Missing HDMI output

Question

Unaple to play sound on HDMI output, video works fine. HDMI not listed on output devices

Answer 1

Hello, I'm Jan. I'm sorry that you are experiencing this problem with HDMI audio. If none of the previous suggestion work try each of the following.

• Check if there if these audio devices are listed" Display Audio (Intel(R) High Definition Audio,NVIDIA High Definition Audio or Amd High Definition Audio) " and set it as your Output device.
• If none of these devices are listed. this usually indicate that there is a problem with the graphics card audio driver. Clean install the graphics driver. This will uninstall both of the problematic audio and graphics drivers. Download the latest graphics driver from the graphics card manufaturer support wesbite. select the custom and clean installation option. If that didnt work, use a free tool DDU display driver uninstaller to clean the graphics driver in safemode. Select Clean and Restart option After uninstalling the drivers install the graphics card driver. then restart the computer.

Answer 2

HDMI audio not appearing as an output device usually means Windows is either not detecting the HDMI audio endpoint or another device is set as default and HDMI is hidden/disabled.

Try these steps in order:

1. Check that HDMI audio is enabled and set correctly
   1. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sound settings.
   2. Under Output, make sure the TV/monitor (HDMI) is not selected if it has no speakers, or select it if it does have speakers and should play audio.
   3. If the HDMI device does not appear there, open classic Sound settings:
      • In the taskbar search box, type control panel and open it.
      • Go to Hardware and Sound > Sound.
      • On the Playback tab, right-click in the device list and make sure Show Disabled Devices is checked.
      • If the HDMI device appears but is disabled, right-click it > Enable, then right-click again > Set as Default Device.
2. Confirm the device is not muted or disabled
   1. Right-click the speaker icon > Open Volume mixer.
   2. Make sure none of the device sliders are muted (no red circle with a line). If muted, click to unmute.
   3. In Settings > System > Sound, select the active output device > Device properties and ensure Disable is not checked for the output device.
3. Update or reinstall audio/display drivers
   1. Open Device Manager.
   2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers and Display adapters.
   3. For each relevant device (e.g., Realtek/Intel audio, and the GPU that provides HDMI such as Intel/AMD/NVIDIA):
      • Right-click > Update driver > Search automatically.
   4. If HDMI audio still does not appear, try uninstalling and letting Windows reinstall:
      • Right-click the HDMI audio device (if listed) or the main audio device > Uninstall device.
      • Restart the PC so Windows reinstalls the driver.
4. Run the built-in audio troubleshooter
   1. Go to Settings > System > Sound.
   2. Under Output, select Troubleshoot and follow the prompts.
5. Check the monitor/TV and cable
   1. Make sure the TV/monitor volume is up and not muted.
   2. Use a different HDMI cable and/or a different HDMI port on the TV/monitor.
   3. If possible, test the same HDMI cable and port with another device to confirm the TV/monitor accepts audio over that HDMI input.

If HDMI still does not show as an output device after these steps, the issue is likely with the specific hardware/driver combination; installing the latest OEM audio and graphics drivers from the PC or motherboard manufacturer is the next step.

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References:

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