How to Fix Sound Not Working on Windows (2026 Guide)

You hit play on a video, join a call, or queue up a playlist, and your Windows PC stays completely silent — no chime, no notification ping, nothing. It’s one of the most common Windows frustrations, and thankfully, most no-sound problems trace back to a handful of fixable causes rather than actual hardware failure.

This guide walks through every fix for missing sound on Windows 11 and Windows 10, starting with the quickest, safest checks and only moving toward driver-level work if the simple steps come up empty. Most of these take just a few minutes and don’t require any technical background.

Before Anything Else: Check the Obvious Stuff

It sounds basic, but this is genuinely where most no-sound issues actually get resolved:

1. Check that your speakers or headphones are properly connected. Inspect the wires, plugs, and ports for anything loose. For wireless devices, confirm they’re actually paired and connected, not just powered on.
2. Test on a different device if possible. Plugging your headphones or speakers into a phone or another computer helps rule out a hardware problem with the audio device itself rather than Windows.
3. Make sure Windows isn’t muted. Click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of your taskbar and confirm the volume slider isn’t all the way down or muted.
4. Restart your PC. Press and hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds to force a shutdown if needed, wait 30 seconds, then power back on. A simple restart resolves a surprising number of temporary audio glitches on its own.

Fix 1: Confirm the Correct Output Device Is Selected

This is one of the most common — and most overlooked — causes of “no sound,” especially if you’ve recently plugged in a monitor, docking station, or Bluetooth headset. Windows can silently switch your audio output to a device you’re not actually listening through, leaving your speakers or headphones completely out of the loop.

1. Click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of your taskbar.
2. Click the small arrow next to the volume slider to open the list of connected audio devices.
3. Select the correct output device from the list — your actual speakers or headphones, not an HDMI monitor or unused Bluetooth device.

To set your output device more permanently rather than just for the current session:

1. Under Output, choose your correct device from the dropdown.

Fix 2: Check Volume Mixer and App-Specific Permissions

Sometimes the system volume is fine, but a specific app has its own volume muted or set very low, or has been denied permission to use audio at all.

1. Right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar and select Open Volume mixer.
2. Check that the specific app you’re trying to hear sound from isn’t muted or turned down individually — each app can have its own separate volume level here.
3. If you’re troubleshooting an app like a browser or video call tool specifically, also check that app’s own in-app volume and audio settings, since some apps maintain a completely separate mute toggle from the system-level one.

Fix 3: Run the Built-In Audio Troubleshooter

Microsoft’s guidance for Windows 11 has shifted away from the older troubleshooting wizards toward a more centralized “Get Help” experience, though a Settings-based option still exists too.

Using Get Help (Current Recommended Method)

1. Open Get Help from the Start menu.
2. Search for “audio troubleshooter.”
3. Grant diagnostic consent if prompted.
4. Follow the guided scan, which checks for common causes like incorrect output device selection, muted channels, or driver issues.

Using the Settings-Based Troubleshooter

1. Look for Troubleshoot common sound problems and click it.
2. Alternatively, right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar and select Troubleshoot sound.
3. Let the troubleshooter run its checks, and follow any suggested fixes it presents.

Keep in mind this newer Get Help-based approach is part of a broader shift away from older local troubleshooting tools that longtime Windows users may still reach for out of habit — if you’re used to older menu paths, they may have moved or been retired.

Fix 4: Turn Off Audio Enhancements

Windows applies certain audio “enhancements” by default (like virtual surround sound or loudness equalization) that can sometimes conflict with your specific hardware and cause silence rather than improvement.

1. Under Output, select your audio device.
2. Open the device’s additional properties or Audio enhancements section.
3. Check the box for Disable all enhancements, then click Apply.
4. Test your sound again. If it returns, you can leave enhancements off permanently, or turn individual ones back on one at a time to see which specific enhancement was causing the conflict.

Fix 5: Restart the Windows Audio Services

Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder are background services responsible for managing sound. Restarting them is a safe step that simply stops and starts these processes — it doesn’t remove any devices, drivers, or volume preferences, so there’s no real downside to trying it.

1. Type services.msc and press Enter.
2. Scroll down and find Windows Audio.
3. Right-click it and select Restart. If it’s not currently running, select Start instead.
4. Do the same for Windows Audio Endpoint Builder, found nearby in the same list.
5. Test your sound again afterward.

Fix 6: Re-Enable a Disabled Audio Device

Occasionally, your audio output device gets disabled entirely, either by accident or following a Windows update, and won’t show up as an available option until it’s manually turned back on.

1. Press Windows + R, type mmsys.cpl, and press Enter.
2. In the window that opens, right-click your audio output device.
3. Select Enable if it currently appears greyed out or disabled.

Fix 7: Update or Reinstall Your Audio Driver

If the steps above haven’t resolved anything, an outdated or corrupted audio driver is a common next suspect, especially if the sound issue started right after a Windows update.

Updating the Driver

1. Press Windows + S, type Device Manager, and open it.
2. Expand Sound, video, and game controllers.
3. Right-click your audio device (commonly labeled something like Realtek Audio, or “High Definition Audio Device”).
4. Select Update driver, then choose to search automatically for updated software.

