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PS4 3.50 Update Causes DS4 Controllers To Not Recognize 3rd-Party Mic Input

UPDATE 4/18/16 TOWARDS BOTTOM

I haven't seen any mentions here, and thought it was worth bringing up. My first thread, so please let me know if I need to change anything.

So most of us have been aware of problems with newer DS4s

First off, I believe many of us have discovered that the newer Dual Shock 4 controllers—Anniversary edition and onward—don't support third-party microphones (anyone know of exceptions?).

When people first found this out and shared their concerns (like in this thread), others on here immediately dismissed them as dumb Apple earpod users. No, people have tried tons of different headsets, which all worked on the launch/old DS4s just fine.

And on the issue of Apple earpods specifically, they DID work on the old controllers, they'd just have a buzzing noise that your friends may or may not complain about. They still allowed your voice to reach the ears of your friends, and to many, that's good enough.

Anyways, I know this problem to be true through first-hand experience. I bought a new Dual Shock 4 recently because *surprise* my launch controller's L2 randomly decided to give out. And please, spare me any comments telling me I must be too rough with my controllers, or that the eight launch controllers you own all work fine.

But now, through software, old controllers are affected as well

The reason I'm making this thread is that things have just gotten worse. As of the PS4 firmware 3.50 update, now even the older Dual Shock 4 controllers do not allow a mic signal to come through.

There has been a lot of discussion about this issue today on Reddit as well as on the PlayStation forums. There has been a quick fix to get these older controllers to recognize a microphone input: you slide the headphone connector in and out really fast 5-10 times and then all the way back into the aux port. And you have to do that each time you unplug your headphones and plug them back in.

Why it's a problem worth discussing

Because being able to use just about any headphone/mic combo has been a very enjoyable and extremely useful feature since the PS4 first launched, as well as one of several selling-points for people. Now that feature seems to be going the way of the Dodo in favor of Sony's first-party/approved headsets. Proof? Plug your PS4 earbud in on your controller with firmware 3.5 installed, and then immediately try out a pair of third-party earbuds.

So what do you think, NeoGAF users? Is this a second step in removing third-party microphone compatibility through the DS4, or is it a bug for firmware 3.50?

Does this new issue make you think differently about the newer DS4's? As in, is the incompatibility of third-party headsets in the newer DS4s just a side-effect of slightly different hardware, or is it an intentional move by Sony? Do you think Sony will acknowledge this 3.50 issue at all?

Mute this thread if old.

UPDATE 4/18/16
Since this thread was revived today, I want to let you all know that I figured things out.

So, as people have pointed out in this thread and elsewhere, the Apple EarPods (yes, that's the official product name) have a different ring configuration than the standard 3.5mm L+R+Mic. layout. It's a digital inline mic., compared to the standard analog inline mic.

Even though my SOL Republic Tracks HD headphones don't emit a whining noise while plugged into a Dual Shock 4 like the Apple EarPods do, they still use the same digital "Apple" ring configuration that the EarPods do. This is an important observation, because the PS4 as of update 3.50 will try to prevent "Apple" mics from working with any controller.

My brother also owns a pair of SOL Republics. But his cord with inline microphone only has one button, as opposed to my cord with inline microphone which has the Apple-style 3 buttons. He plugged his headphones into my new red controller and it worked flawlessly, as well as with any of our old controllers.

So I was planning on buying a standard, one-button inline microphone cord for my pair of SOL republics. But then I decided to try the quick-fix on my new red controller with my Apple-style inline mic. And guess what! The quick fix works on the newer controllers. I'm fine with doing that for now.

TL;DR

Sony's not trying to ban all third-party mics.

"Apple"-style, three-button, digital inline microphones are what Sony was trying to prevent from working with Dual Shock 4 controllers. But you can use the quick fix, described way up above, on any DS4 to continue using your headphones. Just note that you will have to do that quick-fix each time you plug them back in.

The standard (some call it "Android"-style), one-button, inline microphones will work flawlessly with any Dual Shock 4. And I know some brands offer both "Android" and "Apple" cords for certain headphone models (SOL Republic Tracks/Master Tracks, Bose SoundTrue).

