Windows 10: Why does Windows 11 Media Player output only front speakers L, C, R instead of full 7.1...

Discus and support Why does Windows 11 Media Player output only front speakers L, C, R instead of full 7.1... in Windows 10 Software and Apps to solve the problem; When playing music on Windows 11 Media Player with my system set to 7.1 surround sound, I notice that when a track finishes naturally and the next one... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Software and Apps' started by IayZBoy, May 29, 2025 at 9:32 PM.

  1. IayZBoy Win User

    Why does Windows 11 Media Player output only front speakers L, C, R instead of full 7.1...


    When playing music on Windows 11 Media Player with my system set to 7.1 surround sound, I notice that when a track finishes naturally and the next one starts, audio only comes from the front left, center, and right speakers. However, if I manually skip to the next track, the audio plays through all 7.1 channels as expected. This causes a noticeable difference in sound quality and immersion. Is this a known bug or is there a setting to fix it?

    :)
     
  2. Alx181 Win User

    how to select the output audio speakers

    To change the speaker output on Windows Media Player, you can try the following steps:

    1. Open Windows Media Player.
    2. Click on “Tools” and then “Options”.
    3. Click on the “Devices” tab.
    4. Click on “Speakers” and then “Properties”.
    5. Select the audio device you want to use and click on “OK”.
    6. You may also have to restart WMP for changes to take effect.
    If the above steps don’t work, you can try changing the default sound device in Windows 11. Here’s how you can do it:

    1. Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows key + I.
    2. Click on “System” and then “Sound”.
    3. Under the “Output” section, click on the “Choose where to play sound” setting.
    4. Select the speakers, headphones, or headsets you want to use.
     
  3. HELP! Windows Media Player Problem

    How to delete the recent play list from Windows Media Player - Microsoft Support

    that covers up to version 10... let me see if its diffrent for the newer versions


    EDit:

    here is how to clear the frequent list.
    http://www.blogsdna.com/4086/how-to...edia-player-12-frequent-list-in-windows-7.htm

    and here is how to clear the history
    http://www.downloadatoz.com/essenti...ar-the-windows-media-player-12-history_g.html

    and from the last link is the same error where you can just disable it too =)
     
  4. Why does Windows 11 Media Player output only front speakers L, C, R instead of full 7.1...

    Media player

    Hi,

    For us to isolate the issue further, we’d like to know the following:

    • What is the version of your Windows Media Player?
    • Did you get any error message? If yes, kindly specify.
    In the meantime, I would suggest you to uninstall and reinstall the
    Windows Media player
    . Here are the steps how to:

    • Press Win button + R on your keyboard.
    • In the text box, type Control.
    • On the left pane, click Turn Windows features on or off option to see Windows Features window.
    • Expand Media Feature list, then uncheck Windows Media Player box. It will give a prompt message;
      this will also turn of Windows Media Center click yes as you will need
      to reinstall it after.
    • Reboot PC.
    • You need to reinstall Windows Media Player. Open Windows Features, tick the Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center, then install it from there.

    Let us know how it goes.
     
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Why does Windows 11 Media Player output only front speakers L, C, R instead of full 7.1...

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