At the Help Desk we've been getting a lot of questions and repairs regarding Chromebook microphones. We've found that more often than not, it's because the input volume of the Chromebook has been dragged all the way down to zero. No wonder your classmates can't hear your eloquent commentary! The ability for users to adjust their input volume level was semi-recently added as a feature of ChromeOS 81 (To give you some perspective, we are using ChromeOS 85). The easiest way to check what level your input volume is set at is to click on the button in the bottom right which displays battery life, then click on the right-facing arrow next to the volume slider. The settings panel will then show you your current input volume level.

Another fun fact to keep in mind is that Chromebooks have two default volume presets: one for using the Chromebook's speakers and microphone and an additional one for when a headset is plugged in. This means that if you don't have your headset plugged in and you crank the volume, it won't blow out your ears when you do connect them. The same principle is also true of input volume.

You can test not only how your camera looks but also the way your microphone sounds by launching the Chromebook's native camera application. You can open that by clicking on the launcher, the small white circle in the bottom left corner and typing "camera" into the search bar. Record test videos to your heart's content!

This article is just to remind you to check your levels and do some testing before reaching out to us! The solution to your problem may be much simpler than you thought. Which I think is the case with most things, don't you?

-Leo Bunyea, Technology Technician and Chromebook Groupie