Can only choose "Hands-Free AG Audio" and it sounds awful

Question

This is a problem that I have on my desktop Windows 10 machine, my Surface Go, and my laptop running Ubuntu 20.04.

When trying to use the microphone built-in to the Surface Headphones 2, the only option available is "Hands-Free AG Audio" and it sounds really bad. So bad that any words I say are unintelligible. Cortana cannot pick up anything I say, and Discord doesn't work.

On top of that, if "Hands-Free AG Audio" is chosen as the input, then the default Stereo output is disabled and the only output that works is the "Hands-Free AG Audio" one which is mono, sounds terrible, and disables the noise cancelling function of the headphones.

On my Android 10 device (Pixel 2 XL) the headphones work fine during a phone call but any app that tries to use them as a microphone fails in the same way.

I've tried to factory reset the headphones and the same thing happens. I've messed around in the Surface Audio app and my computer's sound settings but nothing seems to make it better.

If I try it with the aux cable, then the microphone in the aux cable can be used just fine, but I didn't buy these headphones to use an aux cable for a microphone. Kind of defeats the purpose of having them be wireless...

Is the microphone that is built into these just unusable?

Answer 1

Hi, TranquilMarmot!

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Community. We are sorry to learn you have issues with your Surface Headphones 2's audio quality. Thanks for taking the time to let us know about this and allowing us to help you out.

When on a Windows 10 device, there are 2 audio profiles:

1.) Surface Headphones Stereo - listening to music

2.) Surface Headphones Hands-Free - making calls

If only one audio profile is available for use, the other one is not downloaded properly during setup. Kindly un-pair your Surface Headphones 2, then do these steps on your Windows 10 device:

• Check for Windows Update:

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for Updates

Please restart your device to apply the updates.

• Run Surface Diagnostic Toolkit and make sure to complete the tasks on your Surface Go.
• Restart your Windows 10 device.

Force shutdown your Surface Go and restart.

1. Press and hold the power button until the screen turns off (about 10 seconds), then release the power button.
2. Press and release the power button to turn your Surface back on. You should see the Microsoft logo.

If that doesn't work, here's how to make sure your Surface turns off completely:

Press and hold down the power button until your Surface restarts and you see the Windows logo screen (about 20 seconds), then release the power button.

• Re-pair your Surface Headphones 2 and check if the Surface Headphone Stereo profile is also included.

For further steps, please refer to https://support.microsoft.com/help/4491959/

If the issue still presents itself, please Contact Microsoft Support****for further assistance as the headset may need to be replaced. If you are outside the US, please check this page to know the number for your country in our list of Global Customer Service phone numbers.

If this answers your question, please let our Community know by marking this post as an answer. Otherwise, don't hesitate to respond to this thread if there’s anything else that needs to be addressed. 

Kind regards,

Janette_Z

Answer 2

Hello Janette,

In my wife's Windows 10 laptop, we can only see "Headset (Surface Headphones Hands-Free AG Audio) in the Input section. The Output section does show the Stereo option. However, my windows 10 laptop is showing the "Hands-Free"option in the Input section.

Hence, why is the Hands-Free AG Audio showing up in my wife's laptop and it's causing issues while making calls.

Thank you.

Hi, TranquilMarmot!

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Community. We are sorry to learn you have issues with your Surface Headphones 2's audio quality. Thanks for taking the time to let us know about this and allowing us to help you out.

When on a Windows 10 device, there are 2 audio profiles:

1.) Surface Headphones Stereo - listening to music

2.) Surface Headphones Hands-Free - making calls

If only one audio profile is available for use, the other one is not downloaded properly during setup. Kindly un-pair your Surface Headphones 2, then do these steps on your Windows 10 device:

• Check for Windows Update:

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for Updates

Please restart your device to apply the updates.

• Run Surface Diagnostic Toolkit and make sure to complete the tasks on your Surface Go.
• Restart your Windows 10 device.

Force shutdown your Surface Go and restart.

1. Press and hold the power button until the screen turns off (about 10 seconds), then release the power button.
2. Press and release the power button to turn your Surface back on. You should see the Microsoft logo.

If that doesn't work, here's how to make sure your Surface turns off completely:

Press and hold down the power button until your Surface restarts and you see the Windows logo screen (about 20 seconds), then release the power button.

• Re-pair your Surface Headphones 2 and check if the Surface Headphone Stereo profile is also included.

For further steps, please refer to https://support.microsoft.com/help/4491959/

If the issue still presents itself, please Contact Microsoft Support****for further assistance as the headset may need to be replaced. If you are outside the US, please check this page to know the number for your country in our list of Global Customer Service phone numbers.

If this answers your question, please let our Community know by marking this post as an answer. Otherwise, don't hesitate to respond to this thread if there’s anything else that needs to be addressed. 

Kind regards,

Janette_Z