Steps to Follow When Your Laptop Has No Sound

There’s nothing like cranking up some tunes to keep your momentum going during workday. But if your Laptop has no sound, it can really kill your groove. Here’s how to troubleshoot your PC when you are not getting any sound. While many suggestions reference Windows 10, similar process can be used no matter which OS you are using.

This seems obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally muted my volume in Windows only to slap my forehead in exasperation later. Click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of the Windows taskbar, and make sure your volume is unmuted and turned up. If you have external speakers plugged in, make sure they’re turned on too.

When you drag the Windows volume slider and let go, you should hear a “ding.” If not, the problem lies elsewhere. If you do hear a ding, there’s a chance the app you’re trying to use is muted instead. Make sure the music player, video player, or any other app you’re using is unmuted and turned up. The same goes for YouTube and other in-browser players—it’s easy to mute them accidentally, which can be frustrating to diagnose later.

If you’re having trouble with your laptop’s built-in speakers, try plugging in a set of headphones or external speakers. If the sound works through them, you might have a hardware problem with the laptop’s built-in speakers. If you have a pair of USB headphones handy (like a USB gaming headset), you can try plugging those in too, since they can bypass the default audio driver and indicate where the problem might lie.

It’s possible your speakers are working just fine but that Windows is directing sound to the wrong output device. This is especially likely when you’ve plugged in a USB audio device or are plugged in to an external HDMI monitor that doesn’t have speakers. To fix this, right click on the speaker icon in the Windows taskbar and choose Sounds to enter the audio preferences. Under the Playback tab, find the device you want to use. If you don’t see it, try right-clicking and checking Show Disabled Devices—then select the output device and click the Set Default button. If you aren’t sure which one you want to use, try each of the devices in the list until you hear audio

When in doubt, if a piece of PC hardware isn’t working, check the drivers. Click the Start Menu and type “device manager,” pressing Enter when the option
appears. Scroll down to Sound, Video and Game Controllers and expand the menu to show all the possible audio output devices in your PC.

If there’s a yellow exclamation mark next to any of these, that’s a sign you may need to fine and install its driver from the manufacturer’s website. it not, installing the driver is worth a shot anyway. You can also try uninstalling the driver: Right-click the one you’re trying to use—my laptop uses Realtek Audio— and choose Uninstall Device. Reboot Windows, and it will attempt to reinstall its generic drivers, which may bring the speakers back to life.

In rare instances, a hardware incompatibility, software update, or Windows re installation can cause your sound to stop working, and you may need to tweak something in the BIOS. Reboot your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI setup menu, usually by pressing Delete, F2, or some other key at startup.

First, make sure your sound card is enabled in the BIOS, as it could have gotten disabled at some point. If that doesn’t help, check which BIOS or UEFI version you’re using, and compare it to the latest version on your laptop manufacturer’s website. If your manufacturer has released a new version recently, it might be worth updating. Just be sure to read the instructions and proceed carefully, as a BIOS update can also break things if done improperly

If you can’t fix the problem in software, there’s a chance the speakers themselves are broken, or a cable has come loose inside your PC. If you cannot find a repair manual for your PC, don’t be afraid, Contact us for an appointment.