How to resolve when earphones are not heard or recognized on Windows PC

If you cannot hear sound from the earphones when watching music/videos or making video calls on a Windows PC, the following may be the cause:

• Earphones are not connected properly
• Earphone failure
• Volume setting is muted or 0
• Problem with sound driver
• In the case of video calls, etc., the cause may be the other party's microphone settings.

This article explains how to resolve the issue when you cannot hear sound from earphones or headphones due to the reasons listed above.

What to do if you can't hear or hear sound even when you plug in earphones to your Windows PC

If you can't hear any sound even when you plug in earphones to your Windows PC, check the following points and the problem may be resolved.

• Try restarting your PC
• Check if the earphones are connected properly
• Check if the earphones are disconnected
• Check volume settings, including in applications and websites
• Check the volume mixer

If you can't hear sound even when you plug in your earphones, there are cases where the cause is the earphones and cases where the cause is your PC settings.

If you find yourself saying, ``I can't hear any sound from my earphones even if I turn up the volume on my PC,'' you can solve the problem by checking these causes one by one.

Try restarting your PC

If you can't hear or hear any sound when you plug in your earphones to your Windows PC, restarting your PC may resolve the issue.

Restarting your PC is a quick and effective thing to do when something goes wrong with your PC.
Even in cases where there is no sound or the notification sound is repeatedly playing, restarting the device may fix the problem.
If you've been hearing sound before, but now you can't hear it anymore, you may want to try restarting your computer.

Check if the earphones are connected properly

If you can't hear or hear sound when you plug in your earphones to your Windows PC, check the connection of your earphones.
If there is no sound, it may be because the earphones are not firmly connected to the PC.

If the earphones you are using are wired, try reconnecting the cord to your PC.

If you have wireless earphones such as Bluetooth, you may want to check that the earphones themselves are turned on. It's possible that the battery in your earphones has run out, so please charge it and then try connecting it again.

Check if the earphones are disconnected

If your earphones are firmly connected to your PC but still don't make any sound or are not recognized, please check if the earphone cord is disconnected.

If wired earphones are disconnected due to physical impact, you may not be able to hear the sound.
Symptoms when earphones are disconnected are:

• I can't hear the sound
• I can hear the sound, but it cuts out.

Something like that.

If the earphones are connected securely but the sound only comes from one ear, you should suspect that the earphones are disconnected or malfunctioning.

Check volume settings, including in applications and websites

If you can't hear any sound when you connect your earphones to your Windows PC, checking the volume of applications and websites may solve the problem.

If the volume can be set within an application separately from the PC's volume setting, there may be cases where only that application is muted.

The same goes for websites, such as Google Chrome, where you can set mute for each tab.
If you are using Google Chrome, you can unmute the site by right-clicking the tab and selecting "Unmute site."

Also, you may find that even if you turn up the volume on your PC, there is no sound, but the YouTube volume setting is muted/the volume is too low!
In the case of YouTube, there is a volume adjustment button within the video screen, so move your mouse to display the button and adjust the volume.

Check the volume mixer

If you cannot hear any sound even when you connect earphones to a Windows PC, you may be able to find the cause by checking the "Volume Mixer".

"Volume mixer" is a function that allows you to manage the volume for each application.
The normal volume control function allows you to raise or lower the volume on your PC all at once, but with the volume mixer, you can set settings such as ``lower the system sound'' or ``louder the email notification sound so that you can hear it better''. It is.

Although this is a convenient feature, there is a possibility that the sound cannot be heard due to the settings of this volume mixer, so let's check it by following the steps below.

[How to check the volume mixer]

1. Right-click the speaker icon on the right side of the taskbar.
2. Select "Volume Mixer".
3. When the volume mixer appears, set the volume for the appropriate application.

If you check the volume mixer, you may find that the volume is unintentionally set low or muted.
In that case, move the volume mixer slider to change the settings.

Things to check if you can't hear anything even if you plug in earphones to your Windows 10 PC

If you cannot hear anything even when you plug in earphones to your Windows 10 PC, please check the following.

• Check your Windows 10 sound settings
• Reinstall the Windows 10 sound driver

This article explains what to check if you are using Windows 10 and cannot hear sound even when you plug in earphones.
If the earphones are not the cause, reviewing your PC settings or checking your drivers may resolve the issue.

Check your Windows 10 sound settings

If you can't hear any sound when you plug in earphones to your Windows 10 PC, reviewing your sound settings may resolve the issue.

[Windows 10 sound setting procedure]

1. Select "Start (Windows mark)".
2. Select "Settings (gear mark)".
3. Select "System".
4. Select "Sound".
5. Select "Sound Control Panel" in "Related Settings".
6. Right-click the earphone in question and select "Set as default device."

In an actual case, the user had previously changed the default device but forgot to change it back.
So changing the sound settings again solved the problem.

Reinstall the Windows 10 sound driver

If you can't hear any sound when you plug in your earphones to your Windows 10 PC, reinstalling the sound driver may resolve the issue.

A sound driver is a driver required to produce sound.
If there is a problem with this sound driver, you may not be able to hear the sound.
Once you remove the sound driver, it will be automatically reinstalled when you restart your PC. The specific steps are as follows.

