Windows 10: How can I force my computer to play audio to my headphones?

About 2 months ago, I updated my computer to the latest version of Windows 10. After I updated, my headphones worked fine. However, after unplugging them and plugging them back in, it would not detect them. It would only detect them if they were connected when it booted up. I tried updating audio drivers, updating Windows, tried different headphones... no such luck. It most likely isn't a hardware issue, because it detects it when booting, but as soon as it's unplugged, it doesn't detect anything in the headphone port. Is there any way I could force it to route audio through the jack? I really

:)

 

Windows 10 not playing audio on headphones.

Hi Jefelito,

Thank you for replying and I am