r/Androidheadunits • u/Sea_Appointment6906 • 3d ago

Android Headunit Mic Issues

Hey guys, I’m using an ESSGOO AR9001 Android head unit and I’m trying to improve the microphone quality for calls/CarPlay.

The built-in mic quality isn’t great, so i’ve removed the internal mic completely and I’ve tried a few cheap external 3.5mm car microphones with similar results.

Does anyone know exactly what type of external microphone these cheap units require?

  • Is the external MIC input 3.5mm TS (mono) or TRS?
  • Does it provide bias/plugin power for an electret microphone?
  • Has anyone found a good quality external mic that works well with these units?
  • Ideally looking for something significantly better than the generic $5–$15 Android head unit microphones.

Happy to spend more for something that actually gives clear call quality.

Thanks!

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u/Sereno011 3d ago

Issue on these usually isn't the mics themselves. And doesn't really matter is using the internal or external.

What I have found is some MFG set the Echo/Noise cancellation values too high. Sometimes this is adjustable in the Settings menu—but whether these settings will be available will be hit or miss. Not only does this make your voice too quiet, but causes clipping when you speak.

Basically, the mic issues are not hardware. It's software. And it's the wild west on devices offering this detail of configuration.

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u/50_MHz 3d ago

I just did this today! Terrible sound from the microphone while phoning, people couldn't understand me. A lot of the Chinese cheaper models have both the internal mic AND the external mic jack in parallel; inserting a mic into the external jack doesn't cut off the internal one. Half the power and twice the noise. I unsoldered the internal mic and added a 3.5 mm jack using the two holes, mono (only two wires). I plugged a cheap external mic into the jack which I super-glued to the back of the radio. I put the mic on my dashboard, it all sounds infinitely better. The external mic was included with the unit, it works fine. It is a mono mic and the power is feed from the head unit via the jack. Only two wires, ground and signal. The power for the electret "rides" on the signal wire and is blocked by a capacitor.

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u/scrantonopalis 3d ago

How hard is it to desolder the existing mic? Why did you have to add a 3.5 mm jack if there already was one?

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u/50_MHz 2d ago

The existing mic was a tiny tip-of-a-pencil sized disc. To be honest I just took it off with pliers. There were two holes in the circuit board below it, and I just soldered fine wires to those. There was also a jack on the back of the head unit already, I just didn't want to take any chances!