Hello.
I received my PCS laptop (a 15.6" Optimus XI) almost two weeks ago and what a wonderful machine it is. I am blown away by it.
However, I have had one issue which I have been trying to sort out with technical support. They have been very helpful but ultimately have asked me to return the laptop for inspection. It seems such a minor problem though and I wonder if anybody here can give any additional help which may have been missed and help me to avoid a return.
The problem I have is with the earphone socket. When regular earphones (with two stripes on the plug) are inserted, the sound comes through the earphones as expected but the laptop's onboard microphone is disabled so I can't be heard.
If I use some earphones with an in-line microphone (3 stripes on the plug), the earphones receive the sound output and the in-line microphone is active (as would be expected) until I press the button on the lead (which I presume is normal - I've never used them before - they came with an old phone and I only found them lurking in a drawer today).
My wife and I have been having regular work Zoom meetings where we are required to wear earphones and, although I have now found the pair with an in-line microphone which is a possible workaround, there have been times when we have both been in the same meeting and want to use two pairs of earphones with a splitter and to be able to speak into the onboard microphone. This hasn't been possible. Besides, I have far better earphones that I would like to use along with the onboard microphone.
I'm assuming that it should be possible to plug in earphones and still use the onboard microphone?
I have reinstalled the Realtek Sound Drivers and the Soundblaster Cinema software and have delved into the sound settings in Control Panel without any success.
I have seen mention online of Realtek Drivers coming with an audio manager where there might be a tickbox to indicate whether or not you are using a headset (with microphone) or just earphones. I have no such Realtek Audio Manager. I am not asked which kind of device I am plugging in when I do so.
So, is anybody able to give me any insights into what should happen or is this by design?
Many thanks in advance.
I received my PCS laptop (a 15.6" Optimus XI) almost two weeks ago and what a wonderful machine it is. I am blown away by it.
However, I have had one issue which I have been trying to sort out with technical support. They have been very helpful but ultimately have asked me to return the laptop for inspection. It seems such a minor problem though and I wonder if anybody here can give any additional help which may have been missed and help me to avoid a return.
The problem I have is with the earphone socket. When regular earphones (with two stripes on the plug) are inserted, the sound comes through the earphones as expected but the laptop's onboard microphone is disabled so I can't be heard.
If I use some earphones with an in-line microphone (3 stripes on the plug), the earphones receive the sound output and the in-line microphone is active (as would be expected) until I press the button on the lead (which I presume is normal - I've never used them before - they came with an old phone and I only found them lurking in a drawer today).
My wife and I have been having regular work Zoom meetings where we are required to wear earphones and, although I have now found the pair with an in-line microphone which is a possible workaround, there have been times when we have both been in the same meeting and want to use two pairs of earphones with a splitter and to be able to speak into the onboard microphone. This hasn't been possible. Besides, I have far better earphones that I would like to use along with the onboard microphone.
I'm assuming that it should be possible to plug in earphones and still use the onboard microphone?
I have reinstalled the Realtek Sound Drivers and the Soundblaster Cinema software and have delved into the sound settings in Control Panel without any success.
I have seen mention online of Realtek Drivers coming with an audio manager where there might be a tickbox to indicate whether or not you are using a headset (with microphone) or just earphones. I have no such Realtek Audio Manager. I am not asked which kind of device I am plugging in when I do so.
So, is anybody able to give me any insights into what should happen or is this by design?
Many thanks in advance.
