No Sound on Computer

No sound on computer or laptop speakers usually means one of two things: Windows is sending audio to the wrong place, such as a monitor without speakers or headphones you are not wearing, or something along the way is muted. Press play on the sound test first. Its meter shows whether sound leaves the browser, and a voice names each speaker, so you learn in seconds whether the problem is everywhere or just in one app. Then work through the fixes below in order. They cover Windows 11 and 10, the No output devices found error, HDMI monitors, HP, Dell and Lenovo laptops, and Mac.

Quick checks

• Mute keys and knobs. Laptops have a speaker key that mutes everything, often F1 on Dell and Lenovo. Desktop speakers need power, a lit LED and their own volume knob turned up.
• Unplug the headphones. While headphones are plugged in, most laptops cut the speakers. Bluetooth headphones that connect by themselves from a bag or another room steal the sound too.
• One app or everything? If a video in your browser plays but a game is silent, the problem is that app's volume or device setting, not Windows.
• Restart. A restart reloads the audio driver and services. Sleep or closing the lid does not.

Pick the right output device

Windows plays everything through one default device, and it changes that device when you connect a monitor, a dock or a headset.

• Windows 11: select the speaker icon on the taskbar, then the arrow at the right of the volume slider, and choose your speakers or headphones. The same list is in Settings, System, Sound, under Choose where to play sound.
• Windows 10: select the speaker icon and the device name above the slider, or open Settings, System, Sound, Choose your output device.

Check the volume mixer

Each app has its own volume and can have its own output device.

• Windows 11: right-click the speaker icon and choose Open volume mixer. Check the app's slider is up and its output is your speakers. Reset at the bottom puts every app back on the default device.
• Windows 10: Settings, System, Sound, App volume and device preferences, with its own Reset button.
• Browsers mute tabs. In Chrome and Edge, right-click the tab and choose Unmute site if it shows.

Turn the device back on

A disabled device vanishes from the output list. Open the classic Sound window: in Windows 11, Settings, System, Sound, More sound settings. In Windows 10, Sound Control Panel on the Sound page.

1. On the Playback tab, right-click an empty area and tick Show Disabled Devices and Show Disconnected Devices.
2. Right-click your speakers, choose Enable, then Set as Default Device.
3. Open Properties and check Device usage reads Use this device (enable).

Windows 11 can also block a device from its Settings page. In Settings, System, Sound, All sound devices, select it and choose Allow if offered.

No output devices found

This message means Windows has no working playback device at all. After checking for disabled devices above, open Device Manager from the Start button's right-click menu and look at three places: Sound, video and game controllers, Audio inputs and outputs and System devices. A yellow triangle, an error such as Code 10, or an unknown device under Other devices is your culprit.

1. Select Action, then Scan for hardware changes.
2. Right-click the failed device, choose Uninstall device, tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device, and restart.
3. If it fails again, download the audio drivers for your exact model from the PC or motherboard maker. Most recent Intel laptops need the Intel Smart Sound Technology driver as well as the Realtek, Cirrus or Conexant audio driver. When the maker lists them separately, install the Smart Sound driver first.

If the sound device is missing from Device Manager entirely, open the BIOS and check the onboard audio or HD Audio controller is enabled. On a desktop, a reset to BIOS defaults sometimes turns it off.

Restart the audio services

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
2. Right-click Windows Audio and choose Restart. Do the same for Windows Audio Endpoint Builder.
3. Double-click each one and check Startup type is Automatic.

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) must also show Running. Windows does not let you restart it, so if it is stopped, restart the computer.

No sound on computer after an update: roll back the driver

Sound that vanished right after an update points to a new driver. In Device Manager, open the audio device's Properties, then the Driver tab, and select Roll Back Driver. If that is grayed out, reinstall the maker's driver as above, or remove a recent update in Settings, Windows Update, Update history, Uninstall updates.

On a desktop, Microsoft's generic driver can stand in for a broken Realtek one: right-click the device, Update driver, Browse my computer for drivers, Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer, then High Definition Audio Device. Do not use this on laptops that rely on Intel Smart Sound Technology, where the generic driver can leave the speakers silent.

Settings that silence some sounds

When some sounds play and others do not, or sound cuts out after a few seconds:

• Enhancements. In Windows 11, set Audio enhancements to Off on the device's page in Settings. In Windows 10, use the Enhancements tab in the device's Properties.
• Format. In the device's Properties, Advanced tab, change Default Format to 24 bit, 48000 Hz and test, then try 16 bit, 44100 Hz.
• Exclusive mode. On the same tab, untick Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device if one app silences all the others.
• Mono and balance. If one side is silent, check Settings, Accessibility, Audio, Mono audio (in Windows 10, Ease of Access, Audio), and the left and right channel sliders on the device's page. The left right audio test shows which side plays.

No sound through an HDMI monitor or TV

HDMI and DisplayPort carry sound as well as picture. The monitor shows up as an output once the graphics driver installs its audio part: NVIDIA High Definition Audio, AMD High Definition Audio Device or Intel Display Audio.

• The monitor is not in the list. Reinstall the full graphics driver, including its audio component, then unplug and reconnect the cable with the screen on.
• It is in the list but silent. Many monitors have no speakers at all, only a headphone jack that passes the HDMI sound. If yours has speakers, check the volume and mute in the monitor's own menu. On a TV, check the input and the TV volume.
• Sound keeps jumping to the monitor. Windows can switch to the monitor each time it wakes and reconnects. Set your speakers as the default again in the Sound window.

If the screen stays black as well, see hdmi no signal.

HP, Dell and Lenovo laptops

Each maker adds its own audio app on top of the driver, and its support tool installs the driver version tested for your model, which Windows Update does not always do.

• HP: Bang & Olufsen Audio Control or HP Audio Center, and drivers through HP Support Assistant. HP PC Hardware Diagnostics, opened by pressing Esc then F2 at startup, tests the hardware outside Windows.
• Dell: Waves MaxxAudio or the Dell Audio app, and drivers through SupportAssist. Press F12 at the Dell logo and choose Diagnostics for a hardware check.
• Lenovo: Dolby Access on many models. If sound stopped after an update, reinstall the audio driver and the Dolby app through System Update in Lenovo Vantage, which picks the versions made for your model.

No sound on a Mac

1. Open System Settings, Sound, Output, and select the built-in speakers. The Type column shows which device is built in.
2. Drag Output volume up and make sure it is not muted.
3. Disconnect headphones, USB or Thunderbolt audio devices and external displays, which can take over the output.
4. Check the app: Safari shows an audio button in the address field when a page is muted.
5. Restart the Mac. For sound alone, open Activity Monitor, select the coreaudiod process, quit it and enter your password. macOS starts it again at once.

Apple's guide for Mac internal speakers that are not working covers the output, volume and disconnect checks.

When it is a hardware fault

Narrow it down with what still works:

• Headphones work, speakers do not. The sound card and driver are fine and the speaker side has failed. Follow the speakers not working guide.
• A USB headset works, but nothing on the built-in audio does. USB headsets bring their own sound chip, so the onboard audio chip or its driver has failed.
• Nothing works, even HDMI. Suspect Windows itself. Run the maker's diagnostics, then a system restore or a Windows repair install that keeps your files.

On laptops, onboard audio and speakers are motherboard and speaker repairs, so check the warranty with your serial number before paying for one. On desktops, a small USB sound adapter or a sound card replaces dead onboard audio cheaply.

No sound questions