When you have issues with the sound or audio on your Windows 10 PC, you should run the built-in sound troubleshooter first. The troubleshooter automatically scans and fixes most of the issues. If the troubleshooter fails to detect the issue, you can try fixing the issue by reinstalling the audio driver.
RECOMMENDED: Click here to fix Windows errors and improve PC performance
But before reinstalling the audio driver, we recommend you to update the audio driver to the latest version. If the issue cropped up after updating to the latest version of the audio driver, rollback to the previous version of the driver. If none of these methods help, you can then try out reinstalling the audio device driver.
IMPORTANT: Do note down name and version of the audio driver before uninstalling them so you can easily download the right version of the audio driver. To check the version, please refer to our how to check driver version number guide.
Method 1 of 2
Reinstall Windows 10 audio driver from Device Manager
Step 1:Right-click on the Start button in the taskbar area and then click Device Manager to open the same.
Step 2: In the Device Manager, expand Sound, video and game controllers.
Step 3: You should now see your audio driver name. Most likely you have Realtek High Definition Audio.
Right-click on it and then click Uninstall device option.
Step 4: You will now get the following confirmation dialog. Select Delete the driver software for this device checkbox and then Yes button when you see the confirmation dialog to go ahead and uninstall the device driver.
Restart your PC once. Download the latest version of the audio driver from your PC manufacturer’s website and run the installer to install the same.
If you cannot find the audio or sound driver on your PC manufacturer’s website, search the web to get the latest version of the driver. If you know the PC’s model number, finding the device driver is quite easy.
Between, you can download general version of Realtek audio driver from the following link:
Try the Realtek HD audio codecs first. It will work on most of the modern PCs. If it fails to install or work, download Realtek AC’97 Audio Codecs. Also, separate installers are available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Be sure to the download the right one. You can refer to our check if you’re running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10 guide for help.
Method 2 of 2
Reinstall audio driver from Control Panel
Step 1: Type Appwiz.cpl in the Start/taskbar search field and then press Enter key to open Programs and Features window.
Step 2: Look for the audio driver entry. Right-click on the audio driver and then click Uninstall option. Click Yes button if you see the confirmation dialog to continue uninstalling the sound or audio driver.
After the driver is removed, reboot your PC.
Visit your PC manufacturer’s website and download the latest version of the audio driver for your PC and then install the same.
Adjusting the volume and changing the system sound settings on Windows 10 has always been a straightforward process, but you were only able to manage them using Control Panel.
However, starting with the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, you can now manage speakers and microphones settings, and it's also possible to adjust the volume on apps and system sound individually using the Settings app.
In this Windows 10 guide, we walk you through the steps to change the sound settings using the new options available starting with the April 2018 Update.
How to manage Windows sound options using Settings
To set your default output speaker, adjust the master volume, and fix common sound problems, do the following:
The Sound page includes two sections separating the output and input options. At the top of the page, you'll find your output options.
Using the Choose your output device drop-down menu, you can quickly change the speakers you want to use as the default.
You can also click the Device properties link, which opens additional speaker settings using the Control Panel experience:
Similar to using the speaker icon in the taskbar, on the Sound page you can also change the system master volume with the slider.
You'll also find a Troubleshoot button that starts the audio troubleshooter to fix common sound problems automatically.
How to manage Windows microphone options using Settings
To set a microphone as your default, test if it's working, and customize its properties, do the following:
Under 'Input,' you'll find the options to configure your microphone.
Using the Choose your input device drop-down menu, you can quickly select the microphone that you want to use as your default.
You can also click the Device properties link to open additional microphone settings using the Control Panel experience:
The Input section also includes an indication to test if your microphone is working, and if it's not, you can click the Troubleshoot button to open the microphone troubleshooter to fix common problems.
How to manage sound settings from the taskbar
Alongside the new Sound page in the Settings app, you can still adjust the master volume and access sound settings from the taskbar.
Starting with the Windows 10 April Update, the sound context menu has been updated with a new modern look, and now it also includes quick access to the new Sound settings and removes the 'Recording devices' option.
You'll notice that the 'Volume Mixer' is still accessible, but it'll eventually go away as these settings can now be found in 'App volume and device preferences' page.