PM me if you have more questions. I'm happy to help!
 
This is the first I've heard of the issue, but I could have sworn that my headphones with inline mic worked at some point on my white DS4 several months ago, and have been miffed trying to figure out why it wouldn't work for the past month. It wasn't working even before the most recent update, so I have no clue. Hmmmmm.
 

Liamario

Banned
I tried my old iPod headphones with mic the other night. They used to work, now the mic doesn't work anymore. When I press the buttons on the in line control, it creates a loud clicking sound for those in the chat room. Something has definitely changed.
 
never heard of this issue, i use a Qpad headset just fine on my Anniversary pad. Most friends use random headsets too.
 

lynux3

Member
Never heard of this issue. Also, how would it even be possible to identify a microphone manufacturer (officially supported or not) through a 3.5mm jack? This seems silly to me.
 

JetBlackPanda

Gold Member
This again. Something is up because so many people online post about it but personally it's never Happened to me. All my third party mics work but the EarPods never have because the pin placement is different on Apple headphones.
 
Seems to be fine on my end. I use an Astro Mixamp 5.8 with a PC clip-on mic. Mixamp is connected to the controller with a Turtle Beach cord. Just recorded a PS4 voice message and played it back no problem.
 
Never heard of this issue. Also, how would it even be possible to identify a microphone manufacturer (officially supported or not) through a 3.5mm jack? This seems silly to me.

It has to do with the electrical signal that the Dual Shock 4's hardware detects when you plug a headset into its headphone jack. So if it doesn't match the signal that the PlayStation headsets have, then the hardware in newer controllers can disable the mic's input.

The DS4 and PS4 are constantly communicating back and forth (button presses from DS4 to PS4, vibration cues and lightbar color changes from PS4 to DS4), so it's possible the DS4 can communicate this signal to the PS4. Thus making it possible through software for older DS4's to behave similarly to newer models.

So it's not that it would be excluding specific manufacturers, it would just be narrowing down the amount of usable microphone headsets to ones designed similar to the PlayStation-branded models.

Just an idea.

Edit: made point a little clearer, fixed typos
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
I feel like with firmware 4.0, the PS4 could communicate directly with my brain making me forget how to even purchase a third party headset and only buy Sony from here on out.

Just an idea.
 

wrighton

Neo Member
Third party headsets like Apple EarPods did used to work but they made a horrible screeching/beeping noise to anyone listening to you because they use a digital inline mic.

The official Sony one just has an analogue switch which physically breaks the link to the mic on the single string head set.

This "change" that has been made is to probably stop people using the headphones with a digital inline mic because they cause feedback.

If your using say Apples EarPods check with a friend an see how the sound compares to the official headset and wether or not it actually mutes properly instead of emitting a horrible screech.
 

Matush

Member
Launch PS4 controller here and yup, as I stated yesterday, my cheap (but comfy) headphones no longer work. F this bs.
 
you slide the headphone connector in and out really fast 5-10 times and then all the way back into the aux port. And you have to do that each time you unplug your headphones and plug them back in.



that sounds like a retention problem( hardware itself) but then again if its just suddenly stopped working that is odd
 
Weird. I have four contollers (two launch, one 20 year anniversary and one blue one form the last 8 months or so) and all I own are third party mics. I am in Korea, though, so that may be a factor? None of my brothers in the US are having moc problems either, though, so maybe it is not an universal issue?
 

mollipen

Member
Third party headsets like Apple EarPods did used to work but they made a horrible screeching/beeping noise to anyone listening to you because they use a digital inline mic.

Not all! At least, not from my testing. The previous generation of Apple EarPods (that's really the name?) seemed to work fine without any buzzing on the other end.


you slide the headphone connector in and out really fast 5-10 times and then all the way back into the aux port.

...that's what she said?
 

Rephin

Member
20th Anniversary Controller, using a SteelSeries Siberia. Works fine for me with in-game The Division chat.
 
If your using say Apples EarPods check with a friend an see how the sound compares to the official headset and wether or not it actually mutes properly instead of emitting a horrible screech.

Judging by past experience, people don't give a shit if you or your headset sound bad, as long as they can hear you, they're happy.

