Headphones work only after Restart

Question

I have an HP Pavilion laptop running Windows 11 .  When I plug in my headphones after booting up, the headphones have no sound and the speaker remains on.  If I restart after plugging the headphones in, the headphones work fine and the speaker is off.  Then if I unplug the headphones, the speaker comes back on and plugging the headphones in again changes nothing -- speaker on, headphones silent.  In the sound settings, headphones don't appear in either case.  Any ideas on how to fix this problem?

Answer 1

Hi Jonathan Goad,
Also with Fagoon Sharma and DP,

If your laptop has Realtek audio chipset, it might be related to Realtek.

Please make sure that you have installed Realtek Audio Driver from manufactural website.

Please install "Realtek Audio Console" if you have not already done so. This is the application to manage the Realtek audio chipset built into your motherboard. You can install it by going to your motherboard's website or through the Microsoft Store.

Disclaimer: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.

Next, open Realtek Audio Console > Device advanced settings > toggle between Mute the rear output device, when a front headphone plugged in. and Make front and rear output devices playback two different audio streams simultaneously.

You may need to plug your headset back in after changing this setting.

Please check your audio again to see if the issue is resolved.

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If this method does not help, please refer to HP Community topic:

Headphones not working unless rebooting device - HP Support Community - 7830745

Solved: Headphone Audio stops on one side until I restart the laptop - HP Support Community - 93706…

Disclaimer: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate and safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

Since this issue is more likely related to Realtek and its driver, if none of the above suggestions can help, please feel free to reach out your laptop manufactural support community.

I hope this information will be useful to you.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to let me know.

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Answer 2

Thanks for sharing the details, Jonathan! Try to disable Fast Startup (very common cause)

Fast Startup prevents the audio codec from fully re-initializing, so the headphone jack is “missed” until reboot.

Steps

• Control Panel → Power Options
• Click Choose what the power buttons do
• Click Change settings that are currently unavailable
• Uncheck Turn on fast startup
• Shut down (not restart), then power on

This alone fixes the issue for many HP laptops.

See if this helps. If you need further assistance just let me know.

Best regards,

Kimberly

Answer 3

Hi Jonathan Goad,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. I'm happy to help.

Please provide your computer specifications, or System Information (msinfo32).

Thank you for your time.