Some of you may have encountered this issue at some point – There is no sound in Windows 11/10. If you are facing such a No Audio or Sound is missing problem, this tutorial may help you resolve the issue. Before you begin, ensure that you have plugged in all the cables properly and that you have not muted the speakers by mistake.
Such audio issues can be caused by misconfigured audio settings, faulty external speakers, or outdated or corrupted device drivers. You need to check the volume controls, levels & settings, and audio enhancement settings, and then follow the troubleshooting steps to fix the issue and update audio drivers.
No Sound on Windows 11/10 computer
To troubleshoot this No sound issue on your Windows 11/10 computer, you will have to look at the following aspects:
- Check your Driver
- Check your sound card
- Set the correct audio device as the default
- Disable enhancements
- Check if the Speakers & headphones cables are connected properly
- Change audio format
- Check if the HDMI cables are connected properly
- Run Sound and Audio Troubleshooter.
Laptop Speakers not working
1] Check your Driver
Normally you would open Control Panel > Sound > Under Playback and Recording tabs, Select and Set Defaults. Additionally, or alternatively, you may also have to try this: Click Start > Type Device Manager in Start Menu Search Bar > Hit Enter.
The Device Manager will open. Expand Sound, Video, and Game Controllers. Locate your audio device—double-click on it to open its Properties box. See whether the driver is installed and the device is working properly.
In the Driver tab, click on Update Driver. Click OK. Else you may have to uninstall the Driver (but DON’T delete it) and then in the Device Manager > Action > Scan for hardware changes. This will reinstall the driver.
Read No sound in Windows Video Editor.
2] Check your sound card
Ensure that your Windows PC has a sound card or sound processor, and it’s working properly. To check this, select the ‘Search’ option from the charms bar, type – Device Manager, and click on Settings. Open Device Manager, and double-click Sound, video, and game controllers to expand that category. If a sound card is listed, you have one installed. Laptops and tablets do not usually have sound cards. Instead, they have integrated sound processors, which appear in the same category in Device Manager.
See if it is working properly. If the Device Status shows that the device is working correctly, the problem showing up is due to sound settings, the speakers, or the cables.
Related: No sound after waking from Sleep mode or Hibernate
3] Set the correct audio device as default
Type ‘Sound’ in search and select Settings. Choose Sound. Under the Playback tab section, you will find multiple audio devices; appearing as speakers, followed by the device’s name. You will also observe that the default device shows a green check beside it, labeled Default if you have multiple devices.
If the wrong audio device is listed as the default audio device, choose the correct device and click the Set Default button. Restart your PC!
Read: Bluetooth speaker paired, but no Sound or Music.
4] Disable enhancements
In the Sound Control Panel on the Playback tab, right-click the Default Device and select Properties. On the Enhancements tab, select Disable all enhancements and see if you can play your audio device. If it helps, great; else, do this for each default device and see if it is any help.
5] Check if the Speakers and headphones cables are connected properly
New PCs these days are equipped with three or more jacks, including,
- a microphone jack
- line-in jack
- line-out jack.
These jacks connect to a sound processor. So make sure your speakers are plugged into the line-out jack. If unsure which is the right jack, try plugging speakers into each of the jacks and see if it produces any sound.
If you’re using headphones, make sure speakers aren’t plugged into the line-out (headphone) jack of your sound card or PC.
Read Computer sound volume too low.
6] Change audio format
Right-click the Default Device and select Properties in the Sound Control Panel on the Playback tab. On the Advanced tab, under Default Format, change the setting, and then check your audio device. If it helps, great; else, change the setting again and see if that helps.
Read: No Audio Output Device is Installed error.
7] Check if the HDMI cables are connected properly
If you use an HDMI cable to connect your PC to a monitor with speakers that support HDMI, you might not hear the sound. In such a situation, you need to set the HDMI audio device as the default. To check to see if HDMI supports the sound, follow these steps:
Enter Sound in the search box, and click Settings. Next, choose Sound. Under the Playback tab, look for an HDMI device. If you have an HDMI device, click the Set Default button and hit OK. Changing the audio device might require you to restart your PC.
If you don’t have an HDMI audio device, your HDMI monitor should have an audio input. You must then connect a separate audio cable from your PC sound card directly to the monitor. If the monitor doesn’t have speakers, you’ll need to connect the audio signal to a different device, such as external PC speakers or your home stereo system.
Read: Troubleshoot Windows Sound and Audio problems.
8] Run Sound and Audio Troubleshooter
If all fails, you may bring in and use the built-in Troubleshooting tool in Windows 11/10/8. The tool may automatically fix the audio recording problem.
To open the Sound and Audio Troubleshooter, bring up the Control Panel by pressing Win+X in combination and selecting Control Panel. Then, under System and Security, click Find and fix problems. Or else, right-click on the Speaker icon in the Taskbar notification area and select Troubleshoot sound problems to open the Sound and Audio Troubleshooter.
When done, choose ‘Hardware and Sound’ and click on the Troubleshoot audio recording link.
While this post has been written keeping Windows 11/10 in mind, it will help if you face the No Sound problem on other Windows versions too.
Read:
- No sound in Video Editor app
- No sound when playing MKV files in Movies & TV app
- Fix Conexant SmartAudio HD No Sound issue.
No sound on one User account on Windows 11
If one user account on Windows 11 has no sound, check the volume mixer to ensure audio isn’t muted for that account. Next, verify the sound settings under Settings > System > Sound and confirm the correct output device is selected. You should also run the Windows Audio Troubleshooter to auto-detect issues. If that fails, update or reinstall the audio drivers via Device Manager. If nothing works, you may have to create a new user account as the original profile may be corrupted.
Why does my PC suddenly have no sound?
If your PC has Bluetooth that has previously been connected to an earphone or Bluetooth speaker, then check if it has connected to any of it. Whenever the device connects to an audio device over Bluetooth, the speaker output preference changes.
Read: How to Reset Audio Settings in Windows.
Why is no sound coming from my speakers?
If you have connected to a speaker, and there is no sound coming, then check if the audio jack is connected properly. If it’s a Bluetooth speaker, then turn it off and turn it back on, and make sure it is not connected to anything else.
Read: No sound after installing or updating NVIDIA drivers
Why is my audio not working on Zoom?
You need to make sure of two things. First, Zoom has access to the Microphone. Second, the audio output is set properly to the speaker or headphones.
Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > App permissions and check if it has access to the Microphone. In Zoom, check-in Settings > Audio, and the right output device is selected.
Additional help links:
- Windows could not start the Windows Audio service on Local Computer
- No Sound in Windows apps like XBOX Music or Video applications
- Sound Distortion issues in Windows
- Troubleshoot No Video, Audio or Sound in Skype calls
- How to enable Mono Audio in Windows.
I hope something helps.
