Speaker problems on Windows can ruin your computer experience because you won’t be able to hear anything. If speakers have stopped working on your PC, here’s how you can get them fixed.
1. Check If the Audio Was Muted
Audio can be muted by just hitting the wrong button or using the wrong hotkey. So, before you try the other things, ensure that the audio on your computer/laptop is not muted.
If speakers stop working on your Windows, you should first check whether the audio has been muted. To unmute your audio, play an audio or video file, and press the mute button on your keyboard. You can also click the speaker icon on your system tray to mute/unmute the audio.
2. Check if the Speakers are properly connected to the PC
The next thing you need to do is check if the speakers are properly connected to your PC/Laptop. You need to examine the speaker jack on your PC closely.
Unless you have a USB speaker or headphones, you must connect your audio device to a 3.5mm port. Also, ensure that the 3.5mm jack of your headphones or speaker is plugged into the correct port.
3. Using Audio Troubleshooter
You can use the Audio Troubleshooter tool to fix various audio-related errors on Windows computers.
1. Open the search box and search for Troubleshooting.
2. Open the Troubleshooting page and click Troubleshoot audio playback.
3. You will see another page asking you to troubleshoot playing audio. Click on Next.
4. The Troubleshooting tool will scan and fix the audio-related problems. Wait a few seconds.
The Audio Troubleshooter will either fix the problem or let you know the actual cause of the problem.
4. Update the Audio Driver
Outdated audio drivers can also cause several sound-related errors, including the speaker stopping working. We will update the Audio Driver through the Device Manager to fix the Speaker stopped working error message.
1. Search for Device Manager on the Windows Search bar and open the first option.
2. Expand System Device
3. Find the Audio driver. Right-click on it and then select Update Driver.
4. You will be asked to select whether you want to select the drive manually or search the web. Select the first option and click on Next
5. Reinstall Drivers
If the problem is still not fixed, you should reinstall the sound drivers.
- Open Device Manager and expand the Sound, Video, and Game Controllers.
2. Right-click on the current sound card and select Properties. Under the Properties, head to the Driver tab and select ‘Uninstall’
Click Apply and restart your computer. The operating system will automatically install the required audio drivers during the restart.
6. Set the Speaker device
Windows updates often change the default audio playback device, leading to the speakers not working. So, you need to set the default speaker as well.
1. Click on the Start menu and search for Sound. Open the first option from the list.
2. Switch to Playback.
3. Right-click on the device in which you want to set the audio playback, and then click on Properties
4. Select Use this device (Enable).
Click on Ok and then on Apply. Restart the computer, and your speaker will now work fine.
7. Change The Audio Format
You could try changing the audio format if the above methods fail to fix the speaker problem.
1. Right-click on the Speaker icon in the notification bar and then click on Playback devices.
2. Double-click the default playback device in the Sound settings.
3. Select the audio format from the ‘Advanced’ tab. You need to try a different audio format to check which one works.
These are the best methods for fixing speakers that have stopped working on Windows computers. If you know other methods that work, please let us know in the comment box below.
