No Sound? No Problem: How to Fix Output Audio Problems on Windows 11

One day, you may suddenly notice that your PC / Laptop does not play any audio. There can be various things that caused this issue, like miss configuration settings, physical and wireless connection, damaged or outdated audio adapter driver, hardware conflict, problems with audio features, and so on.

No matter what the problem is, you have various troubleshooting ways to solve your audio problems.

This article assists you with how to fix output audio problems on Windows 11. Read the following content to learn more.

13 Methods to Repair and Troubleshoot Audio Problems on Windows 11

You have various troubleshooting ways to fix the audio problems of your device. Here are some methods for you to use:

Method 1: Check the Physical Connection

If you have an audio problem, you may need to restart your device first. Because the problem might be due to not working properly in the current session.

Also, there may be a physical connection between your speaker or headphone with your PC, such as damage or loss in the cable, or a lack of proper connection to your device. If there it seems like there is no problem with the connection, you will need to unplug and plug the cable.

 In the next step, make sure that your output device is powered or receives its required power.

In case you have an audio problem, make sure that there is only one device connected to your PC, try another port, and avoid using a USB hub if your device is a USB.

Method 2: Check the Bluetooth Connection

In case when your device uses a Bluetooth connection, you need to make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on your device. Or, if it has a wireless issue, you will need to unpair and pair your device one more time to solve the issue.

Method 3: Turn on Your PC’s Bluetooth

Follow these steps to turn on the Bluetooth of your PC.

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the Bluetooth & devices section.
4. Turn on the Bluetooth option.
5. Now, your device should be able to connect to your PC.

Method 4: Connect Bluetooth Audio Device

To Disconnect and connect your Bluetooth audio device, walk through the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the Bluetooth & devices section.
4. Select the Device option from the right-side pane.
5. Open the three-dotted menu of your device option.
6. Then, click on the Remove device option.
7. Go to the Bluetooth & device section again.
8. Hit the Add device button.
9. Choose the Bluetooth option.
10. Now, turn on your audio device and turn it on the pairing mode.
11. Choose your audio device from the list.
12. Now, your audio device should work on your PC.

Method 5: Changing the Speaker Output

You should make sure that you have selected the correct device. Follow the steps below to change the default speakers on Windows 11.

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option on the right side.
5. Select the Choose where to play sound option under the Output section.
6. You change the default output device whenever you want. To do that, open Quick Settings or press Windows + A. Then, hit the Manage audio devices button beside the volume. Eventually, choose your device.

Method 6: Using Audio Troubleshooter

There is an efficient feature on Windows 11 called troubleshooter. This feature can diagnose and fix the common issues of your device. To do that, you can use the Playing Audio troubleshooter.

Walk through the steps below to fix common audio problems on Windows 11:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Choose the Troubleshoot option from the right-side pane.
5. Choose the Other troubleshooters option.
6. Hit the Run button of the Playing Audio option, which is located under the Most frequent section.
7. Now, the application tries to fix the issue by running various scripts. If the audio issue did not fix, you would need to try the next method.

Method 7: Install System Updates

Updating your device may help you with fixing the audio output devices since installing system updates can fix a known issue with the driver or system.

Follow the steps below to check for updates on Windows 11:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Select the Windows Update option from the left-side pane.
4. Hit the Check for updates button.
5. Hit the Restart now button.
6. Now, to see whether this method is helpful, test your speakers again.

Method 8: Fix Audio Adapter Driver

If you use malfunctioning or outdated drivers, it will make various problems for your audio device and other hardware. In case when you have audio issues, you need to make sure that you have the latest driver updates. Then if the problem persists, you will need to uninstall and reinstall your drive. If you updated your drive recently, you will need to return to the previous version.

To update your audio driver, walk through the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Select the Windows Update option from the left-side pane.
4. Select the Advanced options under the More options section.
5. Choose the Optional updates option under the Additional options section.
6. Select Driver updates.
7. Choose the audio update for your audio device.
8. Hit the Download & install button.
9. Now, your driver will be updated to the latest version.

Method 9: Uninstall the Audio driver

Follow these steps to uninstall a particular audio device.

1. Open the Star menu.
2. Type Device Manager in the Windows search box.
3. Select the first option from the result.
4. Click on the Sound, video and game controller category and expand it.
5. Right-click on the audio device that you want to uninstall it.
6.  Then, select the Uninstall device option.
7. Hit the Uninstall button again.
8. This step is optional: right-click on IDT High Definition Audio CODEC and choose the Uninstall device option. Sometimes the problem can be because of a problem with a specific codec and uninstalling it will help your system reconfigure it and fix the problem.
9. Hit the Uninstall button.
10. Now, your system will try to reinstall the driver automatically.

If the hardware is not able to be installed, you will be needed to check your driver update with the methods above. Also, you may need to check the manufacturer’s website of your hard drive to download and install the latest driver update.

Method 10: Roll Back Audio Driver to its Previous Version

Follow the steps below to roll back the audio driver to the previous one.

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Type Device Manager in the Windows search box.
3. Select the first option that appeared in the results.
4. In the opened window, click on the Sound, video and game controllers category to expand it and see its options.
5. Right-click your audio device and choose Properties from the menu.
6. In the pop-up window, go to the Driver tab.
7. Hit the Roll Back Driver button. If this button was inactive, it means your system does not have any previous version of the driver.
8. Hit the Yes button.

Method 11: Check the Sound Settings

If you cannot hear any sound from your headphone, headset, speaker, and so on, there will be some misconfigured settings. Follow these steps to make sure that the sound is not muted, the output adaptor is not disabled, and the applications are configured correctly.

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option from the right-side pane.
5. Check the Volume option under the Output section and make sure that it is not muted or very low.
6. In case when the audio device is missing, select the More sound settings option under the Advanced section.
7. Go to the Playback tab.
8. Choose your audio device.
9. Hit the Properties button.
10. Open the drop-down menu of the Device usage option and choose Use this device (enable).
11. Hit the Apply button.
12. Hit the OK button.
13. Select the Volume mixer option under the Advanced section.
14. Under the System section, make sure that the volume is not muted or very low.
15. With the Output device option make sure that the sound output is set to the correct audio device.
16. Under the Apps section, assure that the audio is not muted or very low.

Method 12: Disable Audio Enhancement

Sometimes the enhancements features can cause problems, so if you recognized that these settings are the main reason for your audio problem, you would need to disable audio enhancements.

Use the following steps to find out how to disable audio enhancements.

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option on the right-side pane.
5. Choose the Speaker option under the Output section.
6. Under the Output settings, switch off the Enhance audio option.

Method 13: Set a Different Audio Format

To make sure that the current audio format is causing problems, change the sample rate and bit depth settings.

To change audio format, walk through the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the System section.
4. Select the Sound option.
5. Choose the Speakers option under the Output section.
6. Choose a different format via the drop-down menu, which is located under the Output settings section.
7. To assure that the sound is working, hit the Test button.

The Bottom Line

Sometimes you have a problem with the sound settings, and you cannot hear anything from your headphone, headset, and speaker. In this article, we described how to fix output audio problems on Windows 11. Do you know any other methods to fix audio problems? Share your ideas with us.