Distorted sound from HP Envy internal speakers when plugged in, clear sound when unplugged - Solved!

[KeithO1960]

My HP Envy laptop recently has distorted sound from the internal speakers when plugged in, but the sound is clear when the laptop is unplugged.  I am certain that the issue is not software related.  I followed problem solving steps to rule out a software issue from hard reset of the laptop to remove and replace sound drivers to changing sound settings.  I reset the PC to original factory condition and reloaded all software, including updates. 

It seems like a power supply issue since the sound was fine and now it is not when plugged in but it is great when not plugged in.  This is not an isolated issue based on other forum complaints that I have read from other HP customers. 

Any thoughts regarding next steps, other than send the laptop to HP?  HP is too expensive for the fix, relative to the value of my used laptop.  Therefore, I am on my own to fix it.  HP should have an out of warranty offer to fix this issue since it is relatively common and should not ever happen to their customers.

Here is how the issue was solved:

I removed the back cover of the laptop and listened once again to which speakers had the distortion.  My laptop has 2 speakers and a sub-woofer.  It turns out that the distortion was only coming from the sub-woofer, only when the laptop charging cord was plugged in.  There was no distortion from the sub-woofer when the laptop was unplugged.  I unplugged the sub-woofer from the system board and the problem is gone.  I don't know why the sub-woofer only has distortion with the laptop charging cord plugged in, but the sound is still good without it using the 2 remaining speakers.  I may decide to leave it as is and not replace the sub-woofer. 

FYI.  If you decide to remove the back cover of your laptop, the top and bottom parts are snap-fit together, so you will need a tool to separate the two pieces once the screws are loosened.  I have a 3/4 inch wide thin plastic wedge that worked well to separate the two covers from each other after the screws were loosened.

By the way, I got good support from HP using this forum, until I told them that I found the problem and asked them to send me a sub-woofer to confirm that it is the problem.  Then I heard crickets from them.

[Riddle_Decipher]

@KeithO1960 Did you check if the issue occurs on external set of speakers as well? If not, I suggest you do, that way we could identify if this is an issue with the sound card or the power supply/motherboard of the device, also, please update the BIOS and Chipset drivers (if not done already) using the HP website: Click here to find and install the same.

P.S: Welcome to HP Community 😉

Keep us posted,

If you would like to thank us for our efforts to help you, 

Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!

[KeithO1960]

@KeithO1960 Did you check if the issue occurs on external set of speakers as well? If not, I suggest you do, that way we could identify if this is an issue with the sound card or the power supply/motherboard of the device, also, please update the BIOS and Chipset drivers (if not done already) using the HP website: Click here to find and install the same.

Hi, All drivers are updated, including BIOS and Chipset.  The distortion/annoying noise does not happen on an external speaker.  It does happen on the computer speakers when I listen to music on headphones, but the headphone sound is clear with no distortion.   The noise through the laptop internal speakers still disappears when the power cord is unplugged.   Thanks for your guidance on this.  Hope we can figure out the source of the problem.

@KeithO1960 we encourage the community to post in public so we can get others to interact as well, that said, considering the fact that the issue only occurs on internal speakers and not the external, this could be an issue with the speaker alone, not the sound card or the motherboard, I suggest we perform a hardware test on the speakers using the below steps while plugged into the adapter:

 Install the latest version of the HP Hardware diagnostics (UEFI) on your device using this link: Click here for details

• Hold the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer.
• Turn on the computer and immediately press Esc repeatedly, about once every second. When the menu appears, press the F2 key.
• On the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu, click Component Tests.
• Click Speaker/ Sound Test.
• Click Run once, or Loop until error.
• While the test is running, the time remaining and test result for each component display on the screen.

If a component fails a test, write down the failure ID (24-digit code) for when you respond back to us.

There are 3 speakers on the laptop and all 3 have distorted sound.  The sound out of the speakers is fine after the charging cord is unplugged.  Therefore, it seems like the speakers are not the source of the problem.  I ran the tests that you describe above and the speakers passed the test.  I ran other hardware diagnostic tests as well using the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics tool and it found no hardware issues.  Thanks for your continued support

[Riddle_Decipher]

@KeithO1960 This could be an issue with the power supply, and I suggest you talk to HP support and discuss your options,

follow the below steps to get started:

1) Click on this link - www.hp.com/contacthp/

2) Click on Sign-in or select the product using the below step:

3) Enter the serial of your device.

4) Select the country from the drop-down.

5) Click on "Show Options".

Fill the web-form, to populate a case number and phone number for yourself!

Also, if you are having trouble navigating through the above options, it's most likely because the device is out of warranty, if yes? please send me a private message with the region you are contacting us from, 

here's how private messages work: Click here for details.