No sound...won't unmute

[vikingman]

Gifted our nephew's wife with an HP Envy x 360 laptop in the summer of 2017.  Early this past summer the mute light lit up and there was no sound.  Nephew did a system restore and problem solved.  Later in August the same thing happened...restored again and once more problem solved.  Two weeks ago it muted again and won't unmute.  Restore was again tried...no luck.  I now have the computer and did a full system recovery twice....no luck.  Diagnostics show no problem...in fact during the diagnostics there is sound but the volume drops steadily until it once again mutes.  Took the laptop to our local computer repair shop...they did full recovery twice...no luck again.  I'm frustrated...I'm fed up...and if this laptop has to be replaced, which I'm willing to do, but it most definitely won't be replaced with another HP!  I've searched online and have discovered MANY other of the same audio complaints by other Envy x 360 owners.  Any suggestions other than to just walk away and look for another brand.

[Jeet_singh]

@vikingman,

Welcome to the HP Forums 🙂 I would like to take a moment and thank you for using this forum, it is a great place to find answers. For you to have the best experience on the HP forum, you could also visit our HP Forums Guide for First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More. I see from your post that you are having issues with sound not working on your new HP notebook. Don't worry I'll be glad to help you with this.

To provide you with an accurate solution, I'll need a few more details:

What is the product number of the notebook? ? Use this link to find it:  https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c03754824  (Ensure you do not share any of your personal information such as serial, phone number, email ID, etc...).

Did you install a retail copy of Windows or OEM version?

Have you tried to update the drivers either using Windows update or using HP Support Assistant?

Did you try to run a test on the Audio from F2?

Perform a Hard reset on the notebook: 

Many startup errors and other problems can be resolved by decreasing the amount of power stored in hardware components. Decreasing stored power is sometimes referred to as a "Hard Reset". Use the following steps to perform a hard reset on a computer:

1. If Windows is open, click Start and then Shutdown.

If Windows is not open and the computer has power, press and hold the power button on the computer until the computer shuts off.

2. With the power off, disconnect the power cord from the back of the computer.

3. With the power off and the power cord disconnected, press the power button on the computer for 5 seconds. The power light indicator on or near the power button might turn on briefly but then go out.

4. Reconnect the power cord and turn on the power.

Next thing, I would suggest here is to Run Windows Updates troubleshooter -

Download and install the troubleshooter from this link.

Now try to perform Windows Updates - 

1) In the search box, type and open Windows Updates. 
2) Check for updates. 
3) If the updates are available, click on install and restart the computer. 

If the issue persists, I would suggest here is to uninstall the audio drivers from device manager: 

Let's start off by uninstalling the audio drivers from device manager: 

Right-Click on start button> click device manager> expand sound video and game controllers>then select the sound drivers and right-click on it and uninstall the audio drivers.

Then check the box delete the software for this device.

Restart the computer and then update the Bios, Chipset and audio drivers on your PC from our HP support website, using this link.

Also, download and install HP support assistant on your PC. It should automatically download and install the latest updates and drivers for your PC.

Refer this link to know how to use HP support assistant.

Once done, restart the computer.

If the issue persists, I would suggest here is to run the audio test from the F2 (Please remember to capture the failure ID for further assistance).

• Hold the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer.

• Turn on the computer and immediately press the F2 key repeatedly, about once every second.

• The HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu is displayed.

• Select Component tests.

• Please initiate a test on the Audio - The Audio Playback Test checks your system to make sure the audio device is functioning properly. During the test, a few music notes are played in sequence and then repeated. This test takes 1 minute to complete. Click Audio, then click Run once. Choose either the speakers or the headphones. When asked, enter the number of notes you heard.

If the audio test passes then the evidence indicates towards a software issue. In that case, you may perform the steps as described in detail from this link: HP PCs - No Sound on HP Computer. 

Hope this helps, for any further queries reply to the post and feel free to join us again

Feel free to post your query for any other assistance as well,

It's been a pleasure interacting with you and I hope you have a good day ahead.

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accepted Solution.

And click on the Purple Thumbs up icon at the bottom of my comment.

Regards,

[vikingman]

Thank you for the response and list of suggestions.  Tried them all...still won't unmute.  Worked with a Virtual HP agent and followed all suggestions there...still won't unmute.  Took it to a computer repair shop...no success there.  I'm frustrated, I'm disappointed, and I'm throwing in the towel.  Next attempt will be to drive 45 miles to our nearest Best Buy Geek Squad.  If it's an expensive fix, I'll shop for a different laptop for our niece since she needs it for nursing school...and sadly, if a new laptop is necessary, it won't be an HP.  After spending countless hours online it appears that this particular problem with the HP Envy x 360 is very common and I'm disappointed that HP apparently hasn't made an effort to address such a widespread problem.  The audio problems first started while the laptop was still in warranty.  As I stated previously the fix was to merely do a restore...problem solved but ONLY temporarily.  By the time it became apparent that this would be an ongoing problem, the laptop was no longer under warranty and eventually a restore wouldn't address the audio problem at all.  So now any means of correcting this problem will be at our expense and I find I'm not confident enough in this particular laptop model to spend any more money on what appears to be a long standing and widespread fault with the HP Envy.  I do very much appreciate your list of suggestions to address this but my next step will probably be to surrender to the inevitable!!  Thanks again.

[Jeet_singh]

@vikingman,

It's great to have you back and your patience is greatly appreciated.

After reviewing your post thoroughly, I see that you have tried the steps suggested and unfortunately nothing has helped to resolve this issue.

In this scenario, I'm sending out a Private message with the information you need to get this sorted,

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Forums profile 

Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it 

Keep me posted,

that said, If the information I've provided was helpful, 

give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.