How to update audio drivers

Why is there no sound coming out? Why no sound from speakers but headphones work fine? Why do I get the “Realtek audio driver not working” alert? Why does my laptop not recognize the external audio interface connection?

These and other similar issues emerge from time to time, and then we start googling how to enable audio drivers, how to restore sound drivers, how to update them, and so on. Sound is vital for everything - music, videos, gaming, face timing, recording - so let’s go through various scenarios and ways to update audio drivers.

Watch the video version of this guide, or continue reading below.

Where to find my audio drivers

OK, so the most frequent advice and the most casual effortless way when it comes to fixing issues with audio is Windows Update. Check for updates - download and install - all or by looking up the required ones manually… you know the procedure. Similar with macOS: System preferences (or About this Mac on older versions) - Software Update - update. 

The problem, especially with Windows OS, is that those updates are usually bulky and consume up to an hour to complete - that’s one, and two - system updates may not necessarily include audio driver updates, so that’s a bummer. Instead, we’ll look into specific options to fix specific issues quickly. 

And often users facing problems with audio on their computer or laptops are like: “Audio drivers? Wait, what’s that? Do I have it on my laptop? Where do I find it?”... So yeah, you have to know what drivers you do have to be able to fix or update them.

This is quite easy, actually. For example, on Windows devices you spot this little sound speaker icon in the bottom tray, right-click on it, and then select Playback devices or Recording devices. You’ll see active speakers or a microphone, right-click it too and go to Properties. See controller information - the title and brand of your audio device, and then click the Properties button next to it.

User options are available here too: update, roll back, disable, uninstall… and the first one of them is Driver Details - to view data about all the driver files. This might be exactly what you are looking for: files with DLL or EXE extensions. In the Details tab we can view technical properties and their values for that specific installed driver, although this is rather for advanced users or computer servicemen.

The other way to get to the same driver info is via Device Manager (launch it through the Start button) where all the hardware is listed: battery, keyboard, monitor, ports, etc. Go to Sound, video and game controllers, open it up, right-click your audio device and hit Properties to get to the same window described previously.   

Check the audio first  

What’s next? Before you rush to update or fix drivers, you can check if the audio is set properly. It is possible that some audio channel is muted or its level brought down by mistake or something.

So check the speaker output, check that your speakers or headphones are set as a default playback device, go to device properties to see the levels, the balance, the sample rate, or you can also test the sound here - if this jingle plays in your both left and right channel (as it should), it means your system audio is ok, and the issue is with the file you’re trying to play or the media player. 

Similarly, if you’re having trouble with a microphone, say while speaking on Skype, go to Recording devices and check all the tabs and data there. In its properties you’ll see whether a device is working properly or not.

Also check volume controls - go to “Open volume mixer”. It shows all active applications that have sound or notifications, and some may be muted or volume dropped to zero. (In Win 10 open Start - Settings - System - Sound, and check both the input and output devices).

One more option is Audio troubleshooter. Go to search, type in “audio” and select “Find and fix audio playback problems”. Run it and see if it detects any issues, if it doesn’t - good. Run the next similar helper for recording issues, if necessary. In case with a Realtek audio device, like I have, there’s also the Realtek manager menu (it can be invisible in the taskbar, click “Show hidden icons” tiny triangle to check). Review all the basic configurations to make sure it is all set properly. 

This is obvious, but check your speaker and headphone connections for loose or unplugged cables: line in/out, mic, USB. Make sure that headphones and speakers are not both plugged in at the same time. Reset the connection of Bluetooth speakers. And last, but not least, the ultimate move - restart your laptop.     

Update audio drivers

In case you have no time for a bulky Windows update and want to update a single exact audio device only, here’s what you do.

Start by typing “Device Manager” into the taskbar, find the section with sound controllers and find your audio device. Right-click it, check its properties once again just in case, then choose the Update driver software option.

It has two scenarios: search automatically and browse on my computer. Proceed accordingly. With the first option Windows will automatically search the internet and your computer for the latest drivers, and it may take some time - let it run its course. 

Another way to fix sound issues, say your driver is up to date but the sound is faulty, is to reinstall the driver manually. It can be done from the same Device Manager and same sound device right-click menu, where you would select Uninstall. Then you’d restart your laptop or PC and Windows would reinstall the driver automatically.

You may also check the Network adapters section for WiFi or Bluetooth files, and perform the same automatic-driver-update procedure - to make sure everything is in order.

If you’d like to download and install the driver by yourself - and this is also one of the ways to update drivers - you’ll need to know or find out the brand of your sound/graphics card and the exact model/number/ID of the driver.

Then visit its manufacturer website… as a rule, all hardware manufacturers such as Realtek, Intel or HP, have the support page or the download page. For example, let me check Realtek drivers: here’s the Intel page with audio driver for Win 10 for some specific Intel products, and here’s the Realtek page with drivers for Linux and Windows. 

Fix audio issues on Mac

What about macOS users? If you experience no sound or other audio troubles on Mac, I’d recommend the following solutions. Start with updating your Mac: go to Finder - System Preferences - Software Update, see if the upgrade is available. It is the same general option as with Windows Update. 

Sometimes peripheral devices may interfere with normal work of Mac, for example wireless speakers - so it could be helpful to remove any connected devices and restarting. 

You may also check the sound settings: Finder - System Preferences - Sounds. Make sure there are no unwanted changes in the Sound effects tab, and in the Output tab to select the internal speakers as default. Check that the speakers are not muted and have enough output volume. 

Another solution is restarting the sound controller - the key Mac system component responsible for audio. Sometimes it could not start properly, and to fix this, go to Finder - Applications - Utility, launch the Activity Monitor app. Find the CoreAudio component in processes and close it, and then play any audio so the sound controller will be restarted automatically.

Finally, if nothing helps, try resetting Mac’s PRAM - Parameter Random Access Memory. When turning on or restarting your Mac, press these 4 keys at the same time: , and hold them until you hear the second sound signal.

Driver updater software

In our day and age we have plenty of solutions and ways to solve technological and computer-related issues. If you don’t want to spend time on fixing audio drivers on your own, or you experience issues with other drivers frequently as well, you may just buy a driver updater application and have it running all the time and thus take care of any driver issue. 

There are plenty of those on the market. Install it and scan for driver updates. In Settings can configure the app to automatically check and download updates every day, week or month, and this is a typical feature for any driver updater.

Summary

Hopefully you got your sound back and working, now how to make sure the sound stays sound (pun intended)? 

1. Try not to introduce changes in the audio settings that can overwrite default configurations
2. Set the properly working output audio device as a default device
3. Make sure your audio files and audio/media players are not corrupt
4. Remove unnecessary extensions in your web browser, look at your YouTube sound settings and disconnect unused apps (settings - connected apps)
5. Do not restart or turn off laptop/computer while an audio/video file is playing
6. Keep your operating system up to date, consider using a driver software or PC health/optimizer app of choice
7. When using Bluetooth speakers or any other peripheral audio device, make sure to connect it properly and disconnect it securely