Windows handles several audio outputs at once. Nine times out of ten the sound is going somewhere - just not where you are listening.
That is the classic trap : a monitor plugged in over HDMI, a Bluetooth headset still paired, a forgotten speaker. Windows picks one output, and you are listening to another. So always start there.
Click the volume icon in the taskbar : the list of available output devices appears. Explicitly select the one you are using - speakers, headphones or monitor.
A very frequent case : a monitor or television connected over HDMI automatically becomes the default output, and the sound goes to its speakers, often turned down.
Windows stacks three volume levels, and each can be at zero independently : the master volume, the device volume, and the per-application volume. The volume mixer, reached by right-clicking the sound icon, shows all three. A silent browser while everything else works is fixed there.
Check the physical controls too : the mute key on the keyboard, the wheel on the speakers, the button on the headset.
If sound only works with headphones plugged in, or the other way round, the jack socket may be dirty or its detector stuck in the "headphones connected" position. Careful cleaning with dry air settles some of these cases.
On a Bluetooth headset, one recurring trap : the "hands-free" mode with microphone badly degrades the quality and sometimes cuts the output. Selecting stereo audio mode in the device list restores normal sound.
If no output appears at all, or if the sound vanished after a Windows update, the driver is at fault. Uninstalling the audio device from Device Manager and restarting forces Windows to reinstall a working driver.
On laptops, the generic Windows driver works, but the manufacturer's driver often brings the full capability - speakers properly driven, fine settings. It is worth reinstalling it from the maker's site.
A discreet but real case : the Windows audio service can freeze, and then no output works at all, whatever the device. Restarting it from the services console restores everything instantly - and simply restarting the machine has the same effect.
Speakers that crackle, distort at low volume, or where only one side works, point to a physical failure. On a laptop the speakers can be replaced, but the job requires dismantling. The test that settles it : plug in headphones. If they give perfect sound, the sound card is fine and only the speakers are dead.
If sound comes out but nobody can hear you on a video call, the cause is different : microphone access denied in the privacy settings, or the wrong input device selected in the app itself.
These settings are handled very well remotely, in a few minutes.
The volume mixer keeps a separate level for each application. One of them is probably muted or directed to another output.
Yes, it is a classic : the update replaces the manufacturer's driver with a generic one. Reinstalling the official driver generally settles it.
Yes, speakers can be replaced. Check the balance in the audio settings first : it sometimes shifts, and correcting it costs nothing.
Would you rather we took care of it ? See our desktop computer repair service, in Lyon and across the Rhone.
Most of these cases are settled remotely, with no visit.
Automatic assistant: it can make mistakes. Never share a password or a card number.
