Sound only coming out of bottom speaker

Question

The sound is only coming out of the bottom speaker and not the top speakers

Answer 1

Hi Jason Patton,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. I'm happy to help.

It sounds like you are having a hardware problem but not software.

Please troubleshoot by:

• Double-check the cables and connectors, from both the speakers and your computer.
• Test your speakers with another device or computer.

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

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Answer 2

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

It sounds like a hardware issue rather than a software issue. If it were a driver problem, you likely wouldn’t be able to hear audio from any of the speakers. Since you can hear audio only from the bottom speakers and not from the top speaker, it is usually a hardware problem.

May I please know if you experience this issue when playing audio from all apps?

To play a test sound:

1. Press Windows + R, type mmsys.cpl, and select OK.
2. In the Sound window, right-click your default playback device and select Properties.
3. On the Advanced tab, select Test.

This plays a test sound through both speakers. Check whether the top speaker works.

If it doesn’t, run a pre-boot hardware diagnostic test on your device and check whether the test passes.

If the test passes, try reinstalling the audio drivers once and see if it helps.

a. Open Device Manager.

b. Select the arrow next to sound video and game controllers.

c. Right-click your generic audio driver (e.g. Realtek (R)), select Uninstall device, select the Attempt to remove the driver for this device check box, and then select Uninstall.

d. Once uninstalled, restart your PC.

(Windows will automatically reinstall the drivers for your PC)

Test the audio output (Speakers) after the system restart.

Let me know how it goes.

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Answer 3

Try these steps in Windows 11 to troubleshoot audio only coming from one speaker:

1. Check the selected output device
   1. Select the Speakers icon on the taskbar.
   2. Select the arrow to the right of the volume slider.
   3. Make sure the correct speakers/headphones are selected as the output device.
2. Check hardware and volume controls
   1. Verify all speaker cables are firmly plugged in and in the correct jacks (typically green for output).
   2. Make sure the speakers are powered on.
   3. Confirm no mute buttons are enabled on the speakers or in any apps.
   4. Turn up the volume on both Windows and the physical speaker controls.
3. Check left/right balance and mono audio
   1. Select Start > Settings > System > Sound.
   2. Under Output, select the device you are using.
   3. In Output settings > Volume, ensure Left and Right channels are set to the same level.
   4. In System > Sound, make sure Mono audio is turned off.
4. Set the correct default audio device
   1. Select Start > Settings > System > Sound.
   2. Under Output, select the speakers you want to use. Selecting them here sets them as the default.
5. Run the audio troubleshooter
   1. Select Start > Settings > System.
   2. Select Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
   3. In the Audio section, select Run and follow the prompts.

If the balance is correct, mono audio is off, and the troubleshooter finds no issues, the problem may be with the speaker hardware (for example, the top speakers not wired or failing) rather than Windows settings.

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References:

• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Fix Bluetooth audio only playing in one channel