Windows 10 Sound Not Working? Use these Fixes

Windows 10 is the latest Microsoft OS for the computers. Microsoft made a lot of changes to the recent Windows versions to craft a perfect OS like Windows 10. However, still, there are few issues reported by the users. The sound problem is one of them. Many users reported that they are not able to hear any sound in their Windows 10 OS. Either the system sound or other sounds like when playing the movies. If you are facing the same problem, here is an article which might help you to fix it.

Fix Windows 10 Sound Problems

First of all, you have to make sure that your sound devices like external speakers or headphones are working fine (if you are using a PC.) If you are using a Laptop, make sure that your speaker has no problems. If you are unsure about this, don’t worry, just follow the diagnosis process which I will describe later in this article. So, here are the methods to fix the sound problem in Windows 10.

Use the Sound Troubleshooter in Windows 10

There is a built-in troubleshooter in all windows versions as well as in Windows. When facing any issues with any of the Windows functions, the first thing you have to try is troubleshooting the issue using the troubleshooter. To troubleshoot the sound in Windows 10,

1. Go to start.
2. Type Troubleshoot.
3. Click on the Troubleshoot option.
4. Select Playing Audio.
5. Then Run the troubleshooter.

That’s it. If any problems were found during the troubleshooting, Windows will try to fix it automatically. If it is unfixable, it will be listed on the screen which you can use to further investigate the issue.

Make sure that the Playback device is Enabled

This is a rare issue were your playback device is disabled and not able to play the audio. To check whether your playback device is enabled or not,

1. Right-click the speaker icon at the bottom right corner of the Windows 10 taskbar.
2. Click on the Playback devices option.
3. There all available playback devices will be listed. Check whether there is a tick mark next to your playback device or not. If yes, you do not have to do anything. If not, follow the remaining steps here.
4. Right-click the playback device that you are using.
5. Click on Set as default device option.

After doing this, check if the Windows 10 sound is working fine or not. If not, head over to the following methods.

Try Turning off Audio Enhancements

Windows allows enhancing the audio output. In very rare cases, it may result in a very low, or no sound issue. So, turning them off may fix the sound problem in your Windows 10 PC. To turn off audio enhancements,

1. Go to start.
2. Click on Control Panel.
3. Change the view to Large Icons.
4. Click on Sound.
5. In Playback tab, right-click the playback device and click Properties.
6. Navigate to the Enhancements tab.
7. Tick the checkbox saying Disable all sound effects.
8. Click OK.

Test the sound.

Installed the Sound Driver?

This happens to most of the newbies. Most of the modern-day computers and laptops need the drivers to be installed to get all the functions working. But Windows 10 is a little better in this case compared to the previous versions. Few computers and laptops will automatically get the drivers from the Windows 10 and don’t need anything extra to make the functions usable. However, still, many people face the Windows 10 sound issue.

If your PC or Laptop manufacturer provides separate drivers with your device, you should install it to get the sound working. To download these drivers, you can directly reach their website, navigate to the support/drivers section, enter your model number, download and install the driver.

Many users reported that the sound problems in Windows 10 were caused by the missing driver. So, make sure that you installed the required sound drivers on your Windows 10 system.

Update Sound Drivers

Outdated drivers can result in audio output problems (especially in Laptops.) If you have been using your device for a long time and never updated your drivers, it may be caused the issue. This commonly happens when you update your Windows or install security patches, and your drivers are still the old version. So, updating your audio driver may fix the issue. To update audio drivers,

1. Go to start menu.
2. Type Device Manager.
3. In the device manager, click on the option saying Audio, inputs and outputs.
4. Right click on your audio device.
5. Click on Update driver software.
6. Follow the procedures in the update screen.
7. After updating, be sure to scan for hardware changes by right-clicking the audio device.

Uninstall/Reinstall Sound Controllers

If updating the sound driver doesn’t help, the next thing to try is uninstalling/reinstalling the audio driver. To do this, the steps are very similar to the previous method.

If your device needs a separate audio driver like Realtek is needed, you should have it with you either on a CD or as a downloaded file. Most of the popular manufacturers will list the sound driver on their website. You can download it and install on your PC.

1. Go to the Device manager.
2. Click on Audio, inputs and outputs.
3. Right click on your audio device.
4. Choose Uninstall.
5. Restart your PC.

Upon restart, the driver will automatically get reinstalled (unless it needs a separate install.) If you have the driver, reinstall it.

Check your Audio Device for any Hardware Issues

If any of the above methods doesn’t help you to get rid of the Windows 10 audio problem, it is the time to suspect your audio devices. To diagnose the audio devices like speakers, headphones, etc., you can try connecting them with any other devices like others PCs, Laptops, or smartphones. If it works, the problem is not the audio device. If it doesn’t, you may have to repair or replace your sound device.