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I want to use my laptop's built-in speakers while my headset is plugged in (because I need to use my headset's microphone).

My laptop doesn't separate my headset from my laptop speakers when it is plugged in. It just gets grouped into speakers under the list of playback devices in Sound from the Control Panel (I've checked all disconnected and disabled devices and it doesn't show up).

Sound

I only have one audio port and it's a combo audio port. I use Realtek HD Audio Manager and have reinstalled it but nothing's worked (it's already updated).

Realtek HD Audio Manager

I've contacted the manufacturer's customer care and they told me that the jack doesn't have a mechanical switch, and they can't help me much about this.

Is it possible to at least trick my audio driver to recognize only the microphone and not the microphone and headset combo?

fixer1234
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reneandy
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1 Answers1

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Most modern Realtek audio chips have separate outputs for both speakers and headphones, and can serve them independently at the same time. But output policy depends on audio driver version and configuration. In some configurations, default Microsoft HD driver creates separate playback endpoints for speakers and headphones but Realtek driver switches a single endpoint between them. In some other cases, Microsoft and Realtek drivers behave contrary. Even different versions of Realtek driver may behave differently.

You can try the following:

  • Uninstall Realtek driver and let Windows install its default Microsoft driver.

  • If you have installed Realtek driver provided by laptop's vendor, install universal Realtek driver intended to the appropriate audio chip, and vice versa.

  • If the above does not help, determine audio chip model by a tool like HwINFO and search the net by requests like "ALC888 separate speakers headphones". If you find a post/article that shows that a particular laptop having the same chip as yours, can use separate outputs in Windows, try to find Realtek driver provided by its vendor.

Please note that even you successfully find a proper driver version/configuration, its functionality may differ from yours usual, so features present on your current configuration may not be available in the new one. Unfortunately, it's a lottery.

Eugene Muzychenko
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