Speaker on laptop is not working

Question

There is no speaker option on my sound output setting, therefore I cannot hear anything coming from my laptop without using headphones. When I do not have headphones in, it says "no output devices found" in sound settings.

Answer 1

Hi Regan,

I'm so sorry to hear your PC is having output troubles, as the built-in speakers seem to be not working. Since your headphones are working, Windows is clearly able to process audio. The issue appears to be specific to the laptop's built-in speaker device not being detected/available to Windows. Let's check the following:

1 - Run the built-in audio troubleshooter

• Unplug your headphones temporarily so it doesn't interfere.
• Go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters
• Run Audio > follow any recommendations provided to see if it helps.

2 - Check whether the built-in speaker device is disabled

• Press Win + R > type mmsys.cpl > press Enter
• On the Playback tab, right-click the list and enable:
  • Show Disabled Devices
  • Show Disconnected Devices
• If Speakers appears, right-click it and select Enable
• Click Set Default to set it as the default playback device.

3 - Check if Windows can still detect the audio device

• Press Win + X > Device Manager > expand Sound, video and game controllers
• Select View > Show hidden devices > find your audio device (e.g. Realtek, Intel, etc.)
• If present, right-click it > Enable device. If already enabled > Uninstall device
• Restart the laptop and Windows should reinstall the audio driver automatically.
• If the Speakers device/drivers are still missing or not redownloaded:
  • Visit your PC manufacturer website > find your PC model
  • Download and install the audio driver package.

If the built-in Speakers device does not appear anywhere, even after reinstalling the correct driver, there is a possibility of a hardware issue with the laptop speakers or the internal audio components. Could you share the laptop make and model? I can help check if there's any reported similar issues about its speakers!

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