[SOLVED] Internal mic not working

Hello,
I cannot get my laptop (Z15.2 core) to hear me using internal mic. I can use a bluetooth headset, but with the internal mic there is nothing.
I have set the sound input volume to high. when I look in the settings screen I can't see any blue lines indicating strength. Sometimes it will work for a short time after a boot but it never lasts more than a few minutes.
Screenshot:
https://imgur.com/ra0iJgg
This has been a real issue lately what with video calling so popular.
Alsamixer:
https://imgur.com/yda5sWh
https://imgur.com/ExAZVZb

What's strange is that if I set mic level in alsamixer it seems to work for a second, but doesn't last, and also Changing between "Internal microphone - Built in audio" and "Headset microphone - built in audio" resets alsamixer internal mic volume to 0.
I don't really know what I'm doing, everything I've tried is after reading suggestions on google.
Thanks

Hi, try installing GNOME Alsa Mixer - it is what I have had to install on Zorin 15.2 and FerenOS 2020.04 to get Sound Card recognised.



Also try removing your attached headphones as they are showing as present in that picture you uploaded to imgur.

Swarfendor437 wrote:Hi, try installing GNOME Alsa Mixer - it is what I have had to install on Zorin 15.2 and FerenOS 2020.04 to get Sound Card recognised.

The attachment GNOME Alsa Mixer.jpg is no longer available

Also try removing your attached headphones as they are showing as present in that picture you uploaded to imgur.

Don't know what each option does here but with the settings shown in screenshot, it recognized sound for an instant and then stopped working again.

Capture is your mic - it is set to zero you need to slide that slider up.

I would also remove your headset - I suspect a clash of the microphones (not Titans!)

Swarfendor437 wrote:Capture is your mic - it is set to zero you need to slide that slider up.

I would also remove your headset - I suspect a clash of the microphones (not Titans!)

After setting all volumes to max, it worked for nearly one second before completely stopping.
Also for some reason that "headset' is always there, built in. I'm not sure why there are 2.

Hi, try unchecking each IEC958 box to see which disappears, then just leave one capture-mic box active.

Swarfendor437 wrote:Hi, try unchecking each IEC958 box to see which disappears, then just leave one capture-mic box active.

Didn't help. accidentally removed and couldn't reinstall gnome . tried live usb, didnt work there either. Installed windows. Works perfectly. Tried elementary os live usb, works perfectly. Tried fedroa kde live usb, not working. Installed eOS, not working, same exact synptoms as zorin. WTF!?

Yes, that is the wonder of hardware that wasn't built for Linux I'm afraid. My current frustration is that Fedora 31 Workstation picks up my scanner using Document Scanner (the new name for Simple Scan) and works out of the box). Tried compiling the latest Simple Scan packages manually and it still doesn't pick up the scanner. But it is not enough for me to move to Fedora - as it currently stands it is appalling!

My only other comment about your results is to establish which version of the kernel is running on those other distributions you tried and to try and install the same kernel version in Zorin to see if that resolves the issue:

https://linuxhint.com/upgrade-kernel-ubuntu-1804/

Swarfendor437 wrote:Yes, that is the wonder of hardware that wasn't built for Linux I'm afraid. My current frustration is that Fedora 31 Workstation picks up my scanner using Document Scanner (the new name for Simple Scan) and works out of the box). Tried compiling the latest Simple Scan packages manually and it still doesn't pick up the scanner. But it is not enough for me to move to Fedora - as it currently stands it is appalling!

My only other comment about your results is to establish which version of the kernel is running on those other distributions you tried and to try and install the same kernel version in Zorin to see if that resolves the issue:

https://linuxhint.com/upgrade-kernel-ubuntu-1804/

You were right about it being the kernel. I installed 4.19 (the version that worked in the live usb) and booted into that from grub. Works great now. Thanks for all your help as always!

Glad you got it sorted friend! And thanks for sharing the solution!