Can't use mic on G5 earbuds

[halfbeing]

I can't record through the mic on the earbuds that came with my G5. I had never used them before today because I never had a need to, but now I do. I want to use them for songwriting. Latency makes my Bluetooth headset not an option, and the small size of the hole in my phone's protective case means that none of the many other earbuds I have will fit.

When I am trying to record I can monitor through the actual earbuds themselves without problem. I can also record when the earbuds are disconnected. If I had some TRS earbuds that didn't have a mic and that fitted through my phone's protective case, they would obviously do the job, but I don't.

There's a button on the earbuds, but I've no idea what it's supposed to do. It doesn't seem to tun the mic on or off.

How can I get my earbud mic working?

 

[SpookDroid]

Does the app you have support headset microphone? Can you make calls with the headset? If the latter works, then it's a problem with the app you're using to record. The button is for controls (play, pause, ffw, rewind, assistant prompt, answer/reject calls, etc)

 

[halfbeing]

Since I posted I did find an old Sony Ericsson earbud set that works some of the time, but not all the time. I haven't been able to work out why it won't work reliably, and even when it does work, the mic level is very low. But at least it shows that earbuds can work. I'm trying to use Audio Evolution for the songwriting, but I'm using a simple sound recorder app for testing.

What I have also discovered is that the LG earbuds give me a lot of clicky sounds in my recordings. I have found this both in the sound recorder app and by calling Skype call testing service. I do not get these sounds with the Sony earbuds.

I have also just found that trying to use the Sony headset turned off all the on-board sound on my phone and I have had to reboot to get sound back.

 

[SpookDroid]

Have you made sure the headphone jack is being inserted all the way (i.e. without the case)?

 

[halfbeing]

I took off the case and tried again, but it seems that half-inserted jacks is not the problem. The LG headset still produces these kind of clicks that seem to have some relation to the rhythm of the speech that I am recording.

As for the Sony headset, it looks like the phone just gets confused sometimes and thinks that the jack is out when it is in or in when it is out. It happened again and I was able to un-confuse it by removing and reinserting the jack a couple of times.

However I still have a problem with the Sony headset, and I don't know whether it is because I am using the wrong manufacturer's headset or if it's a problem with this phone and all headsets. I have to hold down the button on the headset to get playback at a clearly audible volume. This is OK if I am singing something, but it is a problem if I am trying to use both hands to play an instrument at the same time.

I don't know whether the LG headset would help me get round this problem, or whether the LG headset is simply broken.

 

[SpookDroid]

It could be a few things:
1) Your headphone jack on your phone is, well, jacked. If the headsets you're trying out work OK in another phone, then it's a hardware problem with your G5 (most likely the port is loose or has a short somewhere).
2) The Sony Headphones don't have the right pin out. One of the tells of this is having to press the control button to get proper audio, so it's possible the wiring/signals that your headset has doesn't match those of the phone. IF that were the case, however, the ones included with the G5 should work OK, so I'm putting this as a distant second option.

 

[halfbeing]

After some messing about I have found that I just need to give the jack a very firm push until I hear a loud click. It doesn't feel like other headphone sockets I've used, which is one of the things that confused me. The other is that the earpieces were working even when the microphone wasn't, which I wouldn't normally expect to happen if the jack wasn't properly seated.

Thanks everyone for helping me work my way towards a solution.

 

[SpookDroid]

Glad you got it figured out... and actually, the fact that the microphone wasn't working (and that the Sony ones only worked if you pushed the button) does make sense if the plug wasn't properly inserted. If you try older Nokia headsets on your phone, for instance, you might find that one earplug won't have sound unless you press the button, but if you slowly pull the plug until you find the right spot (aka where the lead contacts actually touch the right terminals), suddenly you have audio on both ears, but no controls and no microphone. Same thing here: by not seating properly, the plug was still making SOME contact, just not with the right terminals.