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Whenever I plug my earphones there is a strong continuous noise

Anonymous
2021-02-15T07:38:39+00:00

Yesterday I heard a white noise sound using my computer, using youtube which I entered through chrome. Suddenly the earphones stopped working, while the speakers worked well. I switched earphones, but they still hadn't worked.

I restarted my computer, and ever since, whenever I plug in my earphones and enter an app like zoom, groove music, youtube, etc., I hear the sounds of the white noise from yesterday. I entered the task manager and ended the tasks of google chrome, but that hadn't solved it. When I change earphones the sound still appears. When I unplug them and enter the zoom, groove music or youtube using my computer speakers - there is no sound issue, and everything works well.

I tried to open the troubleshooter, which stated there isn't any problem both in the earphones and the speakers. 

I tried update the driver of the speakers, but it said I have the latest version.

What else can I do so that I can again use my earphones?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-02-15T08:41:48+00:00

    Hi Sapirla,

    I'm Benedict, an Independent Advisor. I'm here to help you.

    Kindly try to check if the option "Listen to this device" is enabled in the properties of your earphone's microphone:

    1. Connect your earphones.
    2. Right-click on Speaker icon in the right-side of your taskbar and select Sounds.
    3. Click Recording tab, right-click on the External mic/or your earphone's mic and select Properties.
    4. Go to Listen tab, and see if the option "Listen to this device" is checked. If so, uncheck it, click Apply and OK.

    If that doesn't help, try to disable the Signal Enhancement or Sound effects if any, in Sounds > Playback > your earphone's properties, or to do this:

    1. Connect your earphones.
    2. Right-click on Speaker icon in the right-side of your taskbar and select Sounds.
    3. Click Playback tab, right-click on your earphone and select Properties.
    4. Go to Advanced tab, and under Signal Enhancements, uncheck "Enable audio enhancements"
    5. Click Apply and OK.

    If that doesn't still work, try to roll back, update or reinstall your earphone's audio output driver by following the steps below:

    To roll back the said driver (restore the previous installed driver):

    1. Open Start Menu.
    2. Type Device Manager and Open it.
    3. Double-Click on the category "Audio inputs and outputs".
    4. Under this category, right-click on the Headphones driver and select "Properties".
    5. Click the "Driver" tab and look for "Roll Back Driver" button* below and click it.
    6. Next select a reason why you're rolling back and click Yes.
    7. Restart your computer.

    *If the option to roll back driver is grayed-out, the reasons are the following:

    • Your computer hasn't had a previous driver installed for the said device.
    • Your computer did not retain the driver files from the original version installed.

    If that doesn't work, kindly try updating the said driver:

    1. Locate again the said driver
    2. Right click on it and select "Update Driver".
    3. Next select "Search Automatically..."
    4. Restart your computer.
    5. If the issue persists, repeat step 1 to 2, and now select "Browse my computer for drivers"
    6. Click on "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer".
    7. Make sure the option "Show compatible hardware" is checked.
    8. Select Generic device and click Next.

    If that doesn't still work, please try uninstalling the said driver:

    1. Locate again the said driver
    2. Right click on it and select "Uninstall device".
    3. Restart your computer. It will automatically search and install the driver.

    Please see if that helps.

    Regards,

    Benedict P.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2021-02-15T11:44:52+00:00

    If rolling back your headphone's driver has made the issue worse, try updating it again or uninstalling it. Also, you could try searching for latest audio driver from your PC's manufacturer support website. Download and install it, if any.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2021-02-15T20:04:04+00:00

    Thank you for all your help, Benedict!

    I tried to update the driver manually as you instructed, but the headphones didn't appear in the Device Manager. I restarted my computer a few more times, and then the computer finally recognized my earphones, which started working. I hope this would be the end of it! If not, I'll try to follow the steps you mentioned in this post.

    Thank you!

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-02-15T11:52:41+00:00

    Have you also tried updating manually your audio output driver with Generic device? If not, please do so:

    1. Open Start Menu.
    2. Type Device Manager and Open it.
    3. Double-Click on the category "Audio inputs and outputs".
    4. Right click on your headphones driver and select "Update Driver".
    5. Next select "Browse my computer for drivers"
    6. Click on "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer".
    7. Make sure the option "Show compatible hardware" is checked.
    8. Select Generic device and click Next.
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  5. Anonymous
    2021-02-15T11:32:11+00:00

    Thank you Benedict!

    I eventually had to roll back the driver and restart my computer, which worked for a while, but now, after unplugging the headphones and plugging them back again, the computer stopped recognizing my earphones.

    To note, before I even posted my query, I tried to resolve the problem by updating the version of the driver, which didn't work, and only then I rolled the driver back as you said, which resolved my issue for a while. 

    Also, note that yesterday the system had an automatic update, so maybe this is what messed everything up (I have a new Dell Latitude 7410)

    What can I do now to make my earphones work normally?
    Thank you!

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