HP E273m audio not working on HP400 Prodesk G6

[JDH0015]

Hi - until recently, my system was working perfectly well. But now, I can't get sound out of my HP E273m display. Is this something linked to Windows 11? 

I've checked, uninstalled, updated, rolled back drivers. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the device. I've updated all the software going. But this same thing keeps happening.  I went as far as a full reinstall of Windows 11. 

I have my E273m connected via a DisplayPort cable.  I've checked the cable and it is fine. I also have another monitor connected to my system using HDMI. This monitor has no audio functionality. 

I get sound coming out of the built in speakers in the Prodesk. I've done sound checks when connected to the E273m audio and to the Speakerphone audio that comes with the monitor. The sound levels move, but no sound is heard.

If I reboot, sometimes the E273m audio works. When the computer goes to sleep, it wakes up silent. Any changes to display configuration seem to upset the sound system .

Is anyone else experiencing this frustration? Does anyone know of a permanent fix to this? I don't understand how two HP products can't talk to each other nicely. 

By the way - the HP Support Assistant isn't very supportive. I've tried to update that to the latest version and it keeps crashing. 

[itsmyname]

@JDH0015 -- is Windows detecting that you have multiple audio-output devices:

• stereo mini-jack (rear? front? both?)
• optical output (for 5-channel feed into a 5-channel audio amplifier)
• stereo headphones jack
• HDMI cable (it carries audio & video) -- hopefully, the monitor has built-in speakers
• DisplayPort cable (it also carries audio & video) -- hopefully, the monitor has built-in speakers

?

Which audio-output device is "active" on your system?

[JDH0015]

The HP E273m monitor has built in speakers. 

The only output devices shown in volume control setting are that monitor, Realtek Audio speakers (the one inside the desktop unit) and Echo Cancelling Speakerphone, which is part of the E273m system. 

The HP E273m is the "active" device and is set as default. 

This is what happened today. 

I have the E273m connected to my desktop via the DisplayPort cable. The screen is on. I was playing music through the speakers in the monitor. 

Also connected to my desktop is an HDMI cable which goes into a splitter. I have a second monitor screen which I use on the desktop. The splitter also connects to a laptop that I use for certain tasks. 

I opened the laptop and switched the HDMI output from the desktop to the laptop so that I could extend the laptop screen. The desktop was still playing music. When I switched back to using the second monitor connected to the desktop, the sound stopped coming out of the speakers, but it is still showing a waveform in the volume settings. 

I've checked the monitor settings - audio is set to follow DisplayPort input. 

This is not a behaviour that I would expect. Why doesn't the sound just come back as it was before?

[itsmyname]

@JDH0015 -- I opened the laptop and switched the HDMI output from the desktop to the laptop so that I could extend the laptop screen. The desktop was still playing music.

That makes sense -- the audio-output continued to go through the DisplayPort cable to the E273m.

When I switched back to using the second monitor connected to the desktop, the sound stopped coming out of the speakers,

That makes sense. Windows noticed that it now had a connection to the HDMI monitor, through the HDMI cable, via the 1-to-2 HDMI-splitter. I presume that Windows added "video" and "audio" outputs, due to plug-and-play actions.

> but it is still showing a waveform in the volume settings. 

that makes sense. Your computer is still generating audio-output. [In contrast, when I disconnect external speakers from the audio-output from my iPhone, the iPhone stops playing the current track, and the "play/pause" graphic changes from the "II" to the "->" icon.]

I've checked the monitor settings - audio is set to follow DisplayPort input. 

If that is true, when why did the music stop on the E273m  ?

Did you mean "input" or "output" ?  Your issue is about having multiple available "output" streams.

This is not a behaviour that I would expect. Why doesn't the sound just come back as it was before?

I wonder what would happen if you powered-off the E273m, and then powered it on? Would plug-and-play actions within Windows "flip" the audio-output back to that device?

[JDH0015]

The E273m monitor has its own settings menu, so I set the audio input to the monitor to follow the video input to the monitor. To my mind, that means if the monitor is showing video from the DisplayPort, the audio should also be from the DisplayPort. 

Powering on and off the monitor by pulling out the plug does seem to "reset" the audio, but that's not the ideal solution, is it?

[itsmyname]

@JDH0015  --  The E273m monitor has its own settings menu, so I set the audio input to the monitor to follow the video input to the monitor. To my mind, that means if the monitor is showing video from the DisplayPort, the audio should also be from the DisplayPort. 

That makes sense, providing that Windows is sending audio-output through the DisplayPort cable, and has not diverted its audio-output to some other connected audio-output device, e.g., external speakers or to a headset.

Powering on and off the monitor by pulling out the plug does seem to "reset" the audio,

That makes sense. The "plug-and-play" within Windows detects that the E273m  is connected, and Windows reacts by routing the audio-output to the E273m.  Similarly, if you connect external speakers to your computer, Windows will react by routing audio-output to those speakers. 

Do you really need to disconnect the AC power cord from the E273m, or is using the ON/OFF button on the E273m sufficient enough to trigger Windows to use the device?

but that's not the ideal solution, is it?

For me, the ideal solution is for the power-on of the E273m to cause Windows to use the device -- why else would you connect the E273m, if you do not intend it to "automatically" become a video-output and audio-output device.

As they say, "your mileage may vary".