“No Audio Output Device Is Installed” means Windows can’t find anything to play sound through. The speaker icon usually shows a red X. Unlike a plain no sound Windows 11 or 10 fault, where the volume is muted or the wrong speaker is selected, here Windows doesn’t see your speakers at all.
That leaves four likely causes: the audio device is disabled, its driver is missing or broken, the Windows audio services have stopped, or the audio hardware has been switched off in the BIOS. Occasionally the PC’s only output was a monitor or dock that’s now disconnected.
The quickest way to narrow it down is Device Manager. If your audio device is missing, disabled or marked with a warning under Sound, video and game controllers, it’s a driver or device problem. If it looks healthy, check the output in Sound settings and the audio services.
Try these first
- Restart the PC; Restart starts the audio drivers fresh, while Shut down may not.
- In Settings > System > Sound > All sound devices, select your speakers and choose Allow if it’s offered.
- In Device Manager, show hidden devices, scan for hardware changes and enable any disabled audio device.
- Run the Audio troubleshooter from Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
- Unplug docks, monitors and USB or Bluetooth audio, restart, and check again.
- Install the audio driver from your laptop or PC maker’s support page for your model.
Which device is Windows trying to use?
Each kind of output depends on a different driver, so start with the one you expect to hear.
| Output | How it usually appears | Driver it depends on | Typical failure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in speakers and headphone jack | Under Sound, video and game controllers, often as Realtek(R) Audio or a similar codec name | The PC maker’s audio driver; on many recent Intel laptops also an Intel Smart Sound Technology driver | Missing after a clean install, reimage or driver update |
| Monitor or TV speakers over HDMI or DisplayPort | Entries such as Intel(R) Display Audio, NVIDIA High Definition Audio or AMD High Definition Audio Device | The graphics driver | Disappears when the monitor is off, asleep or unplugged |
| USB headset, USB speakers or dock audio | Its own named device, appearing when connected | Windows’ built-in USB audio support | Gone when unplugged or undocked |
| Bluetooth headset or speaker | Listed under Bluetooth and as an audio endpoint | The Bluetooth driver | Gone when disconnected or out of range |
To pick a device that’s present, select the taskbar speaker icon, then the arrow next to the volume slider. You can also set it under Settings > System > Sound > Output (on Windows 10, Choose your output device on the same page). If audio only goes missing with a dock or external monitor, see second monitor not detected; for Bluetooth outputs, see Bluetooth not working.
This page is about sound you can’t hear. If playback works but people can’t hear your microphone, use our headset and microphone troubleshooting guide instead.
Read what Device Manager shows
Right-click Start and open Device Manager. Select View > Show hidden devices, then expand Sound, video and game controllers, Audio inputs and outputs, System devices and, if present, Other devices.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Audio device with a down-arrow icon | It’s disabled | Right-click and choose Enable device |
| Audio device with a yellow warning | The driver failed to load | Note the code on the General tab; reinstall the driver |
| Multimedia Audio Controller or another unknown device under Other devices, or an Intel Smart Sound Technology entry with a warning under System devices | A driver is missing; on recent Intel laptops it’s often the Intel audio driver the speaker driver depends on | Install the PC maker’s chipset, Serial IO and Intel Smart Sound Technology drivers, then the audio driver |
| Only display audio entries (Intel, NVIDIA or AMD); no speakers | Built-in audio driver missing, or audio disabled in BIOS | Driver section, then the BIOS section |
| No audio hardware listed at all, even with hidden devices shown | Disabled in BIOS or UEFI, or a hardware fault | BIOS section |
| Everything looks healthy | Output switched off in Sound settings, a stopped audio service, or the wrong default output | Sound settings below, then the services section |
Your sound hardware can look healthy in Device Manager while its speaker output is switched off. In Settings > System > Sound > All sound devices (under Advanced), select your speakers and choose Allow if it’s offered. Or in More sound settings (Windows 10: Sound Control Panel), right-click an empty area of the Playback tab, tick Show Disabled Devices, then right-click your speakers and choose Enable.
To see which driver an unknown or failed entry needs, open its Properties > Details tab and select Hardware Ids. VEN_8086 is Intel, VEN_10EC Realtek, VEN_1022 or VEN_1002 AMD, and VEN_10DE NVIDIA; match that to your PC maker’s driver page rather than searching driver-download sites.
If Action > Scan for hardware changes and a restart change nothing, run the audio troubleshooter (see the quick checks above). On Windows 10 it’s under Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooters > Playing Audio.
