Microphone -internal & external plug- not working on ThinkPad R61

This is an older machine (04/08/2010), but it still has an external microphone plug (which I like to use with some other equipment from time to time).

The issue is with audio input using the microphone plug.

The microphone is detected in pavucontrol, but is not responsive – nothing is happening.

Audio output is fine.

Audio input via the microphone is not working.

I have just done a clean install of Xfce 4.16.0 (minimal) using proprietary drivers.

ALSA information is located at http://alsa-project.org/db/?f=0cdf78ef760c23e4b15c3ed35aed3c33c4c1afd4

Other info to get started with:

inxi -Faz:

System:
  Kernel: 5.4.159-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 11.1.0
  parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.4-x86_64
  root=UUID=4322124a-d077-4984-b834-b551bbbdd3c3 rw quiet
  udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: Xfce 4.16.0 tk: Gtk 3.24.29 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.16.1
  vt: 7 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 7734N3U v: ThinkPad R61
  serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10
  serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: 7734N3U serial: <superuser required> BIOS: LENOVO
  v: 7LETC7WW (2.27 ) date: 04/08/2010
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 0 Wh condition: N/A volts: N/A min: 10.8 model: N/A
  type: Unknown serial: N/A status: Unknown
CPU:
  Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core2 Duo T8100 bits: 64 type: MCP
  arch: Penryn family: 6 model-id: 17 (23) stepping: 6 microcode: 60F cache:
  L1: 128 KiB L2: 6 MiB
  flags: ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 8382
  Speed: 801 MHz min/max: 800/2101 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz):
  1: 927 2: 1015
  Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: Split huge pages
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: EPT disabled
  Type: mds
  status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT disabled
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable
  Type: spectre_v1
  mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2
  mitigation: Full generic retpoline, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics vendor: Lenovo
  driver: i915 v: kernel bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:2a02 class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.21.1.1 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.16.1 driver:
  loaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1280x800 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 338x211mm (13.3x8.3")
  s-diag: 398mm (15.7")
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel 965GM (CL) v: 2.1 Mesa 21.2.5
  direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 82801H HD Audio vendor: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:284b
  class-ID: 0403
  Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.4.159-1-MANJARO running: yes
  Sound Server-2: JACK v: 1.9.19 running: no
  Sound Server-3: PulseAudio v: 15.0 running: yes
Network:
  Device-1: Intel 82566MM Gigabit Network vendor: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
  driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: 1840 bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:1049
  class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp0s25 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 149.05 GiB used: 7.02 GiB (4.7%)
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Hitachi model: HTS542516K9SA00
  size: 149.05 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B
  speed: 1.5 Gb/s type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: C3HP scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 149.05 GiB size: 145.65 GiB (97.72%)
  used: 7.02 GiB (4.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 512 MiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
  file: /swapfile
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 53.0 C mobo: 51.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Info:
  Processes: 145 Uptime: 21m wakeups: 1 Memory: 2.9 GiB
  used: 692.5 MiB (23.4%) Init: systemd v: 249 tool: systemctl Compilers:
  gcc: 11.1.0 Packages: pacman: 913 lib: 270 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.8
  running-in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.3.09

lspci -k:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel modules: intel_agp
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (primary) (rev 0c)
	Subsystem: Lenovo GM965 [X3100] on ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (secondary) (rev 0c)
	Subsystem: Lenovo GM965 [X3100] on ThinkPad T61/R61
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82566MM Gigabit Network Connection (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: e1000e
	Kernel modules: e1000e
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Thinkpad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
	Kernel modules: ehci_pci
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
	Kernel modules: ehci_pci
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f3)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HEM (ICH8M-E) LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: lpc_ich
	Kernel modules: lpc_ich
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
	Kernel modules: ata_piix, pata_acpi, ata_generic
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: ahci
	Kernel modules: ahci
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T61/R61
	Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c_i801
15:00.0 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev ba)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad R61/T400
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket
15:00.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad R61
	Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci
	Kernel modules: firewire_ohci

amixer -c0:

