Combined headphone and mic jack - I cannot get it working!!

Help please. I want to record something from the radio playing on my laptop, onto audacity on my laptop. And it isn’t working. I have used Audacity before on previous computers, and it has worked fine.
I am using Audacity.2.1.3. I honestly cannot remember if I obtained the zip or not, but I think (65% sure) it was the exe installer.
I have a Lenovo ideapad running windows 10 Home which has a combined headphone and mic jack (3.5). I bought a StarTech IC USB which should mean I can plug a lead into the 2 sockets on that and record something playing on my laptop onto audacity using a lead plugged into both holes on the StarTech. But it won’t work. I have a lot of static noise (see screen shot below) but it is not recording. If I plug headphones into the StarTech then I hear the sound playing ok (through the hole at the back!), if I plug my ipad in and play something from that then that records ok (through the hole in the front). But if I put a lead from the back hole to the front hole, on the StarTech, and play something then I get a flatline on the audacity. Audio device info is all below.


=============================
Default recording device number: 1
Default playback device number: 4
==============================
Device ID: 0
Device name: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 1
Device name: Microphone (USB PnP Sound Devic
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 2
Device name: Microphone Array (Realtek High 
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 3
Device name: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Output
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Device ID: 4
Device name: Speakers (USB PnP Sound Device)
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Device ID: 5
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definiti
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Device ID: 6
Device name: Primary Sound Capture Driver
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.120000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.240000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 7
Device name: Microphone (USB PnP Sound Device)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.120000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.240000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 8
Device name: Microphone Array (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.120000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.240000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 9
Device name: Primary Sound Driver
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.120000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.240000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 10
Device name: Speakers (USB PnP Sound Device)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.120000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.240000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 11
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.120000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.240000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 12
Device name: Speakers (USB PnP Sound Device)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.003000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.010000
Supported Rates:
    48000
==============================
Device ID: 13
Device name: Speakers (USB PnP Sound Device) (loopback)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 14
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.003000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.010000
Supported Rates:
    48000
==============================
Device ID: 15
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) (loopback)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 16
Device name: Microphone (USB PnP Sound Device)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 1
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 17
Device name: Microphone Array (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Selected recording device: 2 - Microphone Array (Realtek High 
Selected playback device: 5 - Speakers (Realtek High Definiti
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Available mixers:
==============================
Available recording sources:
0 - Master
==============================
Available playback volumes:
0 - PCM
==============================
Recording volume is native
Playback volume is native

In Audacity 2.1.3 on Windows 10 you don’t need to plug-in an external loop-back cable to record what is playing.
Instead you select something called WASAPI, and Audacity will record what is playing on the computer, no leads/cables required.
select WASAPI to record what is playing on the computer.png

That is brilliant, thank you SO MUCH. EXCELLENT.
THANKS SO MUCH…I would never have found that on my own.
Just another question…is there a way that I can set it up so I don’t hear it as it is recording, using WASAPI…or is the only way that i hear it playing at the same time as it is recording.

Thanks again, you saviour.

Juliet

Audacity still records WASAPI when speakers are muted, (silence), see …
mute speakers, Audacity still records WASAPI.gif
Left mouse click on loudspeaker-icon to raise the Windows mixer.

That is weird, because when I turn the volume down it records silence? See screen print, where I turned the volume up for a couple of seconds and then turned it down again. See attachment

OH…it won’t let me upload a doc docx or pdf…and I don’t know how to make the screen print into a jpg. Anyway, that didn’t work…but I am delighted to be able to use audacity, I will put it into another room!!

Juliet

I will put it into another room!!

You can plug-in headphones/earphones, or external speakers with the volume turned-down, or an extension cable with nothing plugged-in the far-end, or just a [u]“dummy” plug[/u] with no cable soldered on.

This is weird, because that doesn’t work either. I now have the Windows WASAPI option…and Audacity records fine if it is playing out loud into the room, but as soon as I plug in some headphones (so that I cannot hear the recording, which is what I ideally want, the audacity goes ‘flatline’ i.e. it is no longer recording the talking voice. I am putting the setttings onto a text file and uploading again, because there I assume there must be another setting that is wrong? Audacity has the headphones plugged in at the moment, when doing these settings.

THANKS so much for your help. This is the first time I have used a forum (of any kind) to get help successfully.

Bless you
aud.txt (4.69 KB)

That’s IS weird!

…The only thing I can think of is that Windows thinks you’ve plugged-in a microphone and has automatically switched the recording device from WASAPI loopback to the non-existent microphone. If that’s the case, you should able to re-select WASAPI loopback after plugging-in the headphones.

I just checked that, and it isn’t that, as it is showing WASAPI even when I have the headphones plugged in. I am playing the radio programme on the laptop, I have it set to WASAPI and I have the headphones plugged in. And what it actually records (with the headphones plugged in) in what is happening in the room, so if i talk it records that. Me talking, not what is playing on the radio on the laptop.

I am happy to keep on trying to work it out, if you have the patience. But I am also happy just to accept that I have to listen to it play whilst it records…so unless you feel committed to keeping on trying ideas, I am willing to give up at this point. I am better off than I was, because now I am able to record directly from the laptop to Audacity, which is great.

Thanks again for trying

J

Just for info, I found the way to change the recording so that with a headphone plugged in it cannot be heard. I had also discovered that as well as recording the programme direct from my computer it was, at the same time, recording conversation in the room. This has also sorted out that problem. I had to right click on the sounds icon in the bottom right hand corner of my screen. Then click on recording. Then disable the microphone array (which was the default), and enable the Stereo recording. It now works perfectly, and I don’t have to listen to it at the same time as it is recording.