Windows 10: Headphones work only after Restart

I have a Dell laptop running Windows 11 . When I plug in my headphones after booting up, the headphones have no sound and the speaker remains on. If I restart after plugging the headphones in, the headphones work fine and the speaker is off. Then if I unplug the headphones, the speaker comes back on and plugging the headphones in again changes nothing -- speaker on, headphones silent. In the sound settings, headphones don't appear in either case. Any ideas on how to fix this problem?

:)

 

Headphones not working.

Hi Haylee,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community and being a part of Windows 10.

I understand your concern about accessing the headphones on your device. We will help you with this issue.

Do let us know the following to assist you better with this issue:

• What is the make and model of your device?
• What are the troubleshooting steps you have tried to resolve the issue?
• How have you connected the headphones to your device?
• Were you able to see if the headphones detected on your computer?

As a work around, try the below and update us the status of this issue:

• I suggest you to connect the headphones to different device and check if the headphone is working fine. This will help us to detect if the issue is with headphone.
• If headphones are working fine on other devices, try to connect the headphones to different ports on the PC in the question and check if it is working fine. This will help us to know if the issue is with ports.

I recommend you to install all the pending updates on your device and check if it helps.

Steps:

• Connect to the internet.
• Press Windows key and type updates.
• Click on Check for updates.
• Under Windows Updates, click on Check for updates.
• Try to install the updates being shown.

Hope it helps. Try the above and update us the status of this issue with the required information, we will be happy to help you further.

 

Speakers and headphones work at the same time

Hi.

Let us isolate your concern by answering these few questions.

• Have you tried connecting your headphones directly to your desktop?
• Does your speaker work normally when connected to your desktop?

You may try the following steps to help resolve your concern:

• Unplug or Disconnect your speaker from the desktop.
• Connect your headphone directly to the desktop.

If the headphone works properly when directly connected to the desktop, we suggest that you contact your speaker manufacturer for assistance.

Let us know how it goes.

 

Windows 10 infinite restart black screen


The tutorials provided are just a list of troubleshooting steps. Use only the steps which apply to you.

Since none of the troubleshooting steps here worked, I'd suggest you do a Clean install.

John