase your microphone’s input by following these steps.
- Locate the Sound picture on the right of your taskbar, then right-click on it.
- Choose Sound Settings.
- Locate your microphone’s name under the Input label, then select it.
- You will then find a slider you can adjust to control the microphone. Move it to the right to increase the input.
Change The Settings
If adjusting the input and sensitivity hasn’t worked, you may need to delve deeper into the settings. You’ll be able to increase or decrease mic volume through your computer settings.
- Begin by opening your Start menu and select Settings.
- Click on System.
- Choose Sound from the names on the left.
- Select the microphone that you use under Input.
- Choose Device Properties.
- Adjust the slider labeled Microphone Volume to increase the volume.
After this, test your microphone to see if this made a difference.
You can do this by selecting Start Test, then start speaking. You’ll notice a specific level that your computer notes your voice at.
Increase Volume Through the Control Panel
You can also try using the Control Panel to increase your microphone volume.
- Begin by selecting the Control Panel.
- Choose Hardware & Sound.
- Select Sound.
- Locate the Recording label.
- Find the microphone that you use and right-click on it.
- Choose Properties.
- Locate the Levels label.
- Increase the value with the slider or by typing a greater value in the text box.
- Select OK to make the changes.
If you reach 100 with the first slider and aren’t pleased with the outcome, try the Boost slider and see if the microphone reaches a greater level.
Other Methods Of Increasing Microphone Volume
If the methods above haven’t made a difference, you may need to try some less common ways of increasing microphone volume.
Look At App Permissions
The reason why your microphone may be quiet is that your app doesn’t register it. This is a rare occurrence, but you may want to rule it out, and it doesn’t take that long to do so.
- Select the Start menu, then Choose Settings > Privacy.
- Go to App Permissions and select Microphone.
- Choose Change and permit Allow apps to access your microphone.
- This will display a list of applications. Tick the apps you want to give access to your mic.
- Choose Allow desktop applications to access the mic.
Check the Drivers
It’s easy to forget about updates. This is normally not a huge issue, but missing updates can cause performance problems.
Sometimes all you need to do is update your drivers. Follow these steps to do so:
- Open Device Manager.
- Choose Audio input and output.
- Right-click your microphone in the expanded drop-down menu, then select Update Driver.
- Choose Sound, video, and game controllers.
- Right-click the sound card and choose Update driver.
- Restart your computer to finish updating the drivers.
Try Mic Boosting Applications
If all fails, you can try third-party volume boosting apps.
- Audacity is an audio editing software that can help boost your volume.
- Voicementer is another audio mixer that can be used with several sources.
- EXPStudio is a mic-boosting app that supports several formats.
All of these features are free and have different benefits and drawbacks, but they all work well at increasing microphone volume.
The Bottom Line
Online gaming, streaming, podcasts, and video calls have made microphones an important fixture within the home. Unfortunately, this means that it can be very frustrating when a microphone starts malfunctioning.
There are some common tips outlined above that may help solve your microphone issue. If these fail, you can also try the less common tips in the article and see if this fixes the problem.
If none of these tips help, the issue might be with the microphone itself, so you may need to purchase a replacement.
