Windows 10: audio input changes on its own when pc is restarted- resulting in no sound

I have an arctis 5 headset, it has never been an issue and to my understanding has always been set as the default audio output. Recently since updating my PC to windows 11 I have been turning my PC on to find that I have no sound in my headphones, naturally I check the audio settings and find lots of random options - most seem to be variants of my headphones ? When setting 'Headphones' as the default for audio does correct this and I can hear sound. My issue is that the next time I turn my pc on, the sound is gone again and I have to manually fix it.

:)

 

audio input

Hi Nico,

Damaged hardware or incompatible driver are some of the possible causes why you are experiencing an issue the audio input on your device. For us to provide an accurate solution, we would need you to answer the following questions:

• Which build, version and edition of Windows is installed on your computer?
• Are you using an external audio input device? If yes, what is the make and model of the audio input device you are using as microphone?
  
• Have you made any changes to your computer settings before this issue happened?

In the meantime, we suggest running the automated troubleshooter for audio issue. Visit this link,
click on Find and fix problems recording sounds and then follow the prompts to successfully run the tool.

We are looking forward to your response.

 

Windows Audio Crashes

My audio stops working when ever a mic is turned on.

On login, audio output works normally, however, when ever any mic is used, both audio input and output crash and a red x shows up on the taskbar audio icon.

It seems the Windows Audio service is what crashes.

After the first crash, the audio does not come back no matter what I do until I restart my pc.

I can replicate this with the following steps:

1. Login to pc
   • audio output working fine
2. Open sound settings, opens to playback tab
   • audio still fine and also able to play test sounds
3. Click on Recording Tab
   • The sound feedback indicator on the right side is missing
   • The window freezes, error window appears about DLL crash
   • If there is no connected or enabled recording device, nothing happens everything else seem to run normally
4. Proceed to follow various trouble shooting steps
   • Some troubleshooting steps seems to get rid of the red x on the taskbar volume icon
   • The recording tab in the sound settings is also now accessible
   • However things may seem fine at first, audio input/output is still not working and playing a test sound fails.

Solutions I've Tried:

• DISM (ended with no errors)
• sfc /scannow (found corrupted files, required restart)
• Restarting Windows Audio Service (results in err 1061, service then gets stuck on stopping)
• Disabling and re-enabling audio drivers
• Reinstalling audio drivers from manufacturers site
• Using windows generic audio drivers
• Restarting my PC

As you can see, I've spent a lot of time trying to fix this issue and it is starting to get really frustrating.

 

Audio and Sound

Hi Ethan,

This issue can be due to several reasons. Let's get your audio and sound issue sorted, we suggest that you follow the steps provided below:

• Press Windows key.
• Type Control Panel in the search box.
• Select Sound.
• Go to Communications tab.
• Click Do nothing.
• Chose Apply and Ok.

Keep us in the loop with the result.