Nov 11, 2024 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions
With so many similar queries posted about the sound not working on laptops, I have realized that the problem is pretty common. It doesn't matter if you have a Lenovo, Acer, Dell, or Mac – you might encounter the no audio on laptop problem. Though, there can be different reasons for triggering the laptop with no sound issue. In this guide, I will list every possible solution for sound problems in laptops of all kinds.
Before I would start this troubleshooting guide, let's quickly have a look at some of the common reasons that I encountered for getting no sound on my laptop.
These are some minor errors that usually happen when there is something wrong with the media file. Your media file could be corrupt, has syncing issues, or you could be trying to play it with an unsupported player. Like EAC3 audio format is not supported.
Chances are that there could be an issue with your laptop's internal speakers or the connected speakers as well. The headphones, connecting cable, or any other hardware component of your system could be damaged.
These are the most common reasons for causing no volume on laptop. You could have changed the sound setting on your laptop or the essential sound controller might not be functioning. The firmware can also be corrupt or there might be a conflict in the running processes (a deadlock) causing no sound on your laptop. The installed audio drivers on your laptop might be outdated or corrupt as well.
To start with, let's discuss some smart ways to fix sound not working on Lenovo/Dell/Acer laptops due to a media-related problem.
Firstly, check that the media file you are trying to play is not corrupted and that its format should be supported by the media player. If there is any compatibility issue, then consider playing the audio with any other application. Also, you can go to the options of the media player and check for its updates to fix your laptop's not playing sound.
The incomplete transfer or download of the media file could be another reason for no sound on the laptop for Windows 10/8/7. To fix this, you just need to download the media file or transfer it from its source again. Instead of playing it on your external drive, consider moving it to the internal storage of your system, and play it.
A lot of times, users encounter that their video files have missing or damaged sound components. If your videos are corrupted, then you can easily fix them using Wondershare Repairit Video Repair. A highly sophisticated application, it can fix all finds of playback issues related to video files. The desktop application is extremely easy to use, supports all the major video formats, and has one of the highest success rates in the industry.
You can load multiple videos to repair at the same time and even preview their results before saving them. Though, if your video is severely damaged, then you can perform its dedicated advanced repair as well. Here's how you can use Wondershare Repairit to fix no sound on your video error.
Step 1: Load the Video on the Application
Firstly, you can just launch the Wondershare Repairit application and drag-and-drop your corrupt videos to it. You can also click on the add button to load a browser window and search for these videos.
Step 2: Repair and Save Your Videos
After when the videos are loaded, the application will display its list with other details. You can delete any video from the list or add any other corrupt video here as well.
Once the repairing process is over, you can preview your videos on the interface. If you are satisfied, you can click on the "Save" button and export the repaired videos to the desired location.
Step 3: Perform An Optional Advanced Repair
In case if the standard scan is not able to meet your requirements, then you can perform an advanced video repair instead. For this, you are needed to add a sample video that must be shot on the same device and of the same format as the corrupt video.
Although advanced repair would take more time, it will also yield better results. In the end, you can preview the results and save your file to any secure location of your choice.
As you know, sometimes the no audio on a laptop can be resulted due to its speakers or any other hardware-related problem. Whenever there is no sound on my laptop's speaker, I do the following drill.
If there is no volume on the laptop's external speakers or headphones, then just disconnect them first. After that, restart your computer, connect them again, and check if it works. You can also consider removing all the other peripheral devices that you don't need presently.
If the headphone jack has dirt or debris in it, then it can also make your laptop not playing sound. For this, disconnect the headphones, and use a dry cloth or a pin to clean the jack. Also, on some laptops, there are different jacks for microphones and audio output (speakers). Make sure that you have connected the headphones to the output jack and not the microphone one.
It might be possible that the Lenovo or Dell laptop no sound error is caused by the speaker and not the firmware. To check this, you can disconnect your external speakers from your system and try connecting them to any other device. If the problem is with your system, then you can just go to its Bluetooth settings and reset the connection. If you own a Mac, then you can also go to its Debug options and reset all the Bluetooth device settings from here.
I figured that another reason for getting no sound on my laptop was the changed settings for the default speaker. If you have enabled some other speaker as default that you won't get sound on your laptop. To fix that, you can just go to your system's sound settings and check the default speaker. Ideally, the default speaker should be the internal speakers of your laptop. If not, you can just make the needed switch from here and check if there is still no sound coming from the laptop or not.
If you are using a Windows system and the sound is not coming from a laptop, then you can consider the following solutions.
The simplest solution to fix the laptop with no sound issue is performing a standard restart on your computer. All you got to do is click on the Start menu and choose to restart your system. This will reset its present power cycle and would automatically troubleshoot some minor issues. Once your system is restarted successfully, consider playing a sound on it again.
Before taking any drastic steps to fix no volume on the laptop, make sure that you check its volume mixer. You can get the option from its taskbar or its settings. From here, just make sure that the output of the speaker is not muted and that the volume level is audible.
