Sound - Troubleshooting No Sound or Faint Sound (Windows)

Steps to take if there are problems with no sound or faint sound coming from the computer.
Make sure the the speaker/soundbar is ready:
 
In order to hear audio from the computer, there must be either speakers connected to the computer, a soundbar (long speaker) attached to the bottom of the monitor, or headphones plugged into an audio jack.
speakerssoundbarheadphones

If there is a speaker or soundbar, it must be:
 
plugged in to a power source (either using a regular AC plug, or plugged into an audio power port on the back of the monitor)
speaker plugged into outlet with ac adapter     soundbar plugged into back of monitor
 
plugged in to an audio jack on the back of the computer tower - generally color-coded green with the audio line out symbol audio line out symbol
speaker plugged in to audio jack in back
 
powered on with the volume turned up to an audible level.
 
There is a knob on the right side of the soundbar that powers it on and adjusts the volume. When the soundbar is on, there is an indicator light. (If there are headphones plugged in to the soundbar, sound will come out of the headphones rather than out of the speaker in the soundbar).
speaker turned on    soundbar is on     
Headphones must be plugged in to an audio output jack (marked with a “headphone” icon) on the front of the computer tower or to the soundbar. If they are plugged into the soundbar, the soundbar must be powered on.
headphones plugged into computer   headphones plugged into soundbar
 
If the soundbar/speaker/headphones is plugged in and turned on and there is no sound, look for the speaker icon in the notification area on the bottom right of the screen (you may need to click on the triangle to show the icon if it is hidden). 
 
speaker icon             triangle

If the speaker icon has a red circle with a slash next to it, the speaker is muted. 
speaker icon red circle and slash
 
Click on the speaker icon and you will see the volume indicator. The blue speaker icon on the bottom will also have a red circle with a slash. Click on this icon and the sound will be unmuted.
 
muted audio in volume indicator
 
If the speaker icon in the tray has a red circle with an x next to it, the speaker is disabled.
 
speaker icon with X 
 
Click on the speaker icon to start the “Playing Audio” troubleshooter.
 
audio troubleshooter  successful audio troubleshooting
If the audio troubleshooter was not able to resolve the problem, request additional assistance.
 
If the speaker icon does not have any red circles next to it, click on the speaker icon to bring up the volume control window. The position of the slider will indicate the overall volume level: if it is close to the bottom, the volume is set low. If it is up at the top, the volume is at 100%. A quick indication of the overall volume level is the number of wave lines coming out of the speaker icon in the notification area. If the volume is at 0%, there are no wave lines. If the volume is between 1% and 33% , there is one wave line. If the volume is between 34% and 66%, there are two wave lines. If the volume is above 67%, there are three wave lines.
 
 
If the soundbar/speaker/headphones is plugged in and turned on and the sound is faint, look for the speaker icon in the notification area on the bottom right of the screen (you may need to click on the triangle to show the icon if it is hidden). 
speaker icon             triangle
 
Clicking on the speaker will bring up the volume control. The position of the slider will indicate the overall volume level. If it is close to the bottom, the volume is set low. If it is up at the top, the volume is at the maximum. 
 
volume on low level  volume at maximum level
 
If the volume slider is in the top (maximum) volume position and the sound level coming out of the speaker/soundbar is still low, click on word "Mixer" at the bottom of the volume indicator window. This will show you the volume levels for all the applications/browsers that currently are playing sound. Each application/browser may have its own volume level, separate from the overall Device volume level.
 
several applications each with a different sound level
 
For content on the internet, the “play” window may have volume options as well. In YouTube, click on the speaker icon on the lower left to turn mute off and on or hover over the icon to bring up the volume slider, then click on the slider and slide it left or right to adjust the volume.  In Vimeo, click on the bars on the lower right to adjust the volume.


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Keywords:
volume audio speakers headphones quiet headset 
Doc ID:
50707
Owned by:
Tyler W. in Parkland College
Created:
2015-04-21
Updated:
2023-06-02
Sites:
Parkland College