teamclouday/AndroidMic

AndroidMic

Use your Android phone as a microphone for your PC

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Features

• Cross-platform: Works on Linux, Windows, and macOS
• Multiple connection options: WiFi (TCP/UDP), USB Serial, and USB ADB
• Audio processing: Noise cancellation and audio wave visualization
• Customizable audio settings: Sample rate, channels, and bit depth

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⚠️ Important Requirements

This app requires a virtual audio cable device to work!

AndroidMic streams audio from your phone to your PC, but your PC needs a way to recognize this audio stream as a microphone input. This is where virtual audio cables come in.

Virtual Audio Cable Setup

On Windows:

• Install Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) or VB Cable (both free options available)
• These tools create virtual audio devices on your system
• Once installed, you'll have a virtual output device (speaker/playback) and a virtual input device (microphone)
• AndroidMic plays audio to the virtual output, which is internally wired to the virtual input that your apps can use as a microphone

On Linux:

• Use PulseAudio or PipeWire to create virtual audio devices
• Example with PulseAudio:

  pactl load-module module-null-sink sink_name=virtual_mic
  pactl load-module module-remap-source master=virtual_mic.monitor source_name=virtual_mic_source
  

On macOS:

• Use BlackHole or similar virtual audio driver

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Setup Guide

Step 1: Install Virtual Audio Cable

Follow the instructions above for your operating system to install a virtual audio cable solution. This step is required before proceeding.

Step 2: PC Application Setup

1. Download and install

   • Get the latest release from the releases page
   • Install and launch the app

   macOS users: You may need to run this command to allow the app to run:

   xattr -c /Applications/AndroidMic.app
   

   See this discussion for more details.

2. Select output audio device

   • Choose the virtual output device (e.g., "VB Cable Input" or "Virtual Audio Cable") from the dropdown
   • This is the playback device that's wired to your virtual microphone
   • Do NOT select your regular speakers or headphones
   • On Linux change channel count to "Mono" when you select PipeWire or PulseAudio

3. Choose connection method

   • TCP/UDP (WiFi):

     • Connect your phone and PC to the same network
     • No additional setup required

   • USB ADB:

     • Install Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
     • Enable USB debugging on your phone (Developer Options)
     • Connect phone via USB cable

   • USB Serial:

     • Connect phone via USB cable
     • Set phone's USB mode to "Charging only"
     • Windows:
       • Close Android Studio and ensure ADB process is not running
       • Your phone must use the WinUSB driver (required for all Android phones)
       • Use Zadig to replace the current USB driver with WinUSB if needed
       • On first connection attempt, the phone will switch to accessory mode - click Connect again to establish the connection
     • Linux: Configure udev rules for USB permissions

4. Configure audio settings (Advanced)

   • Click to open advanced settings
   • Choose format supported by your virtual audio device
   • Common settings: 44.1kHz or 48kHz sample rate, mono channel, 16-bit or 24-bit depth

Step 3: Android Application Setup

1. Install the app

   • Download the APK from releases or F-Droid
   • Install and open the app

2. Configure settings

   • Open the side drawer menu
   • Select the same connection method chosen on PC
   • Configure audio settings (sample rate, channels, bit depth) - these can be adjusted independently from PC settings

3. Connect and start

   • Grant required permissions:
     • Microphone: To access your phone's mic
     • Notification: To show recording status in background
   • Start recording
   • Connect to PC:
     • TCP/UDP: Enter PC IP address and port (shown in PC app log)
     • USB ADB: Just click connect
     • USB Serial: Allow accessory mode when prompted

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Using AndroidMic in Other Apps

After setup, the virtual microphone will appear in your system's audio input devices. Select it in any application:

• Discord, Teams, Zoom (voice chat)
• OBS, Streamlabs (streaming)
• Audacity, FL Studio (recording)
• Any other app that accepts microphone input

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Troubleshooting

Can't hear audio / No microphone detected

• Verify virtual audio cable is properly installed
• Ensure you selected the virtual output device in AndroidMic PC app
• Check that applications are using the virtual input device as microphone
• On Windows: Check that VAC/VB Cable devices are set as default in Sound Settings

Windows Defender flags the app as malware

• Usually this is a false positive due to Windows Defender's ML algorithm
• Please report to Microsoft to help get it fixed

USB connection not working

• USB ADB: Ensure USB debugging is enabled and ADB is installed
• USB Serial: May need Zadig to change USB driver to WinUSB
• USB Serial (Linux): Configure udev rules for USB permissions

Audio quality issues

• Match audio settings between PC and Android app exactly
• Try different sample rates (44.1kHz or 48kHz)
• Turn on/off noise cancellation in the app

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Support & Contributing

• Questions / Feature Requests / Bug Reports: Submit an issue
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

Project History

The PC app originally started as a WPF application written in C# for Windows only. Most features have been recreated in Rust (thanks to @wiiznokes) for cross-platform support. The WPF app branch is still available for reference.

Note: Bluetooth support was removed in favor of USB Serial connection, which provides better bandwidth.