Why Did My Windows Sound Stop Working?
There’s no greater annoyance than a laptop or desktop device going silent all of a sudden. You can no longer hear your favorite music, movies, YouTube videos, video calls, or the familiar keyboard clicks. On a Windows 11/10 system, the different possible reasons for “no audio” include hardware, software, application, and driver issues. While it is not always easy to identify the exact cause through visual inspection alone, there are a few obvious signs of a faulty audio connection. For example, if you’ve enabled Windows Defender on your device, it will flag a malware threat and turn off the sound. Do you have a loose audio cable or a headphone wire inserted in the wrong jack? Check for and fix those problems. Is the Volume icon missing? That may suggest outdated driver issues. Considering the many potential causes, our troubleshooting below includes quick and easy fixes as well as more elaborate solutions to be tried as a last resort.
1. Unmute the Windows Sound Icon and Choose the Right Playback Device
The first simple fix should be checking whether your volume hasn’t suddenly gone mute. Go to the Taskbar menu under the Notification area, click/tap on the Sound icon and make sure the Volume is turned. Also, on a Windows 11 device, click the up arrow to further adjust the volume by dragging the slider. To ensure the right playback device is used, click “Manage audio devices.” You should be able to see the speaker hardware connected to your Windows device, such as Realtek Audio, WO Mic, headphones, or speakers. Ensure the right audio device is available. On a Windows 10 device, there are fewer options, but you should be able to easily adjust the volume by choosing the right playback device from the up arrow. If the Volume icon is missing in the Taskbar and Notifications area, then you need to try out some other methods covered below.
2. Check Your Headphones, Cables and Peripherals
In Windows 11/10, the best way to test the reliability of audio hardware is to go to “Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Sound.” All devices on “Playback and Recording” should show a connected status. If you’re using your Windows device with headphones, check whether it has been enabled and set as a default. If your headphones keeps disconnecting from the audio ports, you can use a cheap USB audio adapter with 3.5 mm speaker and microphone jacks. This does a good job holding the headphones in place. For any other connecting issues with headphones, go through these troubleshooting tips for both wired and wireless headphones. Finally, you must check the peripherals for any physical looseness. Any cables should be unbroken and firmly inserted in the device. All audio cords and cables should be plugged into the correct jack.
3. Adjust Sound Settings
The Sound settings on your Windows device are an important place to search if you want to find out about the audio problems. It offers slightly more options compared to the Sound icon that controls volume and playback devices. With Windows 10, you can also select “App volume and device preferences” from the “Advanced sound options.”
4. Fix Audio Drivers
Are you unable to see the Volume icon on your Windows device? Does your system suddenly feel incompatible with the audio after an update? There’s a chance you may need to fix your installed audio drivers.
5. Restart Audio Services
To solve issues such as the Windows volume icon not showing up or the system unmute disabled, you can restart the audio services.
6. Set Default Audio Device
If you’re using a specific audio device as your default, then any other audio devices will show the “no sound” error. To fix this issue, you need to set the correct audio device in its place.
7. Turn Off Audio Enhancements
Windows audio devices such as Realtek have audio enhancement features. If you want proper quality sound, you need to disable this function.
8. Uncheck “Lower the Volume of Other Apps When Narrator Is Speaking”
If you use the Windows Narrator feature extensively, there is a setting that lowers the volume of all other apps so that you can clearly listen to the narrator. For this, you have to go to “Sound settings” from the search menu and select the “Lower the volume of other apps when Narrator is speaking” option. Make sure the option to lower the volume of other apps is enabled for your default audio device.
9. Check for Windows Updates
Sometimes in older Windows versions, especially legacy Windows 10, some update issues can interfere with the audio problems. If you haven’t updated your Windows device in a long time, there comes a time when you should do it; otherwise, you’ll be noticing bugs and errors, such as audio issues. All updates can be centrally managed from the “Check for Updates” menu option in the Windows search box.
10. Run Audio Troubleshooter
The Windows audio troubleshooting tool is a programmed solution that completely checks all the Windows drivers and settings discussed above. Although it may consume a little more time than needed, it gives a very accurate assessment of the audio problems.
11. Enable Onboard Audio from BIOS
If none of these methods work, you can try rejigging the audio from the BIOS on your device in safe mode. Here’s how you can boot to this mode.
12. Reset Windows 11
As a last resort, execute a factory reset of your Windows 11/10 system. It’s a very time-consuming process and can take up to one day for slower systems. Use it only if the all other methods fail. The detailed steps have been covered here, but a quick summary of the procedure follows.
1. How do I know if my audio jack is working on Windows 11/10?
The audio jack is one of the important parts of running a Windows sound experience. To verify it runs on Windows 11, select the Sound icon from the “System Tray/Notifications” area of Taskbar, then right-click to see if the audio device is present. Make sure there is a green checkmark for all the audio devices on your computer.
2. How do I fix Windows 11/10 system sounds not working?
System sounds are native to Windows but can also be imported externally. For example, you can install a customized Windows 95 startup sound on a Windows 11/10 device. It may happen that the computer is unable to play the system sounds. In fact, improper installation of such system sounds is one of the reasons you may be encountering the “no sound” issue on your device. To resolve this issue, go to “Control Panel” followed by “Hardware and Sounds -> Sound.” Select “Change System Sounds” and ensure that the sound scheme has not been set at “No sound.” Read on to learn how to increase the maximum volume in Windows devices and how to install Google Play Store on a Windows device.
