Lenovo Think pad doesn’t support external Mic.

[Naotau]

I am trying to record some audio through the 2-in-1-combo-audio jack. Every time I connect an outside music player to the transformer by audio jack, the transformer does not recognize that something is plugged in, but it thinks I require making use of headphones (jack as output).Hi, I hope you can help me out. How am I able to switch to mic mode (jack as input)? Do I must make use of a special Lenovo app or is there a lovely app in the market that can do this?

[Yitzchak909]

You're going to need a four pin headset, which is how modern devices do dual input/output audio. Standard mic are three pins (L/R/Ground) like normal headphones, therefore the hardware can’t differentiate. Now the issue may come up on the array of the headphones pins. Prior to the iPhone, the standard four pin headset was configured in such a way that they would not work as normal headphones in devices that weren't meant to support headsets but Apple (or somebody around that time) came along and switched up the order so that a four pin headset would be backwards compatible with a three pin jack.

[pddaugusto]

If there is any signal on the cable while plugging it in to the Transformer, the internal mic is still active. I have attached my "cable construction”. You must connect the cable first to the transformer, and AFTERWARDS connect the other side to the audio font. Only in this order the internal mic becomes deactivated. The side with four pins goes in to the transformer the three pins in to a mono audio source (normal Headset Output). This works fine for me since I am only recording voice (mono channel).

[Howitzer]

The latest computer models from leading manufacturers are doing likewise with the iPhone & Skype trends by combining the historically in the past separate headphone & microphone jacks in to a single jack. The reasoning behind this is due to the inflow of VOIP (Voice over IP) companies, like Vonage & Skype, who have developed headsets that use a single jack in lieu of two jacks so that you can use a special headset to listen & speak. They have designed this adapter cable to solve this issue for court reporters. Plug this adapter in to the combo jack, and then plug your microphone in to the cable labeled MIC & your headphones in to the cable labeled HEADPHONES. One time you do this your outside microphone will work properly & your playback will run through your headphones.

[samar69]

A superior setup of your computer can solve this issue, but the only problem being that elderly headsets and new jacks are incompatible and new headphones with elderly (four pin) jacks. If Lenovo is using the elderly standard, then an iPhone headset would not work and if Lenovo is using the new standard, then an elderly headset would not work. Hence there is no solution to this issue rather than upgrading your system or changing the headphones .or you can keep searching the net

[Mayur_Jain]

I completely agree with the above user, the new adapter has been designed and tested to work with all current Lenovo ThinkPad computers with a combined audio (VOIP) jack walking Windows 7. Some ThinkPad’s that have the combined jack and that are walking XP do not work with the adapter, which is a application issue and not a defect of the adapter. Some model ThinkPad’s are known to have reduced recording volume if your microphone is not battery powered. There is nothing they can do about this as it is a hardware setting and is not something they can change. They offer no assurance on these splitters
when it comes to Notebooks computer brands other than Lenovo; however they have been known to work with most Notebooks as well as most Mobile phone devices.