Sound and mic stopped working

Question

Hi,

I can't figure out why my speakers and mic stopped working overnight. I've Googled it and made the adjustments in Settings/System/Sound. Also in Settings/Privacy&Security/Windows Security. I went through the built in troubeshooting and the trouble shooting on the Windows website. But nothing has helped.

How it happened is very easy to decribe. Yesterday it worked fine. I made no changes to the computer. Today they don't work.

As a person who works in tech support I understand that isn't a lot of information.

John

Answer 1

Hi! Let me help you with this issue.

Please try a hard reset.

Shut down the laptop completely

Click Start → Power → Shut down

Make sure it’s fully off (no lights, no fan)

Unplug everything

Remove the charger

Disconnect USB devices, mouse, keyboard, headset, HDMI, etc.

Drain residual power

Press and hold the Power button for 20–30 seconds

Don’t release it early

Reconnect power

Plug only the charger back in (nothing else)

Turn the laptop on

Press the Power button normally

If the hard reset didn't work, follow the steps below.

Here are the steps to completely remove a Device from your computer.

Step 1. Use the Windows key + X shortcut.

Step 2. Select Device Manager.

Step 3. Expand the entry Sound, Video, and Game Controllers. Right-click the problematic device, which is either Realtek Audio, AMD High-definition Audio, or High-Definition Audio, depending on the audio device installed in your PC, and select Uninstall device.

Step 4. You need to check the option Delete the driver software for this device and then click the Uninstall button.

Step 5. Reboot the computer.

After the reboot, please see if the problem is fixed.

If that still does not work, please visit the support website of your laptop or desktop and then download and install the latest Audio driver, then restart the PC.

Answer 2

Work through these Windows 11–specific checks in order, focusing on both speakers (output) and mic (input):

1. Verify physical connections and basic volume

• Confirm speakers/headset and microphone cables are firmly plugged in and powered on.
• If using 3.5 mm jacks, verify they are in the correct ports (typically green for output, pink for mic, or labeled “headphone”/“microphone”).
• Try a different USB port if using USB audio devices.
• Unplug any headphones to see if built‑in speakers start working.
• Check device and app volume:
  • Select the Speakers icon on the taskbar.
  • Ensure system volume is not muted and is turned up.

2. Check audio hardware and volume controls in Settings

• Select Start > Settings > System > Sound.
• Under Output, select the device intended for playback and make sure it is not muted and volume is up.
• Under Input, select the intended microphone and ensure its volume is up.
• Some speakers and apps have their own volume controls; verify those are not muted.

3. Turn off audio enhancements (output) Audio enhancements can sometimes break sound after an update.

• Go to Start > Settings > Sound.
• In Output, select the speakers/headphones in use.
• Scroll to Advanced settings and set Audio enhancements to Off.
• Test audio again.

4. Confirm sound devices are not muted/disabled

• Right‑click the Speakers icon on the taskbar and select Open Volume mixer.
• Ensure none of the device or app sliders show a red muted icon; if they do, click to unmute.
• Then go to Start > Settings > System > Sound.
• Select the output device, then Device properties, and verify it is not disabled.
• Do the same for the input (microphone) device.

5. Check microphone privacy settings If the mic stopped at the same time as speakers, still confirm privacy:

• Select Start > Settings > Privacy & security.
• Under App permissions, select Microphone.
• Turn Microphone access and Let apps access your microphone to On.
• If the issue is with a specific app, ensure that app’s toggle is also On under Let apps access your microphone.

6. Run the Windows 11 audio troubleshooter

• Select Start > Settings > System.
• Select Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
• In the Audio section, select Run and follow the prompts.

7. Reinstall or update audio drivers If both input and output disappeared or stopped after an update, drivers are a likely cause.

• Right‑click Start and select Device Manager.
• Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
• For each audio device:
  • Right‑click and select Uninstall device.
  • Check Delete the driver software for this device (if available), then select Uninstall.
• Restart the PC; Windows will attempt to reinstall audio drivers automatically.
• After restart, return to Device Manager, expand Sound, video and game controllers, right‑click the audio device, and select Update driver.

8. Verify Windows Update and restart

• Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
• Install any available updates, then restart.
• If Update and restart or Update and shut down options appear under Start > Power, use one of them to apply pending updates.

If, after these steps, Windows shows “No audio device is installed” or no input/output devices at all, focus on Device Manager to ensure at least one audio device appears under Sound, video and game controllers and that it has no error icon; if missing, install the correct audio driver from the PC or motherboard manufacturer and reboot.

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References:

• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Fix microphone problems
• How to fix this. no audio device is installed - Microsoft Q&A
• My audio inputs and outputs suddenly disappeared, how do i fix this? - Microsoft Q&A