Zenithink (aka zepad?) ZT-280 C91 4.0 ICS - microphone sensitivity very low

Graminator

Member
Mar 9, 2012
6
0
Bought one of these tablets from a Texas Vendor and we're coming up a steep learning curve - with a heavy emphasis on using the "discovery method" due to limited information from the tablet maker.

We are experiencing trouble with the built-in microphone barely working.
We tried Skype loop test and Google's voice search.
Skype playback is barely audible and badly muffled.
Google's voice search shows it is sensing the sound from the microphone but it's speech to text response is poor.
A few apps we downloaded to view input waveforms verify that only very loud audio is sensed.

The only info found on this was in a Developer's Forum site which described problems with the interface to a AML-MI-ES8388 chip that handles input/output of sound. The conversation was about creating driver software for this chip that would fix this microphone problem.

Please post if you own one of these tablets and are experiencing microphone problems.
Any added information or insights are appreciated.

P. S. not sure if this is related....
At first the speaker output was very low even with the volume set at max.
But, for some reason today the volume jumped up to a tolerable level.
Perhaps this happened when the earphone was plugged/unplugged and made for a better speaker connection at the microphone jack?
(As expected, volume using earphone buds is higher because these buds require less power.)
 

jonkt

Member
Mar 9, 2012
1
0
Bought zt180 from soldier. Got no manual, did u get one? Just trying to figure it out. Will share info w u if u can share w me. I am lost right now. Jonkt
 

Graminator

Member
Mar 9, 2012
6
0
jonkt,
Search for User Guide for your version of Android.
Search for User guide on this site to see links to PDFs for the various Android versions:
http://www.google.com/mobile/

My Zenithink tablet is loaded with 4.0 (aka ICS or Ice Cream Sandwich).
I found this 140 page PDF Galaxy Nexus Android 4.0 User Guide on Google's Help pages for mobile devices at http://www.google.com/help/hc/pdfs/mobile/AndroidUsersGuide-40-en.pdf
which has been very helpful in trying to figure out how to run my Zenithink zt-280.

You can ignore anything that applies to Smartphone features.
 
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kryeing

Member
Jan 26, 2012
4
0
I just bought one from Spemall. I have the same problem. Mic is absolutely horrible. The speaker volume level is also very low even though I put it on max. I haven't experienced the jump in volume yet, and am now just struggling with sounds in general. Are they all like this? Is it just a few models that have these problems? Is this worth getting Spemall to send me a new one? I also don't have a manual. If anyone gets info on instructions, I would also greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
 

Dave2012

Member
Feb 23, 2012
15
0
The good news.. Yours is not faulty, all the C91's are all like it

The other good news is that it was cheap

The bad news however is that I doubt that any software / firmware updates will fix the 'problem' as it seems to be hardware related, so its a case of using headphones / ear pieces to get a decent sound level, or do what I'm going to do and get what I should of got in the first place before I got tempted by saving money (funny how saving money always cost more :rolleyes:)
 
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