Simple mixer control 'Master',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Limits: Playback 0 - 39
  Mono: Playback 30 [77%] [-13.50dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Headphone',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 39
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-58.50dB] [off]
  Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-58.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Speaker',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 39
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 39 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
  Front Right: Playback 39 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
  Capabilities: pvolume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 255
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 255 [100%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: Playback 255 [100%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Mic',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 31
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
  Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Mic Boost',0
  Capabilities: volume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: 0 - 3
  Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
  Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958 Default PCM',0
  Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Mono: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958 Playback Source',0
  Capabilities: enum
  Items: 'PCM' 'ADC1' 'ADC2'
  Item0: 'PCM'
Simple mixer control 'Beep',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 31
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
  Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',0
  Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 54
  Front Left: Capture 45 [83%] [9.00dB] [on]
  Front Right: Capture 45 [83%] [9.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Auto-Mute Mode',0
  Capabilities: enum
  Items: 'Disabled' 'Enabled'
  Item0: 'Disabled'
Simple mixer control 'Dock Mic',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 31
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
  Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Dock Mic Boost',0
  Capabilities: volume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: 0 - 3
  Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Independent HP',0
  Capabilities: enum
  Items: 'Disabled' 'Enabled'
  Item0: 'Disabled'
Simple mixer control 'Internal Mic',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 31
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
  Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Internal Mic Boost',0
  Capabilities: volume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: 0 - 3
  Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Loopback Mixing',0
  Capabilities: enum
  Items: 'Disabled' 'Enabled'
  Item0: 'Disabled'

pacmd list-cards:

1 card(s) available.
    index: 0
	name: <alsa_card.pci-0000_00_1b.0>
	driver: <module-alsa-card.c>
	owner module: 6
	properties:
		alsa.card = "0"
		alsa.card_name = "HDA Intel"
		alsa.long_card_name = "HDA Intel at 0xfe020000 irq 30"
		alsa.driver_name = "snd_hda_intel"
		device.bus_path = "pci-0000:00:1b.0"
		sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1b.0/sound/card0"
		device.bus = "pci"
		device.vendor.id = "8086"
		device.vendor.name = "Intel Corporation"
		device.product.id = "284b"
		device.product.name = "82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (ThinkPad T61/R61)"
		device.form_factor = "internal"
		device.string = "0"
		device.description = "Built-in Audio"
		module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
		device.icon_name = "audio-card-pci"
	profiles:
		input:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Input (priority 32833, available: unknown)
		output:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Output (priority 39268, available: unknown)
		output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Duplex (priority 39333, available: unknown)
		output:iec958-stereo: Digital Stereo (IEC958) Output (priority 38268, available: unknown)
		output:iec958-stereo+input:analog-stereo: Digital Stereo (IEC958) Output + Analog Stereo Input (priority 38333, available: unknown)
		off: Off (priority 0, available: unknown)
	active profile: <output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo>
	sinks:
		alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo/#0: Built-in Audio Analog Stereo
	sources:
		alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo.monitor/#0: Monitor of Built-in Audio Analog Stereo
		alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo/#1: Built-in Audio Analog Stereo
	ports:
		analog-input-internal-mic: Internal Microphone (priority 8900, latency offset 0 usec, available: unknown)
			properties:
				device.icon_name = "audio-input-microphone"
		analog-input-dock-mic: Dock Microphone (priority 7800, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
			properties:
				device.icon_name = "audio-input-microphone"
		analog-input-mic: Microphone (priority 8700, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
			properties:
				device.icon_name = "audio-input-microphone"
		analog-output-speaker: Speakers (priority 10000, latency offset 0 usec, available: unknown)
			properties:
				device.icon_name = "audio-speakers"
		analog-output-headphones: Headphones (priority 9900, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
			properties:
				device.icon_name = "audio-headphones"
		iec958-stereo-output: Digital Output (S/PDIF) (priority 0, latency offset 0 usec, available: unknown)
			properties:

Thank You in advance for any help to get this working again!

Has the mic input worked with a previous version of Manjaro?

I assume the mic isn’t muted in alsamixer?

I am new to Manjaro, but yes, I have been able to record from the external mic previously with another distro.

Coming off a clean fresh install, yes the mic is muted in alsamixer, so that is an automatic fix – which sadly does not change the result.

That said, I did make one other change that had a positive outcome.

This is an old machine (2nd hand) and fortunately it came with a docking unit.

So, when connected to the docking unit, I was able to record from the external connection on the docking unit.

Therefore, the logical conclusion would be that the external mic connection on the laptop itself is defective, but there is the work around available with the docking unit.

Sadly, not a solution that will be of help to many other users.

all the best,

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