How to Enable Microphone in Linux on Chromebook
Chromebooks have supported Linux for three years now, enabling users to run Linux applications on their Chromebooks. However, when Linux support was initially launched, some basic features were missing. Over time, Chrome OS has added many of these missing features, including microphone access to Linux applications such as Audacity.
This means that you can now install and use Audacity on your Chromebook to record and edit audio. Without further delay, let’s proceed and learn how to enable microphone support in Linux on Chrome OS.
How to Enable Microphone in Linux on Chromebook
Before you follow the steps to turn on the microphone access in Linux on your Chromebook, make sure that the Linux development environment is enabled on your Chromebook. This is essential as the Linux development environment enables the functionality to run Linux applications seamlessly on your Chromebook.
Once the Linux development environment is enabled, you can proceed with enabling microphone access in Linux on your Chromebook.
Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Click on the App Drawer icon.
Step 2: Then, look for the Settings application and open it.
Screenshot not in the archive: Accessing Chromebook Settings
Step 3: Here, click on the About ChromeOS tab, and look for the Developers section.
Step 4: Then, click on the Linux development environment option.
Screenshot not in the archive: Enable Linux Development Environment on Chromebook
Step 4: Here, you’ll find Linux development environment settings. Now, turn on the toggle next to the Allow Linux to access your microphone option.
Step 5: Here, you’ll get a popup window saying: ‘The change in microphone setting requires Linux to shut down. Shut down Linux to proceed.’ Click on the Shut Down button.
Screenshot not in the archive: Microphone Access in Linux on Chromebook
Step 6: After that, you are ready to use your microphone with your Linux development environment.
Conclusion
That’s it. This is how you can enable microphone access in Linux on a Chromebook. Once enabled, you will be able to use audio-recording applications with ease. If you encounter any issues with the microphone, simply restart your device and ensure that your microphone is properly connected to your device in order to work in Linux apps on your Chromebook.
If you’re also interested in enabling GPU acceleration in Linux on your Chromebook, check out the linked guide. I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions about the process, feel free to leave a comment.
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Written in 2024 for the ChromeOS and Chrome versions of that time, so menus may look different today. Restored from the Internet Archive copy of 2024-09-07. 3 of 3 screenshots were not saved by the archive; their captions are kept in the text.