My MacBook's internal microphone input level is too low since update

Went and upgraded to 10.4.8 again and re-deafened my MacBook. Just so people know. If you install the latest Firmware update it is ok to do an erase and install and run an earlier version of OSX (hopefully) without risking the RSD problem. (i.e. you cant erase a firmware update)
That was the only reason I thought I had to upgrade to 10.4.8 again but now I know I should've stayed with 10.4.6.
Just been iChating with my brother who had to turn up his volume to the 2nd highest click on his iMac as he could barely hear me.
Very annoying!

😟

MacBook 1.83Ghz Dual Core Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1GB RAM upgrade (by Apple)

MacBook 1.83Ghz Dual Core Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1GB RAM. Now deaf due to 10.4.8 update

Just been to my local AppleStore and asked 2 of the Genii about the Deaf MacBook problem. They hadnt heard of it and said that all I can really do is wait till 10.4.9 update and hopefully it will be fixed.
They also said that Apple take note of these kinds of discussions and if lots of people are having the same problem they'll investigate a bug fix.
Since there seems to be so few of us writing on this discussion board I'd say we might be out of luck.
So the lesson here is: get as many MacBook owners you know to test their Mic input level and see if they have this problem and get them to write down their experiences on this discussion.

As i can see, this thread started mid October and now around 6 weeks later, there's still no solution in (i)sight.

I understand that it takes a lot of effort for Apple to inspect a problem, that only a few people have. Maybe this problem affects in fact more people, but they don't notice, because they don't use the recording feature or VOIP.

Still, these seemingly few people put their trust in a company and product and paid for a feature, that is not usable anymore. (From the MacBook ad: "Ideal for podcasting...").

Why not get a domain and write about the problem there and submit it to Slashdot and Digg? I think, this would express our concerns to get the paid for functionality back!

What's your opinion on this?

Maybe this problem affects in fact more people, but
they don't notice, because they don't use the
recording feature or VOIP.

For what it is worth, my week 21 Macbook, with all the latest updates, 2 gigs of ram, has a loud microphone, used with VOIP and also with the VOIP features that SKYPE audio/video-conferencing software utilizes. Will be more than happy to demo it.

I'm having the same problem with my mic, I did an erase & install and went back 10.4.6

Mac Book Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Same here. My mic went noticeably deafer after installing 10.4.8. Was brilliant before that, now I have to lean close to the mic when using Skype.

For what it is worth, my week 21 Macbook, with all
the latest updates, 2 gigs of ram, has a loud
microphone, used with VOIP and also with the VOIP
features that SKYPE audio/video-conferencing software
utilizes. Will be more than happy to demo it.

For what its worth mines a week 38 MacBook (4H638..)with 1GB RAM, all latest updates and the built in Microphone is about half the volume level since the update to 10.4.8.
Its also the same for any other user accounts on the same machine.

Would just like to know if anyone has found a solution to this yet? I have the same problem on my new MacBook - the mic used to work but just doesn't seem to any more.

I can't install an earlier version as all I have is 10.4.8 but I don't think I would want to go through all that nonsense anyway!

Posted a new thread about this as I hadn't seen this one but no-one else seems to be having the same problem...

NewlyMacced,

just to get this right: You bought a brandnew MacBook with preinstalled 10.4.8 and the same error occures? That is really weird.

Basically yes - I have had my MacBook for about 6-7 weeks and have had conversations on Skype where everything was working as expected. However, I started to have a problem where the person I was speaking to would only hear a low rustling sound with no voice at all. Sometimes disconnecting and trying again helped but now it just never works. Posted a couple of times about this and it was suggested to try the new Skype Beta which hasn't helped, possibly even worse now as haven't had any audio input since.

Looked at the sound input level via system preferences and it doesn't show any input even when the slider is set to 100%. Looks like I'll be contacting Apple about this but will not be happy sending my computer off for any length of time.

Have you tried a PRAM reset? This has been know to have an affect on older Powerbook audio issues. It doesn't cost a thing and you have nothing to lose. Just press and hold Apple-Option-P-R when booting (restarting) and continue to hold these four keys until you hear the computer 'chime' a second time, then let go and let it boot normally.

Just thought I'd update my situation: I spoke to Apple's Indian technical help people, must say they were pretty useless and not able to offer any advice or procedures that are not thoroughly covered in these pages (and they're pretty difficult to understand as well!).

Did a power management thingy, tried to do a PRAM reset but I'm not sure how successful it was because it just kept donging until I let go (didn't change volume) and nothing needed to be reset after startup.

Checked through some other sites as well and noticed that this sound problem wasn't common at all, and the mic used to work so it wasn't DOA. So I AppZapped the Skype Beta including all the preferences and cached files, tried the sound again and Eureka! - finally a breakthrough.

So the mic is now working as expected, reinstalled Skype and am now just keeping my fingers crossed...



MacBook 2.0 Core2Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)

So I AppZapped
the Skype Beta including all the preferences and
cached files, tried the sound again and Eureka! -
finally a breakthrough.

So the mic is now working as expected, reinstalled
Skype and am now just keeping my fingers crossed...

That sounds great! Anyway, it didn't work for me. Deleted Skype completely, restarted and the mic level is still very low.

Just to make sure that we are talking about the same problem: Had your microphone stopped working completely or had the level just been very low? And: could this really be a Skype-related problem? Is anybody here without Skype an his/her machine?

Perhaps it's not exactly the same problem but there didn't seem to be much other information around regarding bad mic input.

What was happening was that the person on the other end of the conversation would hear a quiet rustling sound, without any voice. When looking in the sound levels, the little icon would only go up one space if speaking into it, even when on 100% input.

After deleting Skype (and associated files) the mic miraculously returned to life, with seemingly normal operation. I reinstalled Skype, mic was working fine, went to use it after an hour or so and the mic input was dead again! Dragged Skype out of Applications onto the desktop and everything was fine again, but after a while the mic had died again.

So Skype is definitely causing this problem but I can't work out why I would be the only one in the world affected with this issue. It seems to be installing something in preferences or cache that is clashing with my system, there is a buildup of folders with numbers on them that contain more folders with numbers - I have no idea what these are and if this is the root of the problem.

All in all, pretty strange. At least I know I can drag the app around and clear out some files to get the mic working again, just a PITA that it will go silent in the middle of a conversation sometimes. Any further ideas appreciated 🙂




MacBook 2.0 Core2Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)