Furthermore, audio is a very important factor for professional users such as content creators and audio designers that require perfect and precise sound output. Hence, we can conclude that audio is a crucial part of your system. A lot of users face issues regarding audio on Windows OS on a daily basis. The Windows OS requires dedicated drivers for audio output that should match the audio device you are using. Hence, you might receive a certain error while trying to use your headphones with your computer or laptop. Or, your headphones will either not show up entirely on your sound preferences, nor can you get any audio output from your headphones. Today, we will try to solve the headphone problem that occurs with Windows 10. The problem is, there are many different types of errors that can occur on a Windows computer. Thus, a single solution might not be fruitful for all problems. Hence, we will be including a bunch of solutions for you regarding the headphone problem on Windows 10.
Headphones Not Working?
There can be many reasons for your headphones not working on your Windows 10 PC. It can either be because of a software issue, incompatibility of the driver, connection issue, or hardware problem in your headphone. In this guide, we will try to find out the root cause of the problem and try to resolve it with simple solutions present here. Most users prefer using headphones over other types of audio devices. The main reason behind that is the privacy offered by headphones is important for the majority of users. Along with that, you will be able to enjoy the audio in more depth with a decent pair of headphones to get the best experience on your PC. Therefore, we will be resolving your headphone issue on Windows 10 by the time you reach the end of our guide.
Solution for Headphones Problems on Windows 10
Here, we have some proven solutions that have worked for a lot of users in the past that were facing similar problems. If you are getting a certain error while trying to play the audio through your headphones, you will have to look for the solution for that particular error. But, if you’re not getting any errors and your headphones are simply just not working, then you will definitely find one of the solutions provided here helpful. Just make sure you read the solutions carefully before trying them out on your computer so that you don’t have to face any additional problems. With a little time and patience, you can easily get your headphones to start working again.
1. Replot Your Headphones and Reboot the System
In the majority of cases, the audio playback issues are caused by improper connection with the computer. As headphones are also an output device similar to your monitor and speakers, you will need to properly connect them to your PC. You can try different input ports as well. For example, if the front I/O port is not working, you can try to plug your headphones in the rear audio I/O port. Once you reconnect the headphones with your PC, take a look at the lower right section of your screen. It should detect your headphones as a new device and try to install drivers for it automatically. If not, then simply restart your computer with headphones plugged in. When the PC reboots, it registers all changes in the hardware and takes the necessary steps to keep the devices functionality. This might result in your PC recognizing your headphones as a viable audio device and provide output through your headphones.
2. Select Correct Playback Device
If you are noticing that your computer is detecting your headphones as an audio device and your headphones are still not working, chances are that it is not selected as a playback device on your system. Windows OS can only provide audio output through one audio device at a time. This might be your speakers, headphones, or even your monitor if it is connected by an HDMI cable. If a wrong playback device is selected, Windows will keep using it as an output device. But given that it is not an active device, you will not be able to hear any audio from your computer. You can fix that by simply choosing the correct playback device as shown here.
You can choose the default playback device by simply clicking the audio icon on the lower right section of your screen. If it is not present, check the little pointer to reveal additional taskbar entries. Click on the sound icon. Now, click on the arrow to look at devices other than your active option. This will provide you with a list of available audio devices on your computer. Select your headphones from the list. Your headphones now should work as expected.
If you are not finding your headphones on the list, they might be disabled in the sound control panel. Here’s how you can enable it again:
Right click on the sound icon and select the “Open sound settings” option from the menu. This will open the sound settings window. Here, you can check basic audio settings such as volume controls. For detailed options, click on the “Sound Control Panel” link from the right section. Here, you can check all identified audio devices on your computer. Click on the “Playback” tab for output devices. Now, if your device is not listed here, try right clicking on the black space and selecting the “Show disabled devices” option. Once you find your headphone, right click on them and select the “Enable” option.
3. Choose Headphones As Preferred Choice
If you managed to get your headphones working with the above solution, but it stops again, it might be getting disabled by Windows. This happens if you use more than one audio device on a daily basis. Generally, Windows automatically resets back to the preferred choice of the audio device after every boot. Hence, you need to select your headphones as your preferred option and make sure they are connected to your PC at all times.
To make your headphones a preferred choice of audio output, right click on the sound icon on your desktop and select the “Sounds” option. Now, you will be redirected to the sound window. Here, click on the “Playback” tab to open the list of output devices. Now, right click on your headphones available in the list. Make sure they are enabled and you are seeing the “disable” option in the list. Select the “Set as default device” option from the list. Click on “Apply” to apply the recent changes. Then, press “Ok” to close the window.
