Terrible Audio Quality After Updates

[ronaldolopez20]

So, I purchased this computer today, 12/23/20. It's an HP Pavilion All-in-One.

Out of the box, the computer performed flawlessly. I went ahead and let Windows Update do its thing and in the meantime, I watched a few videos on YouTube just to test out the computer's built-in speakers. The audio quality was fantastic. I stayed on the Windows Update screen to see the updates download and install then restarted the computer once all the available updates were finished. 

Upon restarting the computer, I launched the Netflix app and that is when I noticed the audio quality was different. Hopped over to YouTube and same result. It appears that after updating, the audio quality dropped considerably and is now extremely muffled. It's akin to audio coming from a pair of headphones that is away from you, just that in this instance it is coming from the speakers. I did notice an update related to audio, but I cannot find it in the 'finished updates' section. Raising the volume just makes the muffled sounds worse and filled with artifacts. The poor audio quality does not occur when using headphones or an external speaker. 

I do have a PlayStation 4 connected to the computer via HDMI and when switching to that output, the audio works perfectly, Although interestingly enough, it appears the two audio channels in the HDMI output are flipped, but I suppose I can live with this. In short, the poor audio quality for the PC output may be tied to a driver and not the speakers themselves. I appreciate the help, thanks! 

[The_Fossette]

@ronaldolopez20

I reviewed your post and I understand that the audio quality dropped after installing Windows updates.

Don’t worry, I assure you I will try my best to get this sorted.

I recommend you run the audio troubleshooter and it will automatically find and fix the audio issues.

Here is how it is done.

  - Launch Troubleshooting by typing and clicking “Troubleshooting” in Windows search.

  - Click on "Playing Audio".

  - Follow the on-screen instructions.

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

P.S: Welcome to the HP Support Community 😊

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

Stay Home – Stay Safe

[Lisa019]

None of the trouble shooting works nor audio tests and fixes - I have used everything.  Brand new yesterday.  Windows updates last night.  Stick headphones in and it works.  With no headphones, muffled sound.  All I hear is a squeek.

[ronaldolopez20]

So, I think I found a solution. As you said, troubleshooting did not offer any solutions for me. But, I knew the updates may have caused the issue, so I decided to uninstall all updates I installed on day one and reinstalled them. I also installed several optional updates related to Realtek audio. Restarted the computer, and boom. The audio was back to normal. If you couldn't find any other solutions, this one might help you. 

[Doogz]

I have the same issue on an almost identical all-in-one bought a week ago. The internal speaker switch seems to have stuck on HDMI input, as anything I connect to HDMI works perfectly, with decent sound from the internal speakers. I have to use an external speaker to operate the Win 10 on the Pavilion. Not good, and needs a fix

[Doogz]

I have the same issue with the same PC. Please fix this, as the recent updates obviously caused the problem for us all.

[CSILK1127]

I had the same issue.. go into sound settings, then sound control panel, then click on speaker, then advanced settings and uncheck enable audio enhancements

[Lisa019]

THIS HAS WORKED!!! THANK YOU 

Why o why does the HP Virtual Assistant not have this solution, instead, only a really technical one, about BIOS etc. which is just not fair.  Simple solution.  Hopefully someone from HP monitors this forum and might want to think about how to resolve basic customer pain points, with straight forward painless solutions, in the virtual assistant which as a chat bot, is supposed to help.