Why Does My Computer Suddenly Have No Sound?
There are several places for sound issues to occur. It could be your speakers or your headphones, your audio software or the operating system, the sound card, or its driver. Fortunately, lots of Windows sound problems are due to a misconfiguration, which could make the solution as easy as turning up the volume or choosing the correct audio device from the software you’re using. Identifying if you have no sound in Windows is pretty straightforward, but it could also be the case the sound only sometimes works, or with certain devices only, or within a particular program.
How Do I Get My Sound Back on Windows 11?
It can be difficult to diagnose no sound in Windows 11 if you often switch between using speakers and headphones, so follow these steps in order for a better understanding of what the issue could be and what you can do about it. Turn up the volume as high as possible on your speakers or headphones, and also check that Windows 11 doesn’t have the sound muted. Down by the clock, select the sound icon and ensure that the volume level is set to high. Also, right-click the sound icon and select Sound settings to ensure the specific output device you’re using isn’t muted. Some devices connect over Bluetooth and others use a wire, so how you check this depends on your setup:
Check for a power indicator on the speakers or headphones Look for loose cables Bluetooth devices must be paired to the PC Ensure that the wired device is plugged into the correct port (often called ‘LINE OUT’)
Right-click the sound icon from the taskbar and choose Sound settings. From the Output area at the top, select the small circle next to the device you want to hear sound through. The change is immediately, so you’ll know right away if this works. For example, if you can’t hear anything in an app like Zoom or Skype, go into the program’s settings to verify the app is set up to use your headset or speakers. Web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge let you mute a specific tab through the right-click menu. Right-click the Start button and go to Shut down or sign out > Restart. For example, if your speakers don’t work on any computer you try them with, chances are it’s the speakers that are broken. If your headphones work everywhere else but not on your Windows 11 computer, the sound issue is likely related to the OS or some other installed software. If you have just one computer, take this time to try out alternative ports. If you’re using a headphone jack on your speakers, for example, use the one on your computer instead, or try USB or Bluetooth headphones to help isolate the problem. Or, if you’re used to using a speaker system, unplug it and attach headphones directly to the audio out port to confirm the speakers aren’t causing the sound issue. Depending on your situation, this could include:
Uninstalling a program, perhaps an audio tool, that tampered with the sound card driver. If this is the fix, try reinstalling the program. Running System Restore Rolling back a driver
Open Settings and go to Windows Update to check for and install OS updates. When finished, be sure to restart. Installing drivers is easy with a free driver updater tool. There are two ways to access it:
Right-click the taskbar sound icon and choose Troubleshoot sound problems.From Settings, go to System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters, and select Run next to Playing Audio.
Search Windows for Services (or execute services.msc from Run) and then find Windows Audio Endpoint Builder from the list. Right-click it and choose Restart. To do this, open Settings and go to System > Recovery > Reset PC.