Reinstalling the Driver From Scratch

If updating doesn’t help, a clean reinstall often resolves deeper corruption issues:

1. Open Device Manager using Windows + X and selecting it from the menu.
2. Expand Sound, video, and game controllers.
3. Restart your PC — Windows will typically detect the missing driver and automatically reinstall a fresh copy on startup.

Some users find that a driver simply needs a quick disable-and-re-enable cycle rather than a full uninstall: right-click the device in Device Manager, select Disable device, wait a moment, then right-click again and select Enable device. This can resolve intermittent cases where the driver doesn’t automatically re-engage after being suspended.

Getting the Latest Driver Directly From the Manufacturer

Rather than relying solely on Windows’ automatic driver search, checking your audio chipset manufacturer’s website directly (Realtek being especially common) often turns up a more current driver version, since these get updated fairly frequently — sometimes every few months. It’s worth periodically checking for new versions, particularly around major Windows updates, since new audio drivers sometimes need to catch up with underlying system changes.

Fix 8: Check for Bluetooth-Specific Issues

If you’re specifically dealing with no sound from Bluetooth headphones or speakers, a few extra checks apply:

1. Confirm the device is actually connected, not just paired — go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices and check its status directly.
2. Try removing (forgetting) the device and re-pairing it from scratch if it’s shown as connected but no audio is coming through.
3. Check that the correct Bluetooth audio profile is being used, since some devices offer multiple modes (like a lower-quality call mode versus a higher-quality music mode) that can sometimes get stuck on the wrong one.

Fix 9: Create a System Restore Point Before Major Fixes

If you’re about to attempt a deeper driver reinstall or troubleshoot something more involved, it’s good practice to create a restore point first, so you have an easy way back if something goes wrong:

1. Press Windows + R, type systempropertiesprotection, and press Enter.
2. Under the System Protection tab, click Create.
3. Give it a clear, memorable name (like “Before audio driver fix”) and confirm.

This is especially worth doing before or after major Windows updates specifically, since a fresh restore point gives you a safety net if a new update introduces an audio regression down the line.

Sound Stopped Working Right After a Windows Update? Start Here

If your sound specifically broke immediately following a Windows update, the cause is almost always one of three things: a corrupted audio driver, a disabled Windows Audio Service, or your output device getting switched around by the update itself. Working through Fix 5 (restarting audio services) and Fix 7 (updating or reinstalling the driver) in that order resolves the vast majority of these post-update cases without needing to go any further.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why did my sound suddenly stop working after a Windows update? This is most commonly caused by a corrupted audio driver, a disabled Windows Audio Service, or the update silently switching your default output device. Restarting the Windows Audio services and updating or reinstalling the audio driver resolves most post-update cases.

2. Is it safe to restart the Windows Audio service? Yes. Restarting Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder simply stops and restarts the background processes handling sound — it doesn’t remove any devices, drivers, or your existing volume preferences.

3. Why does my sound play to the wrong device? Windows can automatically switch your audio output when you connect a new monitor, dock, or Bluetooth device, sometimes leaving your actual speakers or headphones unselected. Checking and manually selecting the correct output device under Settings > System > Sound usually fixes this.

4. Should I uninstall or just update my audio driver first? Try updating first, since it’s less disruptive. If updating doesn’t resolve the issue, a full uninstall (followed by a restart, which lets Windows reinstall a fresh driver automatically) often clears up deeper corruption that a simple update can’t fix.

5. What are audio enhancements, and could they be causing my no-sound issue? Audio enhancements are Windows features like virtual surround sound or loudness equalization applied on top of your raw audio output. They can occasionally conflict with specific hardware and cause sound to fail entirely — disabling them under your device’s audio properties is a quick, low-risk troubleshooting step.

6. Where did the old Windows sound troubleshooter go? Microsoft has shifted its recommended troubleshooting path toward the “Get Help” app, where you can search for “audio troubleshooter” directly, alongside a similar option still available under Settings > System > Sound > Troubleshoot common sound problems.

7. Why is there no sound specifically over HDMI to my TV or monitor? This is usually an output device selection issue rather than a broken system — make sure your HDMI display is selected as the current output device in Settings > System > Sound, and confirm the display’s own volume isn’t muted separately from Windows.

8. How often should I check for new audio driver updates? Checking your audio hardware manufacturer’s website every month or so is a reasonable habit, since audio drivers (Realtek in particular) are updated fairly frequently, and staying current helps avoid conflicts when new Windows updates roll out.

Conclusion

Missing sound on Windows feels alarming in the moment, but it’s rarely a sign of actual hardware failure — in most cases, it’s a routing, muting, permissions, or driver issue masquerading as something more serious. Work through the fixes in order, starting with the output device and volume mixer checks, moving through the built-in troubleshooter and audio enhancements, and only reaching for a driver reinstall if the simpler steps come up empty. Most people find their sound restored within the first few steps, and a quick monthly check for updated audio drivers helps keep the problem from creeping back after future Windows updates.