I've known plenty of people who have had sets that cause a permanent buzz or something else and I just stopped playing with them...because hours of the same hiss is just painful.

If Sony really has set in a way to tell these cheaper ones apart from decent sets...good. But they need to tell the user too.
 

Sorral

Member
I use an anniversary controller, a stock controller (not launch), and 3 different third party headsets. They all work. Your title (and kinda thread) generalizes that it might as well be all third party headsets or the majority.

Is everyone in here using the Apple headphones that no longer work?

I hate to be that guy, but omg, please spend $5-$10 on a different pair because the buzzing sound is really annoying. My friend kept going back to them until he started using the one that came with the PS4 only because he prefers to hear gameplay from the TV. The buzzing sound gets so distracting after a while and it shows how bad it was after I take off the headset to rest my ears.
 

ocean

Banned
I have Beats, Bose and Seinheisser headsets - all of which work perfect (mic/sound) on my launch controller. The microphone functionality has never worked at all on my Anniversary controller (or the three replacements I got for it).

I'm done bitching and raging on the internet about this, those who aren't affected tend to reply with "well mine works so this isn't a problem" and it aggravates me too much.

This is a thing.
 
wait what so my hyper x headphones with mic can suddenly stop working?

if that's true i would be done with that system.
 
This "change" that has been made is to probably stop people using the headphones with a digital inline mic because they cause feedback.

That was definitely one of my ideas early on, but I don't think Sony would be spurred to take this big of an action on something so trivial, in the grand scheme of things. I don't think they have received complaints from the users about the buzzing enough to do something this drastic. Getting people to consider a PS-branded headset makes just as much sense to me.

If Apple EarPods's microphone buzzing were the reason to spur Sony to take action, then it's a horrible one. As a lot of people's headsets that have functioned perfectly since launch have, in several minutes, become useless. A lot more harm than good.

And to everyone who is saying their controllers have had no problems with third-party headsets, I'm glad things are still working the way you've expected them to. I only ask that you don't dismiss others who are having problems. This situation has been quite frustrating for me and many others.

My point of this thread is to bring awareness to the issue and to maybe get Sony's attention. A difficult task, but one I felt I needed to attempt.

Edit: And to add, like I said in the OP, I'm not an Apple EarPod user when it comes to using a mic on the PS4. I'm not a jerk to my friends ;) I have a pair of SOL Republic Tracks HD's that weren't immediately allowing mic input through my launch controller after the 3.50 update. BEFORE the update, those headphones worked flawlessly and did NOT emit any horrible buzzing noise. Had to do the quick fix to get it to work. And my new red controller has never let that pair of headphones' mic work at all.
 
i think only headsets with apple style wiring (which is not standard) stopped working - all my headsets with mic are still working
 

stryke

Member
Tested 3 different third party headphones/headsets and they all work. Tried one iphone headset with which the mic didn't work.

This was done on DS4 model CUH-ZCT1E
 
I know there have been compatibility issues with some 3rd party headphones.

But can someone give me a reasonable answer to this question, please? How could you disable certain headphones via a firmware update? How can you even identify different brands given they are connected via analogue 3.5mm jack?
 

joebruin

Member
They did say this all the way back in 2013 in their ultimate faq :)

Will the DUALSHOCK 4 controller’s 3.5mm headset jack support other headsets or headphones?

The PS Vita system’s headset is fully supported. Some other third-party headsets may support basic audio and chat functionality on PS4, but Sony Computer Entertainment cannot guarantee it.

This site seems to explain compatibility issues related to the different standards but I don't claim to know whats going on:

http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...87-note-headset-standards-omtp-ahj-apple.html
 

Cornbread78

Member
Had to bump this, but not sure where else to ask. I've been using the same wireless Pulse Elites for awhile now, but since the update, the sound cuts out completely from time to time and loses connection. Had anyone else ran into this since the last update?
 
Both of my Rocket League squad mates have had to buy new headsets because of this. They were using the standard iPhone earbud/mic before but switched to Sony brand.
 

