How to Fix Sound Not Working in Windows 10

Audio problems can be annoying while watching your favorite movie or during a video call. And that’s the last thing you want, if it can’t recognize your speaker or headphones. In such cases, a reboot can help, but not always. So, to fix sound problems on your Windows 10 PC, you need to take a closer look.

When sound stops working, it can be due to many factors, from an interfering third-party program to sound drivers and services running on your PC. Fortunately, the solutions are simple and quick to implement.

In this guide, we will start with the most basic solutions, gradually moving on to some advanced solutions to troubleshoot sound problems on Windows PC.

1. Check the Volume

If there is no sound, you can start with your computer’s sound settings. Now I’m sure you’ve done this by now. But it’s always good to check back.

To control the sound, right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select ‘Open Sound Mixer’. Then, in the Volume Mixer window, make sure none of the volumes are muted.

Also, if you’re using headphones or speakers that have their own volume controls, be sure to check them out as well.

2. Change Default Playback Device

Headphones, external speakers, etc. on your PC. If you are using more than one audio device, such as an audio device, make sure your preferred audio device is set as the default playback device.

To do this, right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sounds. Now switch to the Playback tab and set the preferred audio device as the default playback device.

Now go ahead and see if the sound works fine on your default playback device.

3. Sound Troubleshooter

If changing the playback device doesn’t help, it’s time to dig a little deeper and use the built-in Windows audio troubleshooter. It can efficiently diagnose and fix audio problems on its own. Here’s how to use it.

Open the start menu and type audio troubleshooter. Then select ‘Find and fix audio playback problems’.

Now select the audio device you want to troubleshoot and follow the onscreen instructions to fix the problem.

Once done, check if the sound issue is resolved. If not, you can move on to the next solution.

4. Update Audio Driver

In most cases, incompatible or corrupted sound drivers are found to be responsible for sound problems in Windows 10. In such cases, updating or reinstalling the drivers should fix the problem. Here’s how you can do that.

Stage 1: Press Windows key + X to open the quick connect menu and select Device Manager from the list.

Step 2: In the Device Manager window, expand ‘Sound, video and game controllers’. Then right click on the audio device and select ‘Update driver’ from the list.

Stage 3: Now select ‘Search automatically for drivers’ and follow the on-screen instructions to update the drivers.

In most cases, updating the driver will work. If not, you can try reinstalling by removing the sound drivers and restarting your computer.

5. Restart Audio Services

Windows Services is a small program that starts running in the background every time your computer boots up. Sometimes these services, which include the voice service, can take action due to some kind of error. In such cases, you can try restarting the audio service to fix the audio problems. Here’s how.

Open the start menu, type services and press Enter. In the Services window, scroll all the way down to find Windows Audio. Right-click Windows Audio and select Restart from the list.

Repeat the above procedure to restart the ‘Windows Audio Endpoint Builder’ and ‘Remote Procedure Call’ service as well. After that, restart your computer to see if the sound issue has been resolved.

6. Update Windows

Microsoft regularly pushes Windows updates to fix major or minor issues with your computer. These updates usually come with all kinds of driver updates and bug fixes. Therefore, it is always recommended to regularly check for updates and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

7. Use System Restore

If you only started encountering sound problems after changing system settings or updating your computer, Windows has a useful system restore feature that can help you undo the changes made. The system restore feature allows you to go back to a point before major system changes were made without losing any of your data. You can use this to go back to a restore point before the sound problems started and see if it fixes the problem.

volume control

Sometimes external headphones or speakers connected to your PC may malfunction, leading you to believe that your PC has sound problems. You can try connecting your speakers or headphones to another device to find which one is to blame. It’s also good practice to volume check the microphone and speakers before starting a video call.

Hopefully, one of the fixes worked for you. If not, you may have a hardware related problem with your sound card or speaker. To fix this, you need to visit the nearest service center or get a new one.