It doesn’t matter how good your PC’s headphones & speakers are; if you don’t install the correct sound driver, you will encounter sound-related problems. No sound will come from your PC’s internal or external speaker if no audio/sound driver is installed on the operating system.
Even if you have installed the correct sound driver on your system, it’s best to check for the available driver updates and install them periodically. Regarding Windows 11, the operating system automatically installs the latest version of device drivers during the Windows updates.
However, Windows updates might fail in some cases, leaving your audio/sound driver outdated as it was before. Hence, if you face audio or sound driver problems in Windows 11, you might find this guide helpful.
How to Install Audio/Sound Driver in Windows 11
This article will share a few of the best ways to install the Audio/Sound driver in Windows 11. We have shared multiple methods; you must follow the one you feel comfortable with. So, let’s get started.
1) Install Sound Driver via Windows Update
As cited above, Windows 11 automatically downloads the correct and latest sound driver needed for your computer and installs the same. Usually, you don’t need to do anything; Windows 11 will attempt to update the driver while installing the system updates. However, if the driver installation fails, you must manually force Windows updates to install the audio driver.
1. First, click the Windows 11 start button and select Settings.
2. On the Settings page, click the Windows Update on the left pane.
3. Click on the Check for updates button on the right pane.
That’s it! You are done. Now Windows 11 will search for all much-needed drivers for your PC and install the same.
2) Update the Audio Driver from the Device Manager
We will use the Device Manager to update the Audio Driver in this method. You must follow some easy steps below to update or install the Audio driver on Windows 11.
1. Click the Windows 11 search and type in Device Manager.
2. On the Device Manager, expand the Sound, video, and game controllers option.
3. Now, right-click on the Audio driver and select Uninstall Device.
4. The audio driver will be uninstalled. Once uninstalled, restart your computer to install the driver again.
That’s it! You are done. This will automatically install the latest Audio driver version on your Windows 11 computer.
3) Manually Install the Sound driver on Windows 11
We will manually install the audio/sound driver from the manufacturer’s website in this method. Here’s how to manually install the sound driver in your Windows 11 operating system.
- First, open your favorite web browser and visit your PC’s manufacturer’s website.
- Next, type in your PC/Laptop’s model number.
- Now, you will see a list of all available audio drivers.
- Click on the Download button to download the audio driver.
- Once downloaded, double click on the executable file that you have downloaded and install the app.
That’s it! You are done. This is how you can manually install the audio driver on your Windows 11. The steps might vary a bit depending on your PC’s manufacturer. Still, in all cases, you need to explore the driver catalog on the manufacturer’s website and download the latest version of the audio driver.
4) Run the Audio Troubleshooter
We will run the Audio troubleshooter to find and fix driver-related issues in this method. If the Audio Troubleshooter detects any problem related to the audio, it will attempt to fix it by installing the latest audio driver. Here’s how you can run the Audio Troubleshooter in Windows 11.
1. Click on the Windows 11 Start menu and select Settings.
2. On the Settings page, click the System tab on the left pane.
3. On the right, click on the Troubleshoot.
4. On the Troubleshoot page, click on the Other trouble-shooters.
5. Click the Run button behind the Playing Audio on the next screen.
That’s it! The Audio Troubleshooter will try to fix the audio problems by installing the latest sound drivers. You need to follow the on-screen instructions to complete the troubleshooting process.
5) Download and install Audio Driver using Driver Updater
There are many driver updaters compatible with the Windows 11 operating system. The role of driver updater programs is to find all outdated device drivers, download the latest version & install it on your computer.
Most of the driver updaters for Windows 11 are free to download; you can use any of them to update your audio drivers. Driver update programs like Driver Booster, Driver Genius, etc., can easily find and install the latest audio drivers on your computer.
If you don’t know which driver updater to install, check our guide – Best driver updating tools for Windows.
So, these are the few best ways to install the Audio/Sound driver in Windows 11. If you are experiencing sound-related problems while using your PC, you should first update or install the audio driver. Let us know if you know other ways to install audio drivers.
