A microphone connected to a computer is used in many cases: from recording a podcast, to making videos for YouTube, or even to record songs!
But to be able to connect your wired microphone to your laptop, you will need to know a few things!
If you want to connect your new microphone to your laptop but you don't know how? No problem, we'll explain everything to you in detail!
How to connect the microphone to your laptop?
Microphone with USB cable or mini jack, here are the steps to follow!
Connecting the microphone with a USB cable!
Depending on the model of your microphone, connectivity with your laptop can be achieved with the USB cable provided by the manufacturer. To properly connect a microphone with a USB cable, follow these steps:
- Connect the microphone to the USB port of your choice on your computer. The USB ports for connection are located on the side sides of your PC or on the back.
- Wait a few seconds for a notification to appear on your computer screen. If nothing appears, don't panic! Disconnect the mic from the port and reconnect it again!
- After the installation is successfully completed, perform the appropriate tests :
- No matter which Windows operating system you are using, windows 10 or 8, see Windows 7 for the oldest, go to the Windows search bar. It is located at the bottom left of your screen. When you get there type “Sound”
- You will see several choices appear including: “ Sound settings ” Click on it.
- If your microphone is not recognized as the default device, go to the “Choose your input device” tab and select your microphone.
- Do a test by speaking through the microphone , if you see the blue band moving, good news, everything is working perfectly!
In the case of a microphone without a USB cable, as is generally the case with a professional microphone, here is how to do it!
How to connect your professional microphone to your laptop?
To connect a professional microphone to a laptop, you will need an adapter . This reduces the normal connection opening from a mic (3.5mm) to a microphone suitable for the laptop.
When you have the adapter, you just put the microphone part on the adapter (in the hole at one end), and the other part plug it into the computer in the “Mp3” section.
It will look something like this:
What to do if your laptop doesn't have a mini-jack input?
If your laptop does not have a sound input device, you can purchase a USB adapter so you can plug in your microphone. It has an internal sound card which allows it to work perfectly.
This will allow you to use the adapter mentioned above for the professional microphone instead of connecting it directly to your laptop. To do this, plug it into the green slot of this USB adapter
Simply, the USB adapter will be connected to your PC USB port. Just like a classic USB key!
The advantage of this type of adapter is that it requires no prior configuration to operate your new microphone. The majority of them are called “ plug & play ”, meaning they connect and use with ease!
Your laptop doesn't want to recognize your microphone?
If after connecting your microphone and checking that the device is indeed plugged in, your laptop may not recognize it! This is probably due to the sound card which is not compatible with your microphone. But don’t worry, this rarely happens!
