Victus Audio Crackling Issue

[Priyanshu_]

I have victus 15-fa1xxx. I am continuously facing Audio Crackling issue on my laptop. It happens in speakers,wired headset, bluetooth headphones too. So i thought it must be a driver issue. I want to find perfect driver for my laptop . I visited HP site, it recognised my device . I have windows 11 25H2 OS , which is not in the list. How can I do a clean driver installation? I tried 24H2 drivers but the crackling issue persisted. What to do?

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @Priyanshu_ 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

I understand the concern. Since the audio crackling occurs through the built-in speakers, wired headphones, and Bluetooth headphones, this points beyond a simple speaker issue and suggests that the audio processing path, driver stack, power management, or Windows audio components may be involved.

For the Victus 15-fa1000 series, HP may not yet list Windows 11 25H2 separately. In that situation, the Windows 11 drivers provided for the platform are generally the correct HP-supported drivers to use because they are designed for the hardware ID of the notebook rather than a specific Windows feature update.

To perform a clean HP audio driver installation, please try the following:

1. Disconnect all audio devices.
2. Open Device Manager.
3. Expand:
   • Sound, video and game controllers
   • Audio inputs and outputs
4. Right-click the following audio devices and select Uninstall device:
   • Realtek Audio
   • Intel Smart Sound Technology (if present)
   • Any HP audio-related audio processing component
5. When prompted, check "Attempt to remove the driver for this device".
6. Restart the notebook.

After the restart:

1. Open HP Support Assistant.
2. Check for all available updates, including:
   • BIOS
   • Intel Chipset
   • Intel Serial IO
   • Intel Management Engine
   • Intel Smart Sound Technology
   • Realtek Audio Driver
3. Install the updates in that order and restart when prompted.

Because crackling is present on Bluetooth devices as well, please also verify the BIOS version:

1. Press F1 repeatedly at startup or open HP Support Assistant.
2. Check the installed BIOS version.
3. Compare it with the latest BIOS available for your exact Victus 15-fa1xxx configuration on the HP support page.
4. If a newer BIOS is available, install it and restart the system.

Next, disable audio enhancements:

1. Settings → System → Sound.
2. Select the active playback device.
3. Under Audio Enhancements, choose Off.
4. Also disable Spatial Audio if enabled.
5. Test audio playback again.

Additionally, perform an HP Hardware Diagnostic test:

1. Turn off the notebook.
2. Turn it on and repeatedly tap F2.
3. Open HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI.
4. Run:
   • Audio Test
   • System Board Test

If both tests pass and the crackling remains across speakers, wired audio, and Bluetooth, please share:

• Exact Realtek Audio driver version currently installed
• Intel Smart Sound Technology driver version
• Current BIOS version
• Whether the issue occurs during:
  • YouTube/video streaming
  • Games
  • Music playback
  • Microsoft Teams or voice calls
• Whether the crackling starts immediately after boot or only after the system has been running for some time

Those details will help determine whether this is being caused by the audio driver stack, Intel SST, power management, or another software component within Windows 11 25H2.

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye