In the 2020 computer refresh, many individuals will have received the Lenovo T495 as their new laptop computer. An issue has been identified with the default microphone settings that may cause very poor quality and crackling/muffled sound when using the built-in microphone.
To fix this issue, go to Control Panel -> “Sound” -> “Recording” tab and right click the “Microphone Array”. Select the “Properties” option to open the Properties menu. Then go to the “Levels” tab and turn the “Microphone Array” all the way up to 100 and the “Microphone Boost” all the way down to +0.0dB. Then go to the “Advanced” tab and uncheck the box next to “Enable audio enhancements”. Finally, click “Apply” or “OK” to save your changes and the microphone should begin to function normally. A video showing this process is below.