Welcome back, in today’s video I’ll be showing you a number of ways to try and fix sound not working
or no sound on a Windows 11 PC or laptop. The methods will work for headphones, speakers both
separate and built in as well as just about any sound output device. You can use the chapters
on the video to navigate to each method if you’ve tried some of them already. Remember
to leave a like and feel free to subscribe if the video helps, let’s get into the methods.
The first place to start is within the sound settings. This will allow us to check that we
have an output device detected and working on our PC. Head to the main settings page by searching
for it in the search bar. In the settings, choose system from the left, although you should be in
here by default. Now choose sound from the list and have a look for the output section.
It should be at the top. Under this, there should be all of the output devices connected to your PC.
If you see your device, make sure the circle to the left of it is checked to make it the default
sound device. If you don’t see your device, scroll down and click on all sound devices.
Now find it from in here, click on it once and then choose allow device. Head back to
the output section of the sound settings and this time click once on your sound device. Within here,
make sure that you have your volume turned up and check the settings to see if there is something
causing the problem. For example, you could try reducing or changing the quality setting.
We can check our devices a different way. To do this, search for control panel in the search bar
and then choose hardware and sound from within the control panel. Click on sound in here and
it should open a new window. In the new window, make sure you are in the playback tab and again
look for your device. If you don’t see it, right click on an option and make sure show disconnected
and show disabled devices is checked. You can set your device as default in here by clicking on it
once and then by choosing set default. Remember to click on OK or apply to save these changes.
Moving on, we’ll now check the volume mixer. To do this, go back to the main sound settings page
that we were in before. Click on volume mixer in here and first make sure your chosen device
is selected in the output device drop down box and then try playing a sound. Check the volume
mixer for each of the apps and make sure they are all turned up. You might need to open certain apps
to be able to change the volume for them and you could try clicking on reset to see if that helps.
If you see that Windows is playing sound but you can’t hear anything,
your device might not be working properly. If you still don’t see your device in any of the
settings, we’re now going to check the connection of the device. A common cause for sound devices
not working is connecting them to the wrong port. Check that you are not using the microphone port
by accident. If you use USB, then make sure the port is compatible such as with USB 2 and 3,
although this is unlikely to be an issue. I would recommend trying as many ports as possible if you
can in order to rule out this being the cause. Also ensure that the device is fully inserted
into the port and that the port or connectors aren’t broken or blocked by dust or debris.
The next thing to do is try your headphones or speakers on another device if you can, such as a
different PC or your phone. This will help rule out that the issue is with the sound device.
If your device doesn’t work on a separate device, it’s likely that there is physical damage.
If your device works normally on your other PC or phone, then the problem is
likely caused by something within Windows, so we have a few more solutions to try.
We’ll now move on to trying to update the device drivers. There’s a chance that the correct drivers
aren’t installed, and we can check for any driver updates too. To do this, we need to go to the
device manager. You can get there by searching for it in the search bar. In the device manager,
look for the section called audio inputs and outputs and double click on it to expand it,
it should be near the top. In here, look for the sound device you want to update the drivers for.
Double click on its name to bring up the properties window. Now go to the driver tab,
which should be the second option. In here, find where it says update driver and click on that if
you can. Now choose the automatic option, which should be the top option of the two available.
If there are any drivers that Windows finds, it should install them automatically. However,
it might say that the best drivers are up to date. If a recent driver update
caused your device to stop working, then you can rollback that driver update as well from here.
You can also try uninstalling the device by right clicking on it and by choosing uninstall
device. You now need to either restart your PC or reconnect your device again
and you may need to set it back up with some of the earlier methods we covered.
The next method is to try running the troubleshooter to try and see if Windows can find
any possible problems with sound. To do this, go to the main settings page by searching for it
and then in the settings, click on system from the options on the left side, but again you should
be in here by default. In the system settings, click on troubleshoot and then on the next page,
choose other trouble-shooters. Now click on run next to the playing audio troubleshooter
and choose the device you want to use and allow Windows to look for any possible problems.
Next, think back to when the issue started appearing. There is a chance that a software
change or hardware change caused the problem. This could be some new audio software or a new
component. If you are certain that one of these changes caused the problem, then you could revert
them or research how this will have affected your device and what you can do to work around it.
The next method to hopefully fix your sound is a Windows update. This can help solve any
minor issues caused by the operating system or with things like compatibility, as there could
be updated drivers on the update. To update your PC to the latest version of Windows 11,
first go to the main settings page. Again, you can get here by searching for it.
In the settings, click on Windows update from the options on the left side. In here, simply
click on check for updates and install any that appear. Remember to save any work before updating.
Next, I would recommend making sure that your device doesn’t need any additional
set up in order to work correctly. Some devices might need software, such as drivers from the
manufacturer’s website. Other devices might need a power supply or a different connection type.
All of this information should be on the manufacturer’s website so have a look on
there to make sure you aren’t missing anything. If your device doesn’t work in certain apps but
does in others, this would most likely indicate that the settings in the app itself aren’t set
up correctly for your device. Have a look in the sound or audio settings for your app or game to
see if you can set it to use your chosen device. A quick restart of your PC could also help if you
haven’t tried this already. Just make sure you have any work saved before doing this.
Unfortunately, those are all the tips I have. If you think the problem is physical with either your
headphones or sound output device, then check the warranty or see if there are any repair options
by contacting the manufacturer. As always, I will keep the description updated with any new
solutions I find and if any of you find a fix in the future then it would be great
if you could return to the video and post it in the comments to help others. Click the card on
screen now to watch a video of mine showing you ten easy ways you can speed up your Windows PC.
Help support the channel by visiting the store – the link is in the description and at the end
of the video. If you have any questions, then let me know in the comments below and if you did find
today’s video helpful remember to leave a like and feel free to subscribe for more tips in the
future. Be sure to stick around to see some of my other videos that you might be interested in.
Thanks so much for watching and I will see you in another video!