[How to reinstall the sound driver]

1. Right-click on "Start (Windows mark)".
2. Select "Device Manager".
3. Right-click the appropriate device manager.
4. Select "Delete".
5. Select OK.
6. Restart your PC after the deletion is complete.
7. After rebooting, the sound driver will be automatically reinstalled.

Once the sound driver has been reinstalled, check if you can hear the sound again.

Things to check if you can't hear anything even if you plug in earphones to your Windows 11 PC

If you cannot hear anything even when you plug in earphones to your Windows 11 PC, please check the following.

• Check your Windows 11 sound settings
• Reinstall the Windows 11 sound driver

This article explains what to check if you are using Windows 11 and cannot hear sound even when you plug in earphones.
Most of the steps are the same as Windows 10, but some menu displays may be different, so they are listed here.

Check your Windows 11 sound settings

If you can't hear any sound when you plug in earphones to your Windows 11 PC, reviewing your sound settings may resolve the issue.

[Windows 11 sound settings procedure]

1. Select "Start (Windows mark)".
2. Select "Settings (gear mark)".
3. Select "System".
4. Select "Sound".
5. Select "Advanced Sound Settings".
6. Right-click the earphone in question and select "Set as default device."

Reinstall the Windows 11 sound driver

If you can't hear any sound when you plug in your earphones to your Windows 11 PC, reinstalling the sound driver may resolve the issue.

[How to reinstall the sound driver]

1. Right-click on "Start (Windows mark)".
2. Select "Device Manager".
3. Select and expand the "Sound, video, and game controllers" column.
4. Right-click the appropriate device.
5. Select "Uninstall Device".
6. Select "Uninstall".
7. Restart your PC.
8. After rebooting, the sound driver will be automatically reinstalled.

Once the sound driver is automatically reinstalled, check to see if you can hear the sound.

What to do if your PC suddenly stops making sound

If your PC suddenly stops producing sound, try the following solutions.

We have provided solutions in the previous sections, but if you experience the following symptoms, please check the following.

• If there is no sound from the earphones but there is sound from the speakers
• If the sound comes from the speaker even when you plug in your earphones

The following section explains the solution in detail.

If there is no sound from the earphones but there is sound from the speakers

If there is no sound from the earphones, but there is sound from the speakers, there may be a problem with the earphones.
Check again that the connection is made properly and that there are no breaks in the earphones.
There may also be a problem with the device driver, so you may want to reinstall it.

→Reinstall the Windows 10 sound driver

If the sound comes from the speaker even when you plug in your earphones

If the sound still comes from the speakers even when you plug in your earphones, changing the settings may solve the problem.

[How to change the sound device]

1. Select the speaker icon on the taskbar.
2. If the displayed device is a speaker, select the mark like "^" displayed on the right.
3. Select your earphones.

If there is no sound from your computer but it comes out when you plug in your earphones

If your computer doesn't make any sound, but you can hear it when you plug in your earphones, check if your speakers are set as the default device.

→Check your Windows 10 sound settings

No sound can be heard from the speakers even if the connection method between the speakers and the computer is incorrect.
Also, your monitor may not have speakers, so you will need to connect earphones or speakers separately.
In addition, monitors with speakers may have a volume control button on the monitor itself. Please be aware that there may be cases where you think you can't hear the sound no matter how much you turn up the volume on your PC system, only to find out that the volume on the monitor itself is 0.

If there are no problems after checking the settings and monitor, there may be a problem with the speakers, sound card, etc.

What to do if you can't hear the sound from your earphones during a video call such as ZOOM

If you cannot hear the other party's voice through the earphones when making a video call such as ZOOM, please check the following items.

• First, check your volume and earphone settings.
• Check the other party's microphone settings

In a phone call, sometimes the problem lies with you, and sometimes with the other party.
First, check your settings and earphones, and if there seems to be no problem, ask the other party to check their microphone settings, etc.

First, check your volume and earphone settings.

If you can't hear sound from your earphones during a video call such as ZOOM, first check your PC volume.
Also, try implementing the solutions you have in mind from the above sections to see if you can resolve the problem of not hearing sound.

Check the other party's microphone settings

If you can't hear the sound on a video call and there seems to be no problem with your settings or earphones, the other party's microphone settings may be incorrect.

The settings related to "default device" explained in the section below also relate to microphone settings. Go to the "Recording" tab in your sound settings and make sure your microphone is set as the "Default Device" or "Default Communication Device."

→Check your Windows 10 sound settings

Calling apps such as ZOOM also have a microphone test function, so I think it's a good idea to have them test whether the microphone is responding after changing settings.

Summary of solutions when earphones are not heard or recognized on Windows PC

This time, we explained how to solve the problem when you can't hear or recognize earphones on a Windows PC.

If you cannot hear sound from the earphones connected to your PC, there is usually a problem with the earphones themselves being disconnected, malfunctioning, or insufficiently charged, or there is a problem with the settings of the PC or application.

If there is no problem with the earphones or headphones, some people may find it difficult to check the settings on the PC side, but if you investigate the cause one by one, there is a high possibility that the problem can be resolved.
First, try restarting your PC, which can be done easily, and patiently search for the problem.