Installing a Microphone has now become extremely popular on Windows computers. Only with Microphone, we can turn it into a device sing karaoke on the computer without having to use additional supporting devices. Or you can turn the Microphone into your own voice recorder. And in order for the Microphone to work effectively on the device, we need to set up some additional installation steps, in addition to plugging in the wires as usual.
1. Set up Microphone on Windows 10:
Currently there are many types of Microphones to connect to computers, removable Microphones or Headphones with microphones attached. In this article, I will use a Headphone device with a microphone attached.
First of all, you need to use a laptop that works normally to connect the Microphone. How to plug in the Microphone and Headphone jack, please refer to the instruction article Why does my computer have no sound?.
Step 1:
On a Windows computer, we open Control Panel.
Step 2:
Next, in the Control Panel interface, click on the item Hardware and Sound.
Then click to select Sound section as shown below.
Step 3:
The Sound dialog box appears. Here, you choose Recording tab You will see the Microphone device being connected to the computer.
Step 4:
In case you want to use a Microphone to sing karaoke, you must have a sound card specifically used for karaoke singing. However, if you do not buy a sound card, or do not have virtual sound card software, you will download the sound driver from the link below.
Step 5:
Return to the desktop interface, Right click on the speaker icon and choose Playback devices.
Step 6:
At the speaker icon, right click and select Properties.
Step 7:
Switch to interface Speakers Propertiesyou look down at the item Device usage will choose Use this device (enabled) as pictured.
Step 8:
Also in that dialog box, click next Levels sectionAlready Adjust the speaker to a level suitable for each person, you can set it to 65 to 80. Press OK to save.
Step 9:
Return to the interface Sound dialog boxpress select Configure.
Step 10:
At the interface Speaker Setupitem Audio channels press select Stereo and press Next.
Continue click select enter the section Front left and right Already Click Next below. We should check this step so that the sound can reach the loudest level.
Final Click Finish.
Step 11:
At the interface Sound dialog boxclick select Recording tab and you will see the Microphone is on the On connection icon. We Right click on Microphone and choose Properties.
Step 12:
In the new interface section Device usage will choose Use this device (enable).
Then click Listen tab Already Set up steps including:
- Check Listen to this device
- Click to select Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio).
- Select Continue running when on battery power.
Once you have adjusted the above items according to the image, you Click Apply then press OK to save.
Step 13:
Click next Level tabitem Microphone we should leave 97 as reasonable. Under Microphone Boost to reach 10.0 db. Click Apply and OK to save.
Step 14:
Return to the interface Sound dialog box part Microphonepress select Configure.
Step 15:
In the window interface Speech Recognitionpress select Set up microphone. The next steps will be similar to when we set up the Microphone on Windows 7 according to the tutorial below.
Next, select the item Headset Microphone then press Next.
Step 16:
Continue Click Next to move to the Microphone test step.
To this interface, you just need Read the bolded English passage loudly and clearly okay. The last thing is Click Next and Finish to completely finish the Microphone installation process on Windows 10.
Troubleshooting tips
Sometimes you may find micr0 not working despite enabling it properly. This will happen if you accidentally turn off access to the microphone on your device. Go “Microphone Privacy Settings” from the Start menu search and make sure access is enabled. It will display the status “Microphone access for the device is on”. Also, allow applications to access your microphone, the microphone will display the status On.

You can easily see the list of applications that have allowed microphone access. You can also check this access while running the application itself. If you're going to have a Skype or Zoom call, make sure they have microphone access.

Hopefully these instructions help you easily install new, high-quality microphones for all your audio needs. For more tips on troubleshooting microphone not working in Windows 10, check out Quantrimang.com's separate detailed guide. For another solution, learn how to use your smartphone as a microphone.
2. Set up Microphone on Windows 7:
Adjust the Microphone and Headphone on the computer to listen to music, watch movies, and sing karaoke
First, we will need a computer or laptop that works normally. Next is a separate Microphone, or a Headphone with a microphone (as shown in the photo above). How to plug in the Microphone and Headphone jack, please refer to this tutorial article.
Step 1:
On the computer Windowsyou open Control Panel by choosing Start Menu > Control Panel;
Or open Run > type Control Panel > press Enter
Step 2:
In Control Panelopen the section Sound as shown below:
Step 3:
In the window Soundyou will see many small Tabs, select Recording:
Step 4:
In tab Recordingselect the device just plugged into the computer (in this example I am using Tako Headphone, cheap Vietnamese product 150k), then Set Default:
Step 5:
Now, test it and see if it works or not, tap the microphone head a few times (or speak softly into the Mic head). If you see a green signal line as shown below, it means Microphone works normally, but if there is no signal, it means there is a problem:
Step 6:
If you are in tab Recording and can't see your microphone device, click on any device displayed in the tab Recording. In the menu that appears, tick Show Disabled Devices if it is not marked.
If you still can't see your microphone, you may not have plugged it in correctly or need to install a driver for it to work. In the first case, just check if they are plugged in correctly, plug them back in and it's ok. If it uses a USB port, you can pull it out and plug it into another port (because on computers and laptops there are usually at least are 2 USB ports). In the second case, use the driver from the manufacturer's website or from the included CD to install.
Step 7:
For some reason, Windows may not have “recognized” all the Microphone devices connected to the computer or laptop. Therefore, we need to make Windows know that it is there Microphone on computer. To do this, open the window Control Panel > Ease of Access Center or Control Panel > Speech Recognition (depending on the version of Windows Vista, 7 or 8, 10):
Step 8:
Right now, in Speech Recognitionyou choose Set up microphone as shown below:
Step 9:
Select the microphone device you are currently using and click the button Next.
As for this example, I'm using Tako headphones, select the first item – Headset Microphone.
The instructions here indicate that, for Headset Microphone (we often call it headphones), the user needs to wear the device on the head, place the Microphone about 1 inch (about 2 – 3 cm) from the mouth, and should not breathe. directly to the Microphone head (saliva and steam in the mouth will stick to it and affect the recording quality), the Volume key is not in Mute. Click Next to continue:
Step 10:
Read loudly and clearly the sentence in the image (highlighted in black) so that the system can receive and process your voice. Once done, click Next:
The system displays a message that it has been checked and the Microphone setup is complete. Everything works fine.
Click the Finish button and start using the Microphone to record your voice. If you encounter an error, please review the instructions from step 1 to see where the problem lies. Wish you success!