How to manage advanced Windows sound options using Settings
The new Sound settings also include a number of advanced options to control volume and input and output devices. (This experience replaces the Volume Mixer, which is still available in the April 2018 Update.)
To access and customize app volume and device preferences, do the following:
How To Enable Audio Enhancements
The first thing you'll find on this page is the slider to control the system master volume and adjust all sounds. On the right, there are two drop-down menus to select the default speaker and microphone, which are the same settings that you can customize in the Sound page.
At the bottom of the page, you can adjust volume for specific apps and system sounds as a percentage of the master volume.
Alongside the ability to change the volume for apps and system individually, this page also allows you to select the default output and input device if you have multiple speaker setups and microphones.
If you want to revert all your changes, you can use the Reset button to roll back to Microsoft's recommended sound settings.
Wrapping things up
Although the April 2018 Update finally ports the sound options to the Settings app, you'll still need to use the Control Panel experience to change more advanced properties. However, eventually, those options are also expected to move in some form to the Settings app.
More Windows 10 resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
Audio Troubleshooting Information Step-By-Step
This document is designed to help you resolve any audio issues you may be having, and, failing that, help you collect information we can use to successfully diagnose and fix your problem.
My Audio Doesn’t Work at all!
In this scenario, no audio works on your machine. You can’t play music, hear system sounds, or play any audio from the internet. Let’s see if we can’t get this fixed. Please try the following:
My Audio Sounds Bad!
In this scenario, you can play audio as expected. Music, video, and system sounds play just fine; however, they sound garbled, clipped, tinny, or just generally bad. Let’s see if we can’t get this fixed. Please try the following:
My Headphones/Speakers/Bluetooth won’t Play/Switch!
In this scenario you can play audio through one or more endpoints (speakers/headphones/Bluetooth device, etc.), but you can’t get audio to play through another endpoint you believe should work. For example, you are able to play music over your built-in laptop speakers, but when you plugs in your wired headphones, audio continues to play over the speakers (or no audio plays at all).
My microphone doesn’t work!
In this scenario can’t get your microphone to work, and you’ve probably discovered this because Cortana can’t hear you. You may find that plugging an external microphone into the computer or using a headset works better.
If none of these suggestions worked:
You asked me to do something… But I don’t know how to do it!
Finding the Device ID and driver version of your audio hardware
Uninstalling your audio driver
First we need to identify your default device driver. Go to the Sound Control Panel via one of the following ways:
Checking for driver updates from Windows Update
Windows Update is a utility that keeps your PC safe and your hardware drivers freshly updated.
Playing a Test Tone
Playing a test tone excercises the most basic system audio functionality and helps us verify whether or not your machine’s audio subsystem has any function at all.
Are Green Bars Visible?
Even if you can’t hear any audio, the audio subsystem may still be trying to play sounds successfully. One way to test this is by checking whether or not the system *thinks* it is playing audio. We can test this by seeing whether the volume level meter on your playback device is active.
Disabling/Enabling Audio Enhancements
With Windows, both Microsoft and 3rd party vendors ship audio enhancement packages designed to make your system’s specific hardware sound absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong. To rule out an enhancements issue, please perform the following:
Trying Different Audio Formats
Windows audio devices support a wide range of audio formats. Sometimes, incompatibilities with drivers or the audio software in Windows affect audio playback or recording. In this section, we rule out or confirm audio format issues as the source of your issue.
CheckingDevice Manager
Free Windows 10 Audio Enhancer
Device Manager is a utility that collects and displays information about the driver profile for all the hardware devices present on your system. Here, we rule out a driver issue by checking whether any audio devices have problems already identified by the system.
Enable Audio Enhancements Windows 10 64
Uninstall your audio driver and use the built-in Windows Audio driver (HDAudio)
Microsoft and our hardware partners work hard to ensure audio drivers are high quality, however, sometimes things break. We ship an audio driver in-box that may work if your specific audio driver doesn't.
See Matthew Van Eerde’s excellent process here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/matthew_van_eerde/archive/2010/08/23/troubleshooting-how-to-install-the-microsoft-hd-audio-class-driver.aspx
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