Audio Fix / setup help
Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen: enable phantom only for a microphone documented to require it
Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen: enable phantom only for a microphone documented to require it. Check prerequisites and the actual response before reporting an outcome.
Manufacturer-documented Reviewed 2026-11-09 · Revision 1
Follow these checks in Audio Fix →When this guide applies
Already connected compatible XLR microphone requiring 48 V; phantom currently off.
Connection scope: Analog line / headphone audio. Symptom: My microphone isn’t working.
This is a documented check, not a diagnosis of your equipment. The model name does not confirm the selected input, mode, software or connected partner.
If your exact model or a required setting is unknown, use the “I don’t know” branch below. Do not apply a similarly named model’s instructions.
Checks and possible outcomes
Start at step-0. Follow the link that matches what you actually observe. Alternative branches are not a single sequence of actions.
step-0
Does this exact microphone documentation explicitly require and permit 48 V?
Unknown compatibility, a passive ribbon or a jack-connected source stops here.
Look for: Confirm the actual prerequisite or observation. Unknown stops safely.
- If Yes / check completed → Is that microphone already securely connected to the intended XLR input?
- If No / cannot confirm → Keep these observations for official support
- If I do not know / cannot check → A required fact is unknown
- Manufacturer-documented Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen official user guide ↗PDF pages 14, 15 — 48 V is enabled for the selected XLR input after lowering its preamp gain. Unknown microphone compatibility must be checked.Exact model/generation named in this manual; external controls and documented host paths only. · Source checked 2026-11-09
step-1
Is that microphone already securely connected to the intended XLR input?
Do not hot-plug a microphone during this sequence.
Look for: Confirm the actual prerequisite or observation. Unknown stops safely.
- If Yes / check completed → Is 48 V confirmed off, with recording stopped and monitor level reduced?
- If No / cannot confirm → Keep these observations for official support
- If I do not know / cannot check → A required fact is unknown
- Manufacturer-documented Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen official user guide ↗PDF pages 14, 15 — 48 V is enabled for the selected XLR input after lowering its preamp gain. Unknown microphone compatibility must be checked.Exact model/generation named in this manual; external controls and documented host paths only. · Source checked 2026-11-09
step-2
Is 48 V confirmed off, with recording stopped and monitor level reduced?
No blind toggle; enabling power can create a transient.
Look for: Confirm the actual prerequisite or observation. Unknown stops safely.
- If Yes / check completed → Select that exact preamp with Select
- If No / cannot confirm → Keep these observations for official support
- If I do not know / cannot check → A required fact is unknown
- Manufacturer-documented Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen official user guide ↗PDF pages 14, 15 — 48 V is enabled for the selected XLR input after lowering its preamp gain. Unknown microphone compatibility must be checked.Exact model/generation named in this manual; external controls and documented host paths only. · Source checked 2026-11-09
step-3
Select that exact preamp with Select
Keep the other input and any linked-preamp configuration undisturbed; stop if selection/link state is unknown.
Look for: Perform only the stated operation, then confirm whether it could be completed.
- If Yes / check completed → Turn down that input preamp gain
- If No / cannot confirm → Keep these observations for official support
- If I do not know / cannot check → A required fact is unknown
- Manufacturer-documented Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen official user guide ↗PDF pages 14, 15 — 48 V is enabled for the selected XLR input after lowering its preamp gain. Unknown microphone compatibility must be checked.Exact model/generation named in this manual; external controls and documented host paths only. · Source checked 2026-11-09
step-4
Turn down that input preamp gain
Keep headphone/speaker levels reduced.
Look for: Perform only the stated operation, then confirm whether it could be completed.
- If Yes / check completed → Press 48 V once and confirm the green enabled indication
- If No / cannot confirm → Keep these observations for official support
- If I do not know / cannot check → A required fact is unknown
- Manufacturer-documented Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen official user guide ↗PDF pages 14, 15 — 48 V is enabled for the selected XLR input after lowering its preamp gain. Unknown microphone compatibility must be checked.Exact model/generation named in this manual; external controls and documented host paths only. · Source checked 2026-11-09
step-5
Press 48 V once and confirm the green enabled indication
Enable only the documented compatible input; do not unplug until power is safely off again.
Look for: Perform only the stated operation, then confirm whether it could be completed.
- If Yes / check completed → Does the microphone now show a signal after gain is gently restored?
- If No / cannot confirm → Keep these observations for official support
- If I do not know / cannot check → A required fact is unknown
- Manufacturer-documented Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen official user guide ↗PDF pages 14, 15 — 48 V is enabled for the selected XLR input after lowering its preamp gain. Unknown microphone compatibility must be checked.Exact model/generation named in this manual; external controls and documented host paths only. · Source checked 2026-11-09
step-6
Does the microphone now show a signal after gain is gently restored?
Phantom state alone is not proof of recording or microphone health.
Look for: Confirm the actual prerequisite or observation. Unknown stops safely.
- If Yes / check completed → Checks completed — report what happened
- If No / cannot confirm → Keep these observations for official support
- If I do not know / cannot check → A required fact is unknown
- Manufacturer-documented Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th Gen official user guide ↗PDF pages 14, 15 — 48 V is enabled for the selected XLR input after lowering its preamp gain. Unknown microphone compatibility must be checked.Exact model/generation named in this manual; external controls and documented host paths only. · Source checked 2026-11-09
Possible result
Checks completed — report what happened
Completion is not an automatic solved result. Report solved, partly helped, did not help or could not follow based on your actual observation. No Audio Review physical test is claimed.
steps completed
Reaching this result does not mean the issue is solved. Only your own feedback can report improvement.
Possible result
Keep these observations for official support
A required prerequisite or response was not confirmed. Stop this sequence and use the exact model and partner documentation. Do not escalate to a factory reset, firmware installation, internal repair or unsafe wiring change.
next support
Reaching this result does not mean the issue is solved. Only your own feedback can report improvement.
Possible result
A required fact is unknown
Confirm the exact model, connection, partner capability and current control state before continuing. Do not guess settings or operate an updating product.
insufficient data
Reaching this result does not mean the issue is solved. Only your own feedback can report improvement.