Cornbread78

Member
Both of my Rocket League squad mates have had to buy new headsets because of this. They were using the standard iPhone earbud/mic before but switched to Sony brand.

My headset is from Sony though, lol.


I've had to pop my earbuds into the DS4, which is a temp fix, but they lack volume control and true surround sound...
 

Glix

Member
No headsets made specifically with Apple devices in mind have ever worked with my DS's since I got the system in Dec 2015.

I was told it is due to a DS hardware revision.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
No headsets made specifically with Apple devices in mind have ever worked with my DS's since I got the system in Dec 2015.

I was told it is due to a DS hardware revision.

No, the DS uses the standard, Apple decided to swap the mic pin layout, "because fuck you that's why", in typical Apple fashion.

My 4s earbuds worked fine... ones after that when Apple switched the pin layouts from 3.5mm standard for decades... NOPE!
 

PreFire

Member
I was just about to exchange my (new black) ds4 too. Was playing GTA and my friend couldn't hear me. Had to use a different (blue) ds4

I use Apple earbuds too. No beep tone or buzzing sound coming from me though, I always ask.

Why would Sony remove 3rd party mic input? So dumb :(
 

Glix

Member
No, the DS uses the standard, Apple decided to swap the mic pin layout, "because fuck you that's why", in typical Apple fashion.

My 4s earbuds worked fine... ones after that when Apple switched the pin layouts from 3.5mm standard for decades... NOPE!

Yes I am aware but the original DS4's were built in a way (one guy said accidentally) that they DID work properly with apple headsets, but then they did a hardware revision and they "fixed" it.

I am aware that apple are the assholes here.
 

Experien

Member
I use the blue controller with Turtle Beach (Sandtrooper) headset. No problems, though my controller started to die by not always/fully registering the UP input on the left analog stick.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Yes I am aware but the original DS4's were built in a way (one guy said accidentally) that they DID work properly with apple headsets, but then they did a hardware revision and they "fixed" it.

I am aware that apple are the assholes here.

That makes no sense (in their case). I have a brand new Uncharted 4 one, and it works the same on my 4s and below headsets.

Anything after Apple 5 and above is when Apple, along with their charging dock, changed the spec.

There is nothing Sony could do with the connector to make it not work with the 4s and below (which are standard 3.5 the industry uses), and not bork ALL 3.5 non Apple one's out there.
 

v1lla21

Member
Just bought a new controller and my earphones work fine. I tried 3 different earphones and they all worked. My cousin has this problem though. None of the earphones worked on his controller.
 
I was one of the big jerks using Apple earbuds. That is, until I downloaded the latest beta and the mic stopped functioning. This move forced me to actually take a trip to Best Buy and purchase some $15 Sony-brand earbuds with mic—the things seal my ear-holes so tight I can't even hear myself talk.

But no more buzzing.
 

Glix

Member
That makes no sense (in their case). I have a brand new Uncharted 4 one, and it works the same on my 4s and below headsets.

Anything after Apple 5 and above is when Apple, along with their charging dock, changed the spec.

There is nothing Sony could do with the connector to make it not work with the 4s and below (which are standard 3.5 the industry uses), and not bork ALL 3.5 non Apple one's out there.

All I know is that many people with first run DS4's claim that apple earphones MIC will work. The earphone part works fine. They cannot all be lying.

I have tried FIVE, yes FIVE sets of apple earbuds with BOTH of my DS4's that were acquired 12/2015. 4 sets of apple buds and one set of B&O specifically made for apple devices. ALL of them do not work.
 
All my headphones work fine. I have a pair of JVC extreme bass, Sony XB450, Beats studios with Mic, Fanny wangs (dont ask) Samsung earbuds and sennieser earbuds.

The problem is with apple ceritfied stuff. They are missing a strip or something.
 

otakukidd

Member
All I know is that many people with first run DS4's claim that apple earphones MIC will work. The earphone part works fine. They cannot all be lying.

I have tried FIVE, yes FIVE sets of apple earbuds with BOTH of my DS4's that were acquired 12/2015. 4 sets of apple buds and one set of B&O specifically made for apple devices. ALL of them do not work.
They weren't supposed to work and they worked shittily. They fixed it.
 
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