How to Use Apple Earbuds as Mic on PC: 4 EASY Steps [GUIDE]

Ever since Apple launched the Earbuds, they have probably outsold all other brands in the market that cater to premium products. But sometimes using advanced technology brings with it certain hassles.

Some users who aren’t tech-savvy often don’t know how to use Apple Earbuds as a mic on their PC.

So, How to Use Apple Earbuds as Mic on PC?

In order to use apple earbuds on pc as mic:

1. On your PC, open Control Panel and look for Hardware and Sound option
2. Click on Manage Audio Devices which is under the Sound menu
3. Choose Recording and then Find External Mic
4. Activate your Apple Earbuds and then make the connection. Set these as default

This process is pretty simple to follow and you should be now able to use your Apple Earbuds as a mic on your computer. However, there are several other ways to do this as well. In this article, we cover all other possible scenarios as well and cover different types of computers.

How to connect Apple Earbuds as Mic to PC with one Audio jack?

If you are using a newer model of PC or laptop, you can see that it uses a single audio slot. This serves as an output as well as an input or stereo and mono audio slot. You can use the standard 3.5mm audio jack on the computer to connect the Earbuds.

Here are the steps to do it.

1. Power on your computer and then connect the Apple Earbuds to the 3.5mm jack on the device
2. On the computer desktop, right click on the Sound icon on the Taskbar. It should be on the bottom right hand corner of the desktop
3. Open the Sound settings from there and then click on the Recording tab in the new window that opens up
4. If you have connected your Apple Earbuds to the computer, you should see them listed there
5. If they are there, click on them and set them as Default
6. If you do not see them listed there, click on Setup Microphone
7. The computer will automatically detect the Apple Earbuds and it should then get selected as the mic
8. Click on Apply and then OK. If required, restart your system once

In case after following the process you face airpods blinking orange light issue, read our fix for it!

How to connect Apple Earbuds as Mic to a PC with two Audio jacks?

In order to connect the Apple Earbuds to a computer with two audio jacks, you will need to deploy additional hardware called an Audio Splitter.

The audio splitter has two audio jacks on one end that connect to the computer and a single 3.5mm jack on the other end. This is where you insert the Apple Earbud.

Once you do that, connect the two audio jacks to the corresponding jack on your computer. Then you can follow the steps above to change the computer settings.

How to connect Earbuds with a lightning connector as Mic to a computer?

If your Apple Earbuds do not have a 3.5mm jack what do you do? Well, the connect the Apple Earbuds with a lightning connector as a mic to a computer, you will need to use a Lightning to USB-A converter. This should have been given to you when you bought the Earbuds.

In case you do not have the converter, then you can easily buy them online or at a nearby tech store. All you have to do is to connect the Earbuds to the USB-A converter and then plug that into the USB slot on your computer. Then you can follow the steps above to do the software configuration.

Now not all computers use a USB-A slot. There are some brands that deploy the USB-C solution as well. These are much smaller than the USB-A slots but are not extensively used by all computer manufacturers.

Just like how you need a converter for a USB-A slot, you will need a converter for the USB-C slot as well. Check online and you should find these on popular e-Commerce websites.

How to connect wireless Apple AirPod as a Mic to a computer?

To use the wireless Apple Airpods as a mic to your computer, you will need to pair both devices and then under Recording settings select the Airpods as the default device. Here are the detailed steps to do it.

1. Switch on the Apple Airpods and put them in pairing mode
2. On your PC or laptop, switch on the Bluetooth and then pair them with the EarPods
3. You can find the Bluetooth settings inside Control Panel
4. In the Control Panel, you need to look for Sound or Hardware & Sound option. Click on it
5. In the Sound window, you will see 4 tabs – Playback, Recording, Communication and Sounds
6. Click on Recording and you will see the Airpods listed there
7. Select them and Set them as Default

If for some reason you face left earbud louder than right, you can fix it easily with these steps.

How to adjust the mic volume on in Windows 10?

Now that you have connected the Apple Earbuds as a mic on the PC, you probably want to change the volume levels too. You can do this from the Sound settings as well, similar to the steps above.

However, if you are still not sure how to do it, here is a detailed process.

1. Open the Sound or Hardware & Sound menu from Control Panel. Alternatively, you can right click on the Sound icon on the taskbar and open the Sound option
2. In the Sound setting window, of the 4 tabs you see, you will need to click on the Recording tab
3. If you Apple Earbuds or Apple AirPods are connected to the computer, then you will see them listed in the window
4. Right click on them and then click on Properties
5. You will again see 4 tabs – General, Listen, Levels and Advanced
6. To adjust the volume, click on the Levels tab
7. There will be volume slider here that you can adjust to increase or decrease the mic volume. If you move it closer to 100, then sound output will be much higher. The recommended setting is around 90
8. Make the changes and then click on OK. Apply the settings.

You can test it out by playing an audio file to see the level of the sound output. You can also record an audio sample to see if your mic is functioning efficiently.

How to adjust the mic volume on a Macbook or iMac?

Changing the mic volume on an Apple Macbook it an iMac is a very simple process and this can be done through the System Preferences option. There you will find the Sound option to change the mic volume.

Follow the steps below to make the changes.

1. On the top left hand corner of the Apple desktop, click on the Apple icon
2. Click on System Preferences and a new window will open up
3. There you will see an icon for Sound
4. There are 3 tabs in that window – Sound Effects, Output and Input. Click on Output
5. Ensure that you Apple Earbuds or Apple AirPods are connected to the system
6. Click on them and you will need to move the Volume slider to adjust the settings
7. If you want to adjust the mic sensitivity, then hit the back button and select the Input tab

How to use Apple Earbuds as a mic for Zoom calls?

Zoom is now one of the most popular conference calls software so if you want to connect your Apple Earbuds and use them as a mic for your Zoom calls, then you will need to launch Zoom and edit the Audio settings on the platform.

1. Download Zoom on your laptop, PC or Zoom
2. Launch the application and click on Settings
3. Click on the Audio option
4. Here you can see options to test the audio and then change the sound levels as well
5. Once you make the audio settings, make a test call and see the audio performance

Conclusion

Did you find the article helpful? If you are an Apple Earbud or Apple AirPods user, then you now know how to connect those as a mic to your computer. All the possible scenarios and relevant steps are highlighted above and you can easily follow them to solve your problem.

When you use systems that are compatible with the Apple hardware, then making the connection and using them as a mic is a very easy process. However, if your computer is incompatible then as mentioned above, you will need to procure additional hardware like audio splitters, USB converters, etc. Also, before you go, check out our guide on how to fix left earbud not working!