You can also disable the unused audio output options so that your headphones automatically become the preferred option in your account.
4. Update Your Audio Drivers
As we mentioned earlier, the drivers play a very important role in the input and output devices of your computer. You will need a certain driver for your input devices like mouse and keyboard as well as your output devices like the speakers and headphones. Hence, it would be a smart idea to check the audio drivers as it can be the culprit behind your headphones not working properly in Windows 10. To update your audio drivers manually, you will have to follow these steps:
Open the start menu and type “Device Manager”. Click on the first result to open the device manager. Here, you can examine all peripherals connected to your system. The very first option in the list should be “Audio Inputs and Output”. Click on the arrow on the arrow on the left side to reveal all audio I/O devices connected to your computer. If you don’t see your headphones here, right click on the “Audio Inputs and Output” option and select “Scan for hardware changes” Once you see your headphones, right click on them and choose the “Update driver” option from the drop down menu. Now, you can either update your audio driver from a local update package from your hard drive or find the update package on the internet. It is usually better to download the audio driver from the internet to get the latest version. Once you select the first option, it will search for available audio drivers for your PC. Then, simply follow the on screen instructions to download and update the driver.
5. Check Realtek Audio Driver
Realtek is probably one of the most used audio drivers for Windows OS. Most standard motherboards have Realtek audio I/O devices and operate on the Realtek HD Audio driver. Hence, there can be a problem with the Realtek audio driver which is rendering your headphones useless. Here’s how you can check your Realtek HD audio driver for errors:
Double click on the Realtek driver icon from the taskbar to open it. In the driver interface, you will see a small folder icon on the right side. Click on it. Now, if your headphones are connected to the front panel, remove them and connect them to the rear panel. Then, uncheck the first option in this dialog box. Click ok to save changes. You can also browse various sections provided in the Realtek HD audio manager to make sure everything is in order.
6. Uninstall Extra Audio Drivers
Windows can only keep one audio driver functional at a time. Thus, there is no point of having additional audio drivers on your computer. If anything, these unnecessary audio drivers will cause problems with your primary driver which may result in your audio devices not working properly. To remove additional programs from your computers, simply search “Add or remove programs” in Windows 10 search bar and open the first link. Here, you can check the list of all installed programs on your computer. Now, simply browse through all of the programs and uninstall any audio driver except Realtek or the one you are using.
7. Test The Headphones in Other OS
If none of the solutions mentioned above have worked for you, you should try testing your headphones in some other OS such as ChromeOS or Linux. If the problem is caused by drivers in Windows 10, you can switch to a different OS and check the headphones there. If the problem persists, it indicates a problem with your headphones and not in your system. In such a case, your only option is to either repair or replace the headphones. We recommend you to try lightweight OS like ChromeOS or Linux that can be easily installed on any system. To avoid further implications, you should choose the minimal version of the OS before installing it in your system. Once the OS is installed, simply plug in your headphones and check whether you can hear any sound or not. If you can hear the sound, it would indicate some serious problem with your Windows OS and you should consider reinstalling Windows OS. Otherwise, there might be problems with the headphones if they are not working in other OS as well.
8. Run The Windows 10 Audio Troubleshooter
As a last resort, you can try the built in Windows 10 troubleshooter to diagnose problems in your system and fix them. The troubleshooter is a built in tool for Windows users that allows them to find solutions for most Windows related problems. To solve headphone not working issue via troubleshooter, follow through with these steps:
Press the Windows key to open the search bar and type “Troubleshoot”. Click on the “Troubleshoot settings” option present in the results section. After that, click on the “Additional troubleshooters” link present at the end of the window. Here, you can find the additional troubleshooting options. The audio based troubleshooting is present just at the top of this window. Click on the “Playing audio” section to proceed. Now, simply click on the “Run the troubleshooter” button to start the process. Once started, the troubleshooter will detect problems with your system. Based on your problem, you will find some suggested solutions in the troubleshooter. Simply follow the instructions provided in the troubleshooter to fix the headphone problem.
Conclusion
Fixing problems in Windows 10 is quite easy. While most problems can be solved by a simple reboot, some problems like a hardware device not working properly take a little extra time to fix. But, by following the simple solutions provided in this guide, you can easily get to the root cause behind the failure of your headphones and fix it yourself. If you are unsure about some of the solutions provided here, you can reach us via the comment section. Comment * Name * Email * Website
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