No More Silent Movies: How to Fix Output Audio Problems on Windows 10

Sometimes you may face a situation where you cannot hear any sound from your audio device or the speaker of your PC. While Windows 10 is the best firmware version of Windows, it sometimes may malfunction. An audio issue can occur due to a hardware or software problem.

In this article, we describe how to fix output audio problems on Windows 10. Read the following content to learn more about this problem and its solutions.

The Reason for Malfunctioning the PC’s Audio

Here is a list of some major reasons that can lead to the malfunctioning of the audio in Windows 10.

• The System is not updated.
• The jack of the audio may be broken or loose.
• Your audio drivers may be outdated.
• The services related to the audio might have stopped working.
• An unwanted change in your system’s setting might have happened.
• There may be a related issue with your audio device.
• The components of your system might have been attacked by malware.
• Other hardware or system configuration problems can cause this issue as well.

12 Methods to Fix the Audio Problems on Windows 10

To fix and solve the audio problem of your PC / laptop on Windows 10, read the following methods.

Method 1: Check Every Audio Connection

Before you try any technical method, assure that there is a working audio device that is connected to your system. Make sure that the audio jack is not lost or broken and your headphone / speaker/ headset is connected to your PC. Also, make sure that there is no damage to the cable of your audio device.

Method 2: Check for Updates

If you are using a device with an outdated operating system (OS), it will create audio problems. To check for updates, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open the Settings.
3. Go to the Update & Security section.
4. Select the Windows Update from the left-side pane.
5. On this page, you can check to see whether there is any update for you.

Method 3: Restart your System

Most of the time, you can fix any problem, as well as an audio problem, by simply restarting your device. For example, when your PC has not been initiated properly, you can restart it to fix the problem. Or, when you update your operating system, it asks you to restart your device. To restart your PC, you need to open the Start menu and then expand the Power menu to select the Restart option.

Method 4: Restart the Services of Windows Audio

On Windows 10, there is a feature called audio service, which duty is to play any type of sound on the system. So, you can troubleshoot your audio problems by restarting the audio services. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Type run in the Windows search box and select the first option that appears in the results.
3. In the pop-up window, type msc.
4. Once the Services window pops up, search and select the Windows Audio Services option.
5. Right-click on it and choose the restart option.

Method 5: Automatic Troubleshoot

On Windows 10, there is a practical feature called Troubleshoot. When you run the Troubleshoot, it will automatically diagnose the main audio problems of your device. Eventually, it fixes your issue or lets you know the exact problem. To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open the Settings.
3. Go to the Update & Security section.
4. Select the Troubleshoot option from the left-side pane.
5. Hit the Run the troubleshooter button of the Playing Audio option.

Method 6: Check the Sound Settings

If you have changed some settings, this will lead to an audio problem. Therefore, you need to check your settings before you take any technical action. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open the Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option from the left-side pane.
5. Check out every feature and ensure that they have been set up correctly.
6. On this page, you can also go to the Sound control panel for more check out on the audio components.

Method 7: Check the Default Output and Input for the Audio

A practical feature of Windows 10 is that you can choose various options for the input and output of the audio. If you are suffering from malfunctioning audio, you will need to follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open the Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option from the left-side pane.
5. Now, you can select your output device via the drop-down menu under the Choose your output device option. Assure that the default output is connected to your device and it works properly.

Method 8: Disable the Audio Enhancement

Windows 10 has a built-in feature that provides you with a better sound experience. But, sometimes, it can cause an audio issue on Windows 10. To prevent this issue, you can turn off your audio enhancements feature. To do that, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open the Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option from the left-side pane.
5. Choose the Device Properties option under the Input section.
6. Select the Advanced Device Properties option.
7. Now, the Speakers Properties window will pop up.
8. Go to the Enhancements tab.
9. Remove the checkmark of all the sound enhancements.

Method 9: Review the Present Audio Format

In case when you have a problem with your device’s audio, you may need to check the audio format. Fortunately, Windows 10 allows you to change the audio format to the capable one. To do that, walk through the steps below:

1.  Go to the Start menu.
2. Open the Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option from the left-side pane.
5. Choose the Device Properties option under the Input section.
6. Select the Advanced Device Properties option.
7. Once the Speakers Properties window popped up, go to the Advanced tab.
8. Then, choose a different audio format from the drop-down menu. Usually, the most compatible format with various speakers is a 16 or 24-bit audio format.

Method 10: Check the IDT High Definition Audio CODEC

There is a feature on Windows 10, which is called IDT high definition audio CODEC. This feature is used for coding and decoding sounds. If this feature has been outdated or corrupted, it will cause malfunctioning audio. To fix this, use the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Type device manager in the Windows search bar.
3. Choose the Audio components option.
4. Once the Sound window pops up, go to the Playback tab.
5. Choose IDT High Definition Audio Codec.

Method 11: Update Your Audio Drivers

Outdated drivers can cause audio problems on Windows 10. To avoid this, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Type device manager in the Windows search bar.
3. Click on the Sound/Video section.
4. Now, you can see a list of installed audio drivers on your PC.
5. Right-click on your desired driver and select the Update option.
6. Also, to reset it, you can disable and re-enable your driver.

Method 12: Check Permission for the Microphones in Different Apps

Sometimes users have problems with their microphone as well as their speakers. This problem can occur due to the permission for the microphone that you need to give to a specific app. To fix this problem, walk through the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open the Settings.
3. Go to the Privacy section.
4. Select the Microphone option from the left-side pane.
5. Now, you can see a list of applications that need permission for the microphone. Simply, you can give microphone permission to them by turning on the toggle switch of the app.

Conclusion

Sometimes you may encounter an audio problem on Windows 10. This situation can be very annoying. To solve this problem, we have written this article to help you with fixing output audio problems on Windows 10. Do you know any other methods to fix audio issues? Share your ideas with us.