One aspect of Android that can certainly stand to be improved is the microphone. Audio management is unfortunately almost nonexistent, which should really not be the case in an OS as mature and popular as Android. But although this has been forgotten by Google, ti hasn't been forgotten by XDA's forum members.

If you've ever looked for a way to change microphone settings in Android, we have a good news for you. XDA Recognized Developer mikereidis (creator of Spirit FM) created an application that allows you to modify some hidden audio preferences in Android. The application intercepts calls to the original HAL using a shim-based technique. With the modification in place, users are able to change the volume of their microphone. The mod also allows you to tweak the volume of the output.

This solution may not be limited to using a HAL shim. It's possible to use ALSA (commonly seen in Linux), which has dozens of configuration options. The application is still at a very early stage, and will surely become more mature in due time. Currently, it works only on devices running AOSP-derived KitKat with root, but the developer promises to lower the requirements when the bugs are polished away.

You can experiment with your device's audio by visiting the application thread.