Windows 10: Extremely bizarre issue where headphones don't work after being unplugged and plugged back in

I have an incredibly bizarre headphones issue on my ASUS Zenbook 15 UX533FD. I'm running Windows 10 Home, version 1809, build 17763.615, and windows update says I don't have any updates to install at this time.


Basically, if I ever unplug a pair of headphones and then plug them back in (it doesn't matter if I switch to a different pair of headphones or not), the computer refuses to play any sounds from the headphones, and will only play sounds through the laptop's onboard speakers. After restarting the computer, headphones will usually work the first time they're plugged in, but unplugging them causes them to once again stop working. (I haven't quite nailed down how reliably the headphones work the first time you plug them in after restarting; sometimes they seem to just work without any hassle, sometimes I have to really fight to get them to start playing sound, and I can't tell exactly what I'm doing to affect that.) This problem first appeared for me yesterday, and I can't think of anything that happened that could have caused it. I didn't install any updates or change any settings. It just magically happened out of nowhere.


When I opened up the sounds menu (from right-clicking on the speaker icon on my taskbar) to try and troubleshoot the issue, I noticed that only one playback device is ever visible, and that is a device called "speakers". This is the same no matter if sounds are being played through headphones or the laptop's built-in speakers. I've restarted my computer at least a dozen times, I've tried updating and/or uninstalling my Realtek audio drivers several times, both through the automatic driver update tool, and by manually downloading the audio driver directly from Realtek's website and running the install wizard from there. I've also tried disabling the "allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" setting in the audio device properties menu. I've also done every single one of the standard audio troubleshooting suggestions (such as updating drivers through the device manager, switching audio formats under the device playback options, etc.) Nothing has had any effect on the problem whatsoever.


I have, however, discovered a temporary fix. If I open the Realtek Audio Console app, and click on the "Device advanced settings" menu in the bottom left corner of the app, then look under the "Connector Retasking" section of the page, there is a dropdown menu titled "ANALOG" with options labeled "Mic In", "Headphone", "Speaker Out", and "Headset". If I simply switch this dropdown option between "Headphone" and "Headset", that will always temporarily fix the problem. Unfortunately, unplugging the headphones again immediately causes them to stop working, and I have to reopen the Realtek Audio Console and switch between "Headset" and "Headphone" again. It doesn't matter which of those options is currently selected, because both seem to behave exactly the same way (at least for me), and switching to the other one always has the same effect, regardless of which option was selected in the first place.


This is extremely frustrating, because having to dig through several menus in obscure applications just to (temporarily!) regain the use of your headphone jack, is approximately as enjoyable as pulling teeth, and I am quite tired of it. Please help. Thanks in advance!

:)

 

Computer Won't Auto Change the Playback Device When Headphones Plugged In/Out

Hi Michael,

I understand your concern and will be happy to assist you.

Is the issue specific to only Headphones/ Does External Speaker play when plugged in?

I suggest you to try resetting the default device as shown in the steps given below and check if the issue persists.

• 
  Plug in the Headphones in the machine.
  
• 
  Go to Start and Control Panel.
  
• 
  Select 'Hardware and Sound'.
  
• 
  Click 'Change system sounds'.
  
• 
  Click 'Playback' tab. (It should then show you your headphones in the list).
  
• 
  Select your proper Headphone device from the list, then Click 'Set Default'.
  
• 
  Now unplug your Headphones and select speakers from the list, then Click 'Set Default'.
  

Hope it helps. Please reply for further queries on this.

 

Why does plugging headphone jack in stop internal speakers to working (even after headphones are unplugged)?

I recently bought a Dell latitude E6420 i5-2520M 8GB and I am experiencing a very annoying issue with the speakers.

The sound coming from the laptop's internal speakers works until I plug the headphone jack into the computer for the first time. When I unplug the headphones, the internal speakers do not come back on.

What I have tried so far with no success:

• Uninstall and reinstall audio/sound drivers
  
• Tried Realtek drivers
  
• Disabled headphones
  
• Recovery and reinstall Windows 10
  

Every time I uninstall and reinstall the sound drivers the speakers start to work again until I plug in and then remove the headphones.

How can I resolve this?

 

Headphone Connection

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in Windows 10!

I understand that the headphones are not working when you connect then through the jack on your Windows 10 operating system. I will certainly help you with the query. I would appreciate if you could help us with more information

• 
  Have you checked plugging the headphone to a different jack on the same computer?
  
• 
  Have you checked if any other sound device work fine when plugged to the problematic jack?
  

This issue might be occurring due to incompatible drivers or broken jack. There might be a possibility that the headphone is not compatible with windows 10 operating system. Hence I would suggest you to follow the below mentioned
steps and check if that helps.

Method 1:
Hardware and devices troubleshooter

The built-in hardware and devices troubleshooter can automatically detect and fix most of the incorrect settings and errors that could cause issues with hardware. I would suggest you to run this troubleshooter to check if there is any issue with
the display adapter. Refer top these steps:

• Open Control Panel
• Click on Troubleshooting and select the view all option on the left pane.
• Click on Hardware and devices troubleshooter and follow the prompts.

Try method 2, if the issue persist

Method 2: If the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter do not fix
the issue then I would suggest you to uninstall the drivers and reboot the computer to get the updated drivers installed for the headphone. Please follow below mentioned steps:

• Open Control Panel
• Click on Device Manager and select the audio input and output drivers
• Right click on driver that appears after plugging the headphone and click on uninstall
• After uninstalling, unplug the headphone and restart the computer
• Plugging the headphone again and the computer will detect the updates drivers automatically.
  

Now check if the headphones work on the computer or not.

Hope this information is helpful. Please write back to us if you need any further assistance, we'll be glad to assist you.