Device listed but still no sound
If your speakers now appear under Output but you still hear nothing, a setting is muting or blocking playback.
| Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|
| The app is muted or turned down | Settings > System > Sound > Volume mixer: raise that app’s slider |
| Sound is going to headphones or a Bluetooth device | Unplug headphones (most laptops mute the speakers while the jack is in use), disconnect Bluetooth audio, then pick the speakers from the taskbar speaker icon |
| An audio enhancement is breaking playback | Select the speakers under Output and set Audio enhancements to Off |
| The device rejects the audio format | More sound settings > Playback > your speakers > Properties > Advanced: try another Default Format |
On Windows 10, enhancements are on the Enhancements tab of the speakers’ Properties window: check Disable all enhancements (or Disable all sound effects).
Restart the Windows audio services
Even with a perfect driver, Windows plays nothing if its audio services aren’t running. When Device Manager looks normal, this is often the whole fix.
- Press Windows key + R, type
services.mscand press Enter. - Double-click Windows Audio Endpoint Builder. If Startup type isn’t Automatic, set it to Automatic and select Apply; a Disabled service can’t be started until you do. Do the same for Windows Audio.
- Right-click Windows Audio Endpoint Builder and choose Restart (or Start if it’s stopped). If Windows asks to restart Windows Audio too, choose Yes.
- Check that Windows Audio shows as Running. If not, right-click it and choose Start; starting Endpoint Builder doesn’t start it for you.
- Confirm Remote Procedure Call (RPC) shows as Running; Windows Audio depends on it.
If a service was set to Disabled, something changed it. “PC optimizer” and debloat tools sometimes switch off audio services, so remove the tool or it will happen again.
If the services won’t start at all, Windows system files may be damaged. Open Terminal as administrator, run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth first, then sfc /scannow, and restart. DISM repairs the store SFC copies its fixes from, which is why it goes first.
Rather have a technician sort it out?
If Windows can’t find any audio device, a technician can connect remotely with your permission, track down the missing driver or stopped service and work on getting your sound back while you watch. A GoProIT technician can connect remotely, with your permission, and fix it while you watch. $59 per fix, Mon–Fri 8am–8pm ET.
Reinstall the right driver: Realtek, Intel Smart Sound or generic
On many recent Intel laptops, sound passes through an Intel audio processor, shown in Device Manager as Intel Smart Sound Technology entries, before it reaches the Realtek-style codec. The PC maker ships the Intel driver and the codec driver as a matched pair. If the Intel driver is missing or mismatched, the codec driver has nothing to attach to, and Windows reports no output device. That’s why a Realtek audio driver missing from Device Manager is often really an Intel driver problem.
Install the maker’s drivers
- Find your exact model or serial number (Dell calls it the Service Tag) and open its driver page on the PC maker’s support site. Their update tools can find the right drivers for you: Dell SupportAssist, HP Support Assistant, Lenovo Vantage or MyASUS System Update. Surface drivers come through Windows Update.
- Download the audio driver. If the page also lists an Intel Smart Sound Technology, Serial IO or chipset driver, download those too.
- Install them in the order the support page or readme gives. If there’s no order, install the chipset and Intel drivers before the audio driver.
- Restart, even if the installer doesn’t ask.
Avoid chip makers’ generic downloads and driver-updater tools for built-in laptop audio; a mismatched version is a common reason this error appears in the first place.
Reinstall or roll back what’s there
Download the maker’s audio driver before you start. In Device Manager, right-click the audio device, choose Uninstall device, check Attempt to remove the driver for this device (on Windows 10, Delete the driver software for this device), and restart. That box removes the installed driver, so if sound is still missing after the restart, install the driver you saved earlier.
If sound vanished after an update, open the device’s Properties > Driver tab and use Roll Back Driver instead.
Generic driver as a test
On PCs with a standard HD Audio codec, you can test Windows’ own driver: right-click the device, choose Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer, and select High Definition Audio Device. If sound returns, the maker’s driver was the problem. Expect to lose the maker’s speaker tuning, and reinstall the right driver when you can.
Check the BIOS and test audio outside Windows
If no audio hardware appears in Device Manager at all, check it isn’t switched off in firmware, and run the maker’s pre-boot test to see whether the hardware responds.
Firmware changes can make Windows ask for the BitLocker recovery key at the next start, so locate it before you change any BIOS or UEFI setting; our BitLocker recovery key guide lists the usual places it’s stored. On a company-managed PC, audio may be switched off on purpose by IT policy, so check with whoever manages your PCs before turning it back on.
- Dell: Dell advises checking that built-in speakers are enabled in BIOS or UEFI setup. To test, press F12 at startup for the One Time Boot Menu, then choose Diagnostics; Dell says that check includes audio components. In Windows, SupportAssist has a sound test.
