The buzzing noise you're experiencing through your microphone on both your ROG Phone 6 and gaming laptop could be due to a few different causes, typically related to grounding issues, electromagnetic interference, or hardware compatibility. Here’s a breakdown of common reasons and some troubleshooting steps:
Possible Causes and Solutions
1. Ground Loop / Grounding Issues
- Description: A ground loop occurs when there is a difference in electrical grounding potential between devices. This often causes a buzzing or humming sound in audio equipment.
- Solution: Try using a ground loop isolator with your earphones if you’re connecting them to the laptop. This inexpensive device can help eliminate grounding-related noise issues in many setups.
2. Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
- Description: Your phone and laptop contain many components that emit electromagnetic fields (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and power components). These fields can interfere with audio equipment, especially if you're using a dongle or adapter.
- Solution: Try moving the phone or laptop to a different environment or location to see if the buzzing changes. Also, disable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth temporarily to see if reducing the wireless signals makes a difference. Using shielded cables or a USB-C dongle with better shielding can also help.
3. Adapter/Dongle Quality
- Description: If you're using a 3.5mm-to-USB-C dongle, lower-quality adapters can introduce noise due to inadequate shielding or poor internal components. This might be more noticeable on devices like laptops and smartphones with complex circuitry.
- Solution: Try using a high-quality USB-C audio adapter (preferably one with a built-in DAC) that is known for noise reduction, such as those from brands like Apple or Anker.
4. Power Interference on Laptops
- Description: Laptops often produce audio interference when they are connected to power adapters, particularly if the power adapter is poorly grounded. This is common in laptops that do not have a three-prong plug.
- Solution: Try unplugging the laptop from its charger and running on battery power to see if the noise disappears. If it does, consider using a grounded power supply or connecting the laptop through a surge protector with grounding.
5. Device-Specific Audio Drivers and Settings
- Description: Some devices, like the ROG Phone 6, have built-in audio settings that might affect how audio is processed through external accessories.
- Solution: Go into your audio settings on the phone and laptop. On Android, disable any audio enhancements, like DTS, Dolby Atmos, or Noise Suppression. On the laptop, check the audio driver settings and disable enhancements or select “default” under audio profiles.
6. Faulty Hardware or Incompatibility with Microphone/Headphone Jack
- Description: Some headphone jacks, especially those on USB-C dongles or lower-cost laptops, may not be fully compatible with all earphones and mics, especially if there’s a TRRS (four-conductor) connector issue.
- Solution: Test the earphones and microphone on another device. If they work without buzzing, the issue might be with the phone or laptop's jack or the dongle itself. Alternatively, try using Bluetooth headphones to bypass the wired connection completely.
Troubleshooting Summary
- Test in Airplane Mode (on your phone) or with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth off.
- Try a different audio adapter with good shielding, or a DAC if possible.
- Test unplugging the laptop from power to rule out grounding issues.
- Disable audio enhancements in device settings.
- Test on a different device to isolate the cause to the earphones, phone, or laptop.
If none of these solve the issue, it might be worth trying noise-canceling USB-C earphones or an external USB sound card with better shielding and compatibility. Let me know if any of these suggestions work for you or if you’d like more specific guidance!