When I have diagnosed the no sound on my laptop issue, I realized that the startup feature for the audio component was manual. Ideally, if you want to have running audio components in your system all the time, then it should be set to automatic. For this, you can go to your System's Windows Audio Properties via Settings or Control Panel and set the startup option as automatic.
Ideally, audio services are responsible for all the sound-related operations in Windows. If the services are not responded properly in Windows, then you can encounter sound problems on the laptop. For this, just launch the Run prompt and enter the "services.msc" command. As the Services window will open, select the audio services of your system, and choose to restart them.
This is another firmware-related issue that can cause sound not working on laptops. While the audio enhancement feature is meant to boost up the performance of your device, it can clash with other components. To fix the Asus laptop sound not working problem, go to its Speakers Properties and just disable all enhancements from here.
Another common reason for the laptop not playing sound could be corrupt or outdated audio drivers. Thankfully, this sound problem in the laptop can easily be fixed by visiting the Device Manager on your system. From here, expand the Sound, Video, and Game Controllers option, select the installed audio drivers, and choose to update them.
If the audio drivers have not been updated properly or a new update has been corrupted, then you might encounter no sound coming from the laptop. To fix this, you can go to the Device Manager, select the audio drivers, and visit their Properties by right-clicking them. To reset the drivers, you can disable them first, wait for a while, and enable them again. There is also an option here to roll back the drivers to their existing stable versions.
It might sound surprising, but you could have changed the output format (sample and bit rate) options of the speakers. In this case, your Windows system can encounter compatibility issues while playing any audio. To resolve this conflict, you can go to its Sound Settings > Speaker Properties > Advanced and select a suitable output format. If you want, you can restore the default settings for your speaker from here.
If you are running your system on an old or outdated Windows version, then you can also encounter tons of issues like no audio on the laptop. To fix the laptop with no sound due to this, I would recommend updating its firmware. Just go to the Windows Update settings on your laptop and check for the latest updates for the firmware.
The network and other local services on your Windows should be up and running in the background. If there is an issue with these services, then you can get no volume on the laptop. To resolve this, just launch Command Prompt on your system as an administrator and enter the following commands:
net localgroup Administrators /add networkservice
net localgroup Administrators /add localservice
Apart from the internal speakers, some Windows users complain that the sound stopped working on the laptop's connected speakers. In this case, you can go to the Device Manager on your Windows and expand the Network Adapters section. Now, just select the essential Bluetooth and WiFi drivers so that you can update them to the latest stable version.
Lastly, if nothing else fixes no sound on my laptop, then I perform the default troubleshoot on my Windows. To get this option, you can go to your Window's System Settings or Control Panel. Now, click on the "Troubleshoot Audio Playback" feature and follow a simple click-through wizard to fix the no volume on the laptop problem.
Besides Windows, you can also encounter a laptop with no sound issues with your Mac as well. In this case, I would recommend these five solutions to fix sound not working on a laptop for Mac.
In some cases, it has been seen that peripheral devices disrupt the usual functioning of Mac. Therefore, you can first remove all the peripheral devices and the wireless speakers from your Mac. Afterward, you can go to its Finder to restart your Mac and check if it fixes the laptop not playing sound issues.
There could be some change in the sound settings on your Mac, causing the no volume on the laptop issue. To resolve this, go to its Finder > System Preferences > Sounds. Now, make sure there are no unwanted sound effects implemented. You can also go to the "Output" tab to select the internal speakers of your Mac as default. From here, also make sure that the speakers are not muted and have enough volume on.
The Sound Controller is the core system component of Mac that is responsible for its audio services. If it has not been started appropriately, then you can have no sound on your laptop. To fix this, just go to its Finder > Applications > Utility and launch the Activity Monitor app. Now, look for the "CoreAudio" component and close it from here. After that, try playing any audio to restart its sound controller.
If your Mac has not been updated in a while and you are trying to run the latest media player on it, then it can cause some conflicts. To fix the laptop no sound issue related to this, just update your macOS version. Go to its Finder > System Preferences > Software Update and check for the latest macOS version that is available for upgrade. You can also get it from the App Store on your Mac by looking for the recent macOS update.
The Parameter Random Access Memory is the non-volatile memory in your Mac that stores vital device and boot details. If the PRAM has been corrupted, then you can encounter the no audio on the laptop problem. To resolve this, just restart or turn on your Mac and press the Command + Option + P + R keys simultaneously. You would have to hold these keys for a while until you hear the second chime on your Mac. This would indicate that its PRAM has been reset successfully.
Now when you know 24 different ways to fix the laptop with no sound issue, you must be able to fix this problem. If you don't want to encounter the sound not working on laptop problems ahead, then I would recommend these suggestions.
That's a wrap, everyone! After reading this in-depth troubleshooting guide for sound not working on a laptop, you would be able to fix this issue. As you can see, I have listed different ways to fix the no audio on laptop issues for both Mac and Windows. Furthermore, if you think there is a media-related issue (like no sound in your videos), then you can use a reliable application like Wondershare Repairit. I would recommend keeping the tool handy and use it immediately whenever you encounter a laptop with no sound issues for a quick fix!
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