How to Fix Audio on Windows 11

Lately, many Windows users have been complaining about audio issues on their systems. where either no sound output devices are being recognized by Windows or they are not able to listen to any audio from speakers straight up.

It is definitely annoying and frustrating when a basic thing like sound breaks. However, the issue seemingly is software-based which you can easily diagnose and fix using the methods we have listed below.

Though before heading to the fixes, it is important that you understand the culprit behind the issue.

Common Culprits Behind the Audio Issue

Below listed are some potential issues that could be the reason for the audio issue on your system.

Incompatible, outdated, or corrupted sound device driver.
Misconfigured audio settings.
Output sound device not connected currently (if using external).
Wrong audio output device selected.
Disabled audio services.

Now that you know the possible reasons behind the voice issues you have been facing, let’s start with the fixes.

Method 1: Make Sure Correct Audio Output Channel is Selected

Many times, the wrong output channel is selected to relay the sound from your Windows device, which could falsely make you believe that the speakers on the device are not working properly.

First, click on the ‘Volume’ button present on the taskbar.

After that, click on the ‘Sound output’ button on the far right edge of the volume slider.

After that, ensure that you have selected the channel through which you wish to listen to the audio.

Method 2: Enable Audio Device from Volume Mixer

There is also a possibility that the audio device on which you wish to listen to sound has been disabled. On the flip side, if you have toggled on many audio enhancements, there is a high possibility of fixing the issue just by disabling the enhancements.

First, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile to continue. Alternatively, press the Windows+I keys together on your keyboard to open the app.

After that, ensure you have selected the ‘System’ tab from the left sidebar to proceed

Next, from the right section of the window, click on the ‘Sound’ tile to continue.

Now, scroll down and click on the ‘More sound settings’ tile. This will open a separate window on your screen.

From the separately opened window, right-click on the component you are trying to listen to audio from and then select the ‘Enable’ option.

Note: The ‘Enable’ option will be only displayed if the component has been disabled. All the disabled components will be greyed out.

In case the device was already enabled or you are still not able to listen to audio even after enabling it, you can try disabling the enhancements for the specific component.

To disable all enhancements, from the ‘Volume mixer’ window, select the component you are not able to receive audio from and then click on the ‘Properties’ button to proceed. This will bring a separate window to your screen.

Now, click on the ‘Enhancements’ tab and then click on the checkbox preceding the ‘Disable all enhancements’ option. Finally, click on the ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ buttons to confirm and close.

Method 3: Enable Audio Services

Another potential reason for audio issues on your Windows 11 device could be disabled audio services. Fortunately, you can easily re-enable them using the Windows Services monitor.

First, head to the Start Menu and type Services to perform a search. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Services’ tile to continue.

Now, locate and double-click on the ‘Windows Audio’ service. This will open a separate window on your screen.

Next, click on the drop-down menu following the ‘Startup type’ option and select the ‘Automatic’ option. Also, in case the service is not currently running on your PC, click on the ‘Start’ button and then press the ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ button.

Method 4: Run the Audio Troubleshooter

One of the most basic yet effective fixes is to run the audio troubleshooter. The troubleshooter will help you diagnose as well as resolve the issue for you.

First, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile to continue. Alternatively, press the Windows+I keys together on your keyboard.

After that, ensure you have selected the ‘System’ tab from the left sidebar to continue.

Next, click on the ‘Troubleshooter’ tile from the right section of the window.

Then, click on the ‘Other troubleshooter’ tile to proceed.

Now, click on the ‘Run’ button present on the ‘Playing audio’ tile to initiate the troubleshooting.

Method 5: Update Windows

If you have not updated your PC for quite a while, there could be a high possibility that a simple update might be able to fix your problem.

First, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile to continue.

After that, click on the ‘Windows Update’ tile from the left sidebar to proceed.

Then, from the right section of the window, click on the ‘Check for updates’ button. Otherwise, click on the ‘Download & Install’ button to download the updates.

Once you have updated your PC, check if that has resolved the issue for you.

Method 6: Update Audio Drivers

There are 3 major ways you can update the audio driver on your Windows 11 device. You can either update it from the Settings app, use the device manager to search for the latest driver, or force update it.

To update the driver using the Settings app, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile to continue.

Then, click on the ‘Windows Update’ tab from the left sidebar.

Next, click on the ‘Advanced Options’ tile from the right section to continue.

Then, click on the ‘Optional updates’ tile.

Now, select the available updates by clicking on the individual preceding checkboxes and then, click on the ‘Install’ button.

Once installed, restart your PC if not automatically restarted, and then check if the issue has been resolved on your PC.

If you wish to update the driver using the Device Manager, head to the Start Menu and type Device Manager. Then, click on the ‘Device Manager’ tile to proceed.

After that, double-click on the ‘Audio inputs and outputs’ option to expand the section. After that, right-click on the ‘Speaker’ component and click on the ‘Update driver’ option. This will open a separate window on your screen.

Now, from the separately opened window, either click on the ‘Automatically search for drivers’ to let the Windows search for a driver. Otherwise, click on the ‘Browse my computer for drivers’ option to install the drivers manually.

Once you have updated the driver, restart your device and check if the issue has been resolved.

You can also force update the driver. Right-click on the ‘Speaker’ component and select the ‘Uninstall’ device. This will bring a prompt to your screen.

Then, click on the ‘Uninstall’ button to initiate the process.

After you have uninstalled the driver, restart your device. After the restart, head to the ‘Windows Update’ tab from the Settings app.

Next, head to the ‘Optional Updates’ section present under the ‘Advanced Options’.

Now, select available updates by clicking on the checkbox(s) on each individual option and click on the ‘Install’ button.

Once the update has been applied, restart your PC if not automatically restarted, and check if it has resolved the issue.

Method 7: Reset PC

If all the other methods do not seem to work, the last resort is to reset your PC which will uninstall and reinstall the operating system on your PC. Fortunately, you do not have to necessarily remove your personal files from your PC.

First, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile to proceed.

After that, make sure you have selected the ‘System’ tab from the left sidebar.

Now, from the right section, click on the ‘Recovery’ tile to continue.

Then, click on the ‘Reset PC’ button present on the ‘Reset this PC’ tile to proceed. This will open a separate window on your screen.

After that, click on the ‘Keep my files’ option. In case you wish to remove all personal files and folders as well, click on the ‘Remove everything’ tile to continue.

On the next screen, click on the ‘Cloud download’ tile to install the Windows using Microsoft servers.

Note: ‘Cloud download’ will require an active internet connection and will consume data equivalent to or upwards of 4 GB of data.

After that, click on the ‘Next’ button to continue.

In case your PC was updated recently, you will receive a message on the PC screen stating you will not be able to roll back once you reset the PC. To continue, click on the ‘Next’ button.

After that, Windows will list out all the impacts that resetting the PC will have on your system. Read them carefully and click on the ‘Reset’ button to commence the resetting process.