Aspire 5 A515-56 Onboard microphone has low output

I just got an Aspire A515-56 laptop and the microphone output is almost nonexistent. In the test areas the volume bar barely shows any output. Using the voice recorder and Skype test I can barely hear my voice. I installed the drivers available on the Acer support download for my serial number. It made the speakers quit working, so I restored from the restore point. I have done a reset from the hard drive and a reset directly from Microsoft, still no joy.

Speakers work fine and are adjustable. Settings/System Sound/Sound/Test your microphone shows the volume bar with a blip from time to time, if I speak very loud. If I select Device Properties there is an option to test the microphone and I can set the bar to 100%, but then it immediately drops back to 54% if there is another app accessing the microphone, like Skype. When speaking it will go up to 40%, volume when the maximum is set to 100%. If I close one app I have to go back to Device Properties for the mic and reset the maximum volume to 100%. It seems to stay there if I don't access any other app that uses the microphone. There is also "additional device properties" with a "level" tab, but that setting matches the setting for in Device Properties.

Is there any driver available other than the ones on the Acer site? Is there any other volume output adjustment I can make?

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JackE

>>>If I close one app I have to go back to Device Properties for the mic and reset the maximum volume to 100%. It seems to stay there if I don't access any other app that uses the microphone.>>>

Makes sense. Apparently when the apps that use the mic are opened, they reset it to whatever levels they've been left at in previous sessions. I'm not sure there's a problem? Perhaps I'm missing something? Jack E/NJ

richw64

Out of the box the microphone level is barely able to make any of the apps' sound level meter move. If you adjust the microphone level in settings/sound/recording to 100% and perform the microphone test, the highest level is only 42%. If you set it to 50% the sound test reaches only 1%. Some actions will reduce the maximum setting to much less, reducing the output of the mic to less than 20%. (This hasn't happened again. It was preventing me from setting to 100%. I would make the change then the maximum dropped into the 70s. So far, this hasn't returned.) If the setting is 100% and the tested level is only 42% at best, something isn't right.

On an old Dell laptop (2012) I have the setting at 30% and recordings are very audible. The Dell (Windows 7) has a microphone level and a microphone boost setting. The Aspire has only one setting for the microphone array, and it's set to 100%. Using Skype is almost impossible and voice recording is pretty much unusable unless I lower my head to the edge of the laptop. I have to use a USB Logitech camera just for the microphone it has. It's still low, but better than the internal mic.

JackE

>>>I just got an Aspire A515-56 laptop>>>

Shut the machine off. Turn it back on and IMMEDIATELY press and hold the ALT key while tapping the F10 key. A recovery screen should appear to allow you to do an erase everything factory-fresh system reset. After resetting, temporarily disable wifi and open Control Panel. Search 'restore point'. Click 'create a restore point' in the left pane. In the box that pops up, make sure System Protection is turned on. Then enable wifi again and test the mic. If the mic is still too low, return the laptop to the vendor/seller as defective for a refund or exchange before the vendor's RMA returns policy period expires, usually only a few weeks. ACER warranty service will take longer. Jack E/NJ

richw64

Thanks, Jack. I've already done 3 resets to no avail. Out of the box the restore point was turned off, which I didn't find out until after I had applied the sound drivers on the Acer site for my model of Aspire. The drivers didn't make the mic any better and it killed the sound totally. I managed to Google up an earlier driver that put me back to where I started. I turned on restore point after that and created a restore point. It was afterward that I chatted with a couple of agents on the Acer support site. Each of them had me do a complete reset. I did two with a complete download from Microsoft and another reset from the hard drive files. Neither of them made a difference.

The help desk agents were nice but weren't able to help me. They suggested I return the laptop for repair, not in the original box and at my expense, even though I bought it from the Acer website. I just bought this laptop last week and I'm very sorry I did. I've used several Dell products until now, desktops and laptops. I wanted to try something different; big mistake, never Acer again.

JackE

Call the 800 number in this link and get an RMA pronto. Jack E/NJ

richw64

They agreed to send me a pre-paid lable to return the laptop. They said there is no option for refund or replacement. I will try your suggestion for the RMA and see if they will take it back. Thanks very much for your help.

JackE

ACER customer/technical service one-year period warranty policies seem to be handled differently than ACER store marketing/sales 15-day returns period policies. Good luck. Jack E/NJ

richw64

I tried today but they are closed, will try first thing in the morning. On their site there isn't a direct link from support to sales & warranty, but when I asked the help desk agent they said there wasn't any option to return. If I can get out of this sale I'm going back to Dell. I regret leaving them to try something else. Their products are near bullet proof, at least from my experience.

JackE

I usually don't buy direct. Re-sellers are often cheaper with better returns policies. Jack E/NJ

richw64

Acer agreed to take the return. Today was the last day I could request this, so thanks ever so much for your help.

I purchased my first computer from Dell, a desktop, in 1997. I have purchased from Dell, HP and Toshiba online, never had a problem, always got a good price. With Acer the latest laptop was available from them. Online stores, Amazon and the like all had earlier models. The price on this one was good and they have been very nice about the small amount of support they provided, including the return.

Again, thanks for your help

JackE

Congrats on the return. Maybe you just lucked out and got a lemon. Wanna try another one or perhaps even two?

I've used Newegg quite often. Good returns policy. Jack E/NJ

richw64

>Wanna try another one or perhaps even two?

Image: https://community.acer.com/plugins/emojiextender/emoji/twitter/smiley.png

I've used Newegg quite often. Good returns policy. Jack E/NJ

I think you're baiting me there, Jack. :-D

Maybe you're right and I got a lemon. There were some other minor things that I didn't like about the keyboard layout but that's just getting used to something new, I hope. Never had a keyboard where you had to press shift-home or shift-end. I do a lot of spread sheets and that could complicate some selection maneuvers. I think the page-up/down required shift too. I'm going to take a closer look at the keyboard layouts from now on.

I'm back to looking at HP and Dell but right now I'm taking a breather from shopping for laptops. Several HPs I liked were sold out and the Dell discounts aren't the greatest. I found one I liked but the first review complained the mic and sound didn't work; bad omen. I don't recall which one it was, Dell or HP.

I put the Acer in the system at FedEx so they should have it in a few days. When the refund clears I may shop again. I'm not in a big hurry, this 8 year old (this month) Dell is noisy and a little slow, but it does the job.

I have used Newegg in the past, purchased several sets of speakers from them. I've never had to return anything. I think I bought some computer peripherals from them but nothing recently. Bought a Toshiba from Rakuten. It was a great laptop for 4 years until a screw came loose inside and shorted the motherboard. I found an identical new one (display model close out) on eBay for half the price, ordered it and just swapped the hard drive for the one from the wrecked Toshiba; worked perfectly.

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