Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 sound problem

Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 is a great product because of it's features: wide angle lens, microphone sensitivity and noice cancellation feature. However, we have observed that our webcam microphone from time to time would give us big sound problems. Sound problems were also reported by a significant amount of other LifeCam users, some of them using LifeCam model VX-3000. Most of them report not being able to use the webcam's microphone because of loud background noises or no sound at all, reported by their video conferencing parties.

Because some users reported being able to fix their problem by taking the webcam apart and putting it back, we tried the same twice and in both cases it helped.

Therefore, we conclude that the problem most likely is in the wiring of the physical parts of the webcam's microphone, either because of lack of contact or the presence of contact where it is not supposed to be. We hope that our instructions of diagnosing the problem will solve your problem. Please note, that taking the product apart will void your warranty. However, a return and paperwork for an $80 product can easily waste a lot more of your time value. Purchasing another LifeCam may not solve the problem either, since the problem seems to affect a large amount of them.

Diagnosis

_{(For Windows Vista)}

To be sure that your sound problems are caused by LifeCam's microphone wiring, first launch sound control panel:

 and watch the microphone sound level indicator:

In this case we see that the microphone is receiving a lot of noise. Since the level indicator always stays at 100%, we conclude that there is a lot of noise captured by the microphone.

This huge amount of noise most likely is the reason why your webconferencing parties can't hear you. New versions of webconferencing software (like Skype) perform automatic microphone sound level tracking and adjustment. When they sense a lot of noise, the adjust microphone sound level to the minimum which effectively turns it off. The constant noise may also easily consume all your bandwith making your sound communication choppy or non existing.

Solution

The solution is to simply reassemble the webcam. We tried twice and in both cases it worked. After first reassembly it worked for about a month. If the problem keeps coming back, we will have to think of a better solution. If you have figured out a better solution, share it with us in the comments!

Taking the camera apart will render your warranty void.

We hope that the pictures are self explanatory.

We've discovered that bending the front metallic plate away from the microphone solves the problem. Most likely the metallic plate is not supposed to touch the inner parts of the microphone, because it serves as electromagnetic shield. When it touches, it stops working and the electromagnetic noise is translated into the noise that we hear. See picture below: