I haven’t needed to use my internal mic for a few months now, so I have no idea when this began, but I can no longer get proper audio in from the internal microphone. Has anyone else experienced issues with the internal mic not working/suddenly only outputting static on Linux?
System details at the end of the message. Things I’ve tried:
Checked that the optical switch for the mic (on the webcam module) isn’t obstructed by dust
Made sure the internal mic was actually selected & made sure no other mics were plugged in during testing
Ensured microphone volume is at a reasonable gain in GNOME settings & alsamixer (set to 30, but I’ve tried various levels and only gotten different levels of static in test recordings)
Done multiple reboots after changes (haven’t tested other kernels yet since the only stable kernel versions I have on my machine are 6.12.9 and 6.12.10, and the last time I used the internal mic was long before I was running those kernel versions)
I can use headphone mics via 3.5mm jack, but the internal mic was still not detecting input when I manually switched to it.
Software Info
Distro: Fedora Linux Workstation 41
DE: GNOME DE
Linux Kernel: 6.12.10
BIOS: 0.0.3.6
Hardware Info
Framework Laptop 13 AMD
CPU: Ryzen 7 7840U
RAM: 32GB
1st Gen Camera Module
Is there anything I can do to keep troubleshooting? Has anyone else had their 1st gen camera module’s mic die? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
Edit: moved post to the more appropriate Community Support board
UPDATE: I saw something in another post while I was searching around and I got the bright idea to test recording audio while moving the laptop lid. While slowly moving the lid back and forth, the audio cut back in when the lid was pulled down towards me (~45 degree angle with keyboard).
This narrows it down to a hardware issue, presumably with one of the cables routed by the hinges. It’s a relief to know what the problem is, but now I was wondering if those familiar with similar issues had any advice on what to do next. When the lid is at a < ~45deg angle, it sounds exactly as I’d expect it to, no signal fuzziness/integrity issues. Does this mean I can get away with just rerouting one of the cable bundles better, or should I get a replacement cable, or some other possibility?
I have almost the same setup as you and my microphone has not picked up audio for months (I think ever since I bought the laptop). Based on your post, I tried to lower the laptop lid while recording on the “camera” app and, amazingly, my voice was audible on the recording when the lid was sufficiently low, maybe 45 degree angle as you said. Did you ever find out if it was a cable problem and did you fix it?
Yeah, I went through a few days of communications with the support team and ended up confirming that it was the webcam ribbon cable that runs behind the screen and joins into that fabric-wrapped cable + connector.
Unfortunately, I only noticed/reported this issue one and a half months past the warranty period, so the only advice they had was to buy an entire top cover replacement for ~$90. There’s unfortunately no webcam cable alone that can be bought from the store, and the reasoning was:
…we do not sell the webcam cable separately, as it is preinstalled and securely fastened to the Top Cover. Removing or replacing it could lead to issues such as electrical shorts or further damage to the display assembly.
Kind of a bummer, considering that from my understanding the cable is just adhered to the back with some double-sided adhesive, and silly as it is, I have slapped a bunch of stickers on the back case that I’d rather not have to transfer or lose by replacing the cosmetically/structurally intact case itself.
The biggest kicker is that this is a nearly $100 surprise expense if I decided to properly fix this (and I don’t want to experiment with removing and swapping the cables when the Top Case is that expensive), so I’ve settled for just making sure I have some earbuds with a mic with my laptop at all times.
So yeah, unfortunately there isn’t really a cost-effective solution at the moment. I’d like to think that if this can be established as a common enough failure that maybe Framework would be convinced to offer a better solution for this issue.
My mic cut out while on a call with no movement of the screen. I am hoping I can open this thing up and wiggle the cable to make it work. Nobody else has had luck with fixes, correct?
Yeah, looks like nobody’s had any luck yet. The only thread I saw with a similar situation where things actually got solved was someone getting a replacement cable from support before their warranty went up (they were in a European country and thus had a 2 year warranty, not 1 year like us poor Americans haha).
I’m just hoping the more people chime in here and contact support when issues arise, maybe this can get some changes rolling so we can at least buy a $10-$20 cable on the marketplace instead of a whole new top case assembly. I’ve already seen a couple other people complain about this, so this doesn’t seem too uncommon or caused by misuse.[1, 2]
I was wondering if you or someone else would be willing to take picture(s) of the cable?
Specifically, where the orange-colored flat webcam cable connects to the black-colored round cable, located at the bottom-right of the top cover next to the hinge. It would most likely not result in anything helpful, to be clear.
The reason I ask is that the webcam cable changes at the hidge from a flat cable (known as an ffc cable) to a different type of cable in order to pass through the hidge area. If I recall, I searched, but couldn’t find pictures of this connection / this specific part. And there are two likely options for this connection, directly soldered or plugged into an ffc cable connector. It’s unlikely to be the second option, but if it is then it might be possible for people to replace the flat cable portion with an off-the-shelf cable which may be available at a lower cost than replacing the whole top cover.
I looked at it and it is not modular - its soldered - flat one to cable. I do not want to scrap the isolation to make a photo, as it is still works for me as a webcam without mic and i need webcam for meetings.
If the cable will eventually broke i will shred it.
The issue with cable as it seems like as it is quite short or was applied in the wrong position it got teared.
Sadly the framework team still ignoring the issue…
No problem! As I was just wondering.
Thank you for looking at it!
Unfortunate that we can’t use an off-the-shelf cable to replace at least part of it.
And at least on the surface, it seems quite bad that Framework doesn’t offer the webcam cable separately. I hope that they’ve tracked the number of people who’ve had damaged cables & it’s a very small number. Sure, the cable is adhered to the top cover, but that just doesn’t seem like an insurmountable obstacle for a separate replacement. Considering the things they have managed to do elsewhere to make repairs easy. I could see them applying guidelines to the inside of the top cover, showing exactly where a new cable should be adhered.
Of course stocking parts does involve costs, so if the numbers really are very small, it’s understandable that it might not be worthwhile. Money spent in one place is less money available elsewhere, for other efforts.
In case anyone is still having this problem, I ended up contacting support after my post on Mar 2. My microphone cut out when the lid was open greater than 45 degrees, but was able to record when the lid was open lower than 45 degrees (roughly). They had me do various tests and submit some videos of the problem. Eventually they determined I needed a new top cover. Fortunately I guess I am in the warranty window, so they sent me one. I just installed it and the problem is fixed: the microphone now picks up sound and everything works.
I have this problem now. Only at less than 45 degrees the mic detects something but it’s inconsistent to the sound of my voice and it still detects sound even when the mic is muted. I’m on Ubuntu 24.04. FW Support had me trial boot Fedora 42 to see if that resolved the issue but it was still a problem. Eventually they came to the conclusion that I needed to get a new top cover. I figured that would be the case based on this thread but it was worth a shot to troubleshoot.
