Audio not through headphones

[TardisChild]

This issue has been going on for weeks now. Laptop will recognize that headphones are jacked in, show that audio is playing through headphones, but audio only comes out of speakers. Restart or full shutdown does not fix. Headphones are fine as they work on all other devices.

System settings> Sound/ Output- shows Headphones [Realtek (R) Audio]

Device Manager> Audio inputs and outputs confirms all drivers are up-to-date

HP Support Assistant > Fixes and Diagnostics> Audio Check/ Audio Diagnosis comes back with no issues. 'Test Audio' after the diagnosis DOES play through the headphones, but immediately switching to a video tab (netflix, youtube) results in audio only coming from speakers.

Changing the system settings for Spatial Sound has no effect.

I don't want to wake my kid who is recovering from surgery. How can I get the audio to actually come through the headphones???

[Garp_senchau]

@TardisChild, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

Check Audio Playback Settings (Advanced Options)

Sometimes, Windows automatically routes audio to the default device, but the headphone jack might not always be recognized correctly. Let's make sure it's set to the headphones specifically.

Right-click the Speaker Icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner).

Select Open Sound Settings.

Scroll down and click on Advanced Sound Options.

Under App Volume and Device Preferences, see if your media player (Netflix, YouTube, etc.) is specifically set to the headphones. If it's set to speakers, change it to Headphones (Realtek Audio).

Set Headphones as Default Device in Sound Control Panel

Sometimes, the default device for audio needs to be set manually.

Right-click the Speaker Icon in the system tray and select Sounds.

Under the Playback tab, right-click on Headphones (Realtek Audio) and select Set as Default Device.

If you don’t see Headphones (Realtek Audio) listed, try unplugging and plugging the headphones back in.

Click OK and test the audio again.

Test with a Different Browser or Media Player

Sometimes the issue could be browser-specific, especially if you're using Chrome or another browser. Test by:

Opening a different browser (Edge, Firefox) and playing something on YouTube or Netflix.

Or, use a standalone media player like VLC to test if the issue is persistent across apps or isolated to a specific one.

Update or Reinstall Audio Drivers

Even though your drivers are up-to-date, sometimes a reinstall helps to reset things.

Open Device Manager.

Under Sound, video and game controllers, right-click on Realtek High Definition Audio and choose Uninstall device.

Restart the laptop. Windows should reinstall the driver automatically.

Try Running the Windows Troubleshooter

Go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.

Find Playing Audio and click Run.

Follow the prompts and see if it detects any issues.

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

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Regards,