A laptop is a great productive device sometimes than a PC, why? Because you can carry it wherever you go. Whether you are at the office, or at a Starbucks Cafe, checking some emails laptop comes in handy. Furthermore, have you ever been victimized by headphones not working on laptop issues? If yes then let me tell you that you have probably landed on the right post.

Headphones are one of the most essentials in computer accessories, but when it won’t work, people either consider them dead or replace them. But who knows an incorrect setting can make your headphone not produce sound? It is always better to try fixing the headsets before considering them dead.

In this article, we will show you how to fix headphones not working on laptop issues. So, make sure to follow the troubleshooting guide that will help you to resolve the issue. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Also read: How to Fix iPhone Speaker Not Working, Stuck in Headphones Mode

What Issues Can Be Experienced with Your Headphones?

Let me tell you, there are different types of issues that you will experience with your headphones.

• The headphone is not producing any sound
• The headphone audio jack is not working
• Audio syncing issues
• Outdated / Damaged / Corrupted audio drivers
• Faulty headphone cables
• Not able to turn on / off noise cancelation
• Sound is producing only from one side
• The unclear sound produced by headphones
• Your system does not recognize your headphones

Now, let’s move towards the actual troubleshooting methods that will help you to fix headphones not working on laptop issues.

Restart Your Laptop

Restarting your laptop is the major thing you can perform if your headphone is not working or remain undetected by your laptop. It might possible that a small glitch or a bug is causing the issue. Just simply restart your laptop and see if this helps. Here’s how to restart your laptop in a proper way:

Step 1: Click on the Windows icon and select the Power button.

Step 2: Now, select Restart from the available option.

Leave your laptop as it is for a moment until it restarts.

Make Sure That Volume is not on “Mute”​

Sometimes we miss the small and silly things, it might possible that your volume is on mute. If that’s the case, then you have to raise the volume in order to listen to a sound from your headphones.

Also, the volume icon will not be represented as mute, if the volume is too small or tiny. That could a simple issue. If your headphones have an external volume button, then raise the volume or check if it’s muted from there.

Run Audio Troubleshooter

Every Windows 10 operating system has its own audio troubleshooter, this will detect issues that are preventing your headphones not to work on a laptop. Follow the simple steps mentioned below to perform audio troubleshoot:

Step 1: Right-click on the Windows icon and select Settings.

Step 2: Now select Update & Security.

Step 3: Select Troubleshoot located at the left sidebar.

Step 4: Under Troubleshoot, select Playing Audio.

Step 5: Now select Run the troubleshooter.

Step 6: Next, just follow the on-screen instructions that will appear on the screen of your laptop.

Step 7: Once done, just restart your laptop, this will resolve all the issues related to the audio.

Try Using Windows Troubleshooter

This method is different from than audio troubleshooter. Here, you will select your headphones to troubleshoot the issue.

Step 1: Do a right-click on sound icon, and select Troubleshoot Sound Problems.

Step 2: Now, click on headphones and click on Next.

Check Sound Output Settings

Check your sound output settings, incorrect settings often cause the issue. Follow the steps mentioned below.

Step 1: Click on the Windows icon and select System.

Step 2: Now select Sound located on the left sidebar (Search Sound option in the search bar if it’s not present in the Settings)

Step 3: Under the Sound section, select output settings from the drop-down menu.

Update Your Windows

Make sure to keep your Windows 10 operating system on the latest version. We will check if the update is available, install it and then restart perform a restart on your laptop.

Step 1: Right-click on the Windows icon and select Settings.

Step 2: Select Updates & Security.

Step 3: Click on Windows Update located on the left sidebar and click on Check for updates.

If the Windows 10 update is available then download and install the update. Once done, the laptop will restart automatically, else you can perform a restart manually.

Try System Restore

If headphones not working issue occurred after you installed any program. Then restarting the system can resolve the issue. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Press the Windows key and type Control Panel and open it.

Step 2: Now just type Recovery in the search box, and click on it.

Step 3: Click on Open System Restore.

Step 4: In the Restore system files and settings window, click on Next.

Step 5: Select the restore point when the laptop’s speaker was working and click Scan for affected programs.

Step 6: If it does not shows any affected driver it will be represented as None Detected.

Update Sound Card Drivers

If you use a sound card then it is somewhere important to keep it updated. Follow the steps to do so:

Step 1: Do a right-click on the Windows icon.

Step 2: From the list, select Device Manager.

Step 3: Click on the Sound, video game controllers category in order to expand the list.

Step 4: Next, select your sound card or audio driver accordingly, and click Update Driver.

Step 5: Click on Select automatically to the updated driver software.

Here’s how to do delete the sound driver so that you can reinstall the same driver again on your system.

Step 1: Go again into your Device Manager.

Step 2: Select Sound, video, and game controllers to expand the list.

Step 3: Select your sound card or audio driver accordingly and select Uninstall device.

Step 4: In the next window, tick Delete the driver software for this device, and select Uninstall.

Once done, simply restart your laptop.

Roll Back Audio Driver

The new audio driver you have installed might be the culprit, it could prevent your headphones from working on the laptop. Rolling back the audio driver could resolve the issue. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Do a right-click on the Windows icon and select Device Manager from the list.

Step 2: Click on Sound, video, and game controllers to expand the list.

Step 3: Select Properties.

Step 4: Select Driver from the menu tab, and click on Roll Back Driver.

Step 5: Follow the onscreen instructions and click on Yes in order to roll back the audio driver.

Quick Possible Fixes

• Plug your headphones properly, if it’s plugged half away into the audio jack port, then headphones will not produce any sound.
• In case you are using Bluetooth headphones then make sure to connect them wirelessly to the laptop. Or pair or connect the headphones to the laptop using Bluetooth.
• Try to connect the headphones without Bluetooth, if the headphone jack is present.
• Check if the audio jack plug of the headphone is properly inserted into the laptop’s audio jack port.
• Make sure that the headphone’s audio jack is 3.5 mm as most of the device supports the same audio jack model.
• Clean the audio jack port of the laptop with a Q-tip to clean dirt, dust, or stuck debris.
• Checkout sound enhancement (if a sound enchantment is turned on, certain sound cards might not work as it supposes to be). Here’s how to disable it:
  • Visit Sound settings > Sounds > Enhancements tab > Disable all enhancements. Here, you can test your headphones by clicking on Preview.
• If you use a USB hub, then some of it comes with an audio jack port, try to switch the headphone’s audio jack port if possible.
• Check out the Volume Mixer option, adjust the slider to set the sound accordingly in order to hear a decent sound.
• If possible, switch on other headphones.
• Visit Sound Settings > Sounds and select the Levels tab to balance the sound levels.

What if Nothing Works?

All the troubleshooting methods mentioned above are valid fixes. But still, your headphones not working on the laptop. Then it might possible that the headphones are itself faulty. Consider yourself lucky if those faulty headphones are under warranty, claim the warranty. Else, you have t replace the headphone with a new one.

That’s it for now, hope this helps! If you have queries, you can mention them in the comment section below.

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