Picking the right microphone inside AudZone

Your computer might have several audio inputs connected at once — your laptop's built-in microphone, an audiometer plugged in via USB, a headset, a webcam with a microphone. AudZone lets you choose which one to record from, and it matters quite a bit. The wrong input can produce a silent recording, a recording dominated by fan noise, or a recording where the audiometer's test tones drown out the conversation.

This article walks through how to pick the right one, and what to do when the dropdown looks unfamiliar.

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Where to find the device picker

Open any session page. At the top right of the session, you'll see a small microphone icon. Click the icon — a dropdown shows every audio input connected to your computer right now.

What you'll see: a list that looks something like this, with the currently-selected device marked with a tick:

• Default — Microphone (Realtek Audio)

• External USB Microphone (Blue Yeti Nano)

• Communications — Microphone (Realtek Audio)

• Headset Microphone (Jabra Evolve 40)

• ⚠️ Audiometer USB Interface (clinical device — not recommended)

The warning badge on audiometer inputs comes from AudZone's clinical-device detector, which we quietly maintain so clinicians don't accidentally record through their fitting equipment.

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What to choose, in order of preference

1. An external USB microphone, if you own one.

2. Your laptop's built-in microphone

3. A Webcam with a microphone as a last resort

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Devices to avoid

Audiometers and hearing-aid fitting units. These appear in the audio device list because the operating system sees them as "USB audio interfaces," but they're designed to produce test tones and measure hearing thresholds — not to capture speech. Recording through them usually gives you either complete silence or the audiometer's output tones. AudZone shows a ⚠️ next to these devices so they're easy to skip, but if one is set as your operating system's default input, AudZone will offer to switch for you.

"Stereo Mix" or "What U Hear" inputs. These capture whatever is playing from your computer's speakers, not the microphone — so your recording will be audio from your own screen, not the patient in front of you.

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Step-by-step: changing the device before a session

1. Make sure the microphone you want is physically plugged in (USB cable in, or Bluetooth paired)

2. Open any session page

3. Click the microphone icon at the top of the page — the dropdown opens

4. Click the name of the microphone you want

5. Check the small audio meter below the microphone name — it should bounce when you speak

What you'll see if it's working: The VU meter goes into the green range when you speak.

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If the device you want isn't in the list

Three things usually fix this:

1. Unplug and re-plug the USB device. Windows and macOS both sometimes miss a device on first connection; a re-plug forces re-detection.

2. Check the microphone is enabled in your browser - Click on the Icon to the left of the URL at the top left of your browser and ensure the microphone is allowed

   

3. Refresh the browser tab with Ctrl+R (Windows) or Cmd+R (Mac). AudZone only scans for devices on page load, so a newly-plugged device may not appear until a refresh.

4. Check the operating system's sound settings. On Windows: Settings → System → Sound → Input. On Mac: System Settings → Sound → Input. If the device doesn't show up there either, it's an OS-level issue — try a different USB port or restart the computer. Make sure the volume is set to 100 on the selected microphone

   

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Why this matters

We see roughly 40% of "no note generated" support tickets trace back to the wrong device being selected. The recording ran, a file was created, the transcription service processed it — but the audio was from an audiometer or a silent/muted input, so there was nothing meaningful for the AI to transcribe. Picking the right device once saves a lot of "why didn't my session produce a note?" emails later.

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