- Microsoft Surface business models: the UEFI Devices page has an On-board Audio switch. To open UEFI, shut the Surface down, then press and hold Volume Up, press and release Power, and keep holding Volume Up until the UEFI screen appears.
- ASUS: ASUS’s speaker guidance starts by restoring BIOS defaults, which resets every BIOS option, not just audio, so note any settings you or your IT provider changed first. For BIOS setup, with the laptop off, press and hold F2, then press the power button.
- HP: press Esc repeatedly at power-on, then F2, to open HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI and test hardware outside Windows.
In an office: updates, reimaging and docks
Sound dropping out on several PCs at once usually traces back to one shared change: a driver delivered through Windows Update, a new image, or new docks. Roll back the driver on one PC to confirm, then hold it back, because Windows Update may offer it again.
If your PCs are in Intune and licensed for driver updates, a driver update policy with manual approval lets you pause or decline that driver. Without Intune, the Group Policy setting Do not include drivers with Windows Updates (Windows 11: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Manage updates offered from Windows Update) keeps drivers out of Windows Update; security updates still install. Turn it off once a fixed driver is out.
Freshly reimaged or clean-installed laptops are a common source of this error in small offices. A plain Windows install often lacks the Intel audio driver described above. Install the PC maker’s full driver set for each model, not just what Windows Update finds, before handing the laptop to a user.
Docks are another common cause. When a user docks, Windows may switch the default output to the dock or monitor, and when they undock, to whatever is left. Show people how to pick the output from the speaker icon. Our Business Support Plan includes unlimited remote help desk tickets for each user on the plan, though not hardware repairs or parts, so problems like these can go straight to the help desk.
When it’s the hardware
Suspect the hardware once audio is enabled in the BIOS, the maker’s full driver set is installed, Device Manager still lists no audio device with hidden devices shown, and the maker’s pre-boot diagnostics fail on audio. Liquid damage near the speakers or keyboard is another strong sign.
If only one part fails, the pattern helps: speakers silent but headphones fine points to the speakers or their connector; one jack dead while Bluetooth and USB audio work points to the jack.
A USB headset or USB speakers make a good stopgap: they have their own sound chip, so they work even when the internal audio driver is broken. If they also fail, the problem is in Windows rather than the hardware.
If the hardware checks out and you’d rather hand off the drivers and services, this is a typical $59 fix, and a technician can take it on through our remote support service.
Common questions
What does No Audio Output Device Is Installed mean?
It means Windows can’t find any device to send sound to. That’s different from muted or quiet audio: the speakers aren’t available at all. The usual causes are a disabled audio device, a missing or broken audio driver, stopped Windows audio services, audio switched off in the BIOS, or a disconnected monitor or dock that was the only output.
Why did my sound stop working after a Windows update?
An update can replace the audio driver with a version that doesn’t suit your PC, or update the Intel audio driver that the speaker driver depends on. In Device Manager, open your audio device’s Properties, go to the Driver tab and choose Roll Back Driver if it’s available. Then install the matching drivers from your PC maker’s support page.
Should I download the Realtek driver from Realtek’s website?
For a laptop or brand-name desktop, use the PC maker’s support page instead. Manufacturers customize the audio driver for their speakers, jacks and microphones, and on many recent Intel laptops it must match a separate Intel Smart Sound Technology driver. A generic version can leave you with no output device at all.
Why does my audio disappear when I unplug my monitor or dock?
Windows was probably sending sound to the monitor’s HDMI or DisplayPort audio, or to the dock. When that device disappears, Windows switches to whatever is left. If the built-in audio driver is also missing, nothing is left, and you get the no output device message. Fix the built-in driver, then choose your speakers from the taskbar speaker icon.
What’s the difference between No Audio Output Device Is Installed and No speakers or headphones are plugged in?
No Audio Output Device Is Installed means Windows has no working output at all, usually because of a disabled device, a missing driver or stopped services. No speakers or headphones are plugged in means the driver is loaded but the jack reports nothing connected. On a desktop, plug the speakers into the green output jack, trying the rear jacks first. On a laptop, it often points to a missing or mismatched audio driver, so reinstall the PC maker’s driver.
Why does the error come back every time I turn the PC on?
Usually something keeps undoing the fix. A PC optimizer may be setting the audio services back to Disabled, or Windows Update may be reinstalling the same unsuitable driver. Fast Startup can play a part too, because Shut down saves the running drivers and brings them back at power-on. To test, turn Fast Startup off in Control Panel’s Power Options, under Choose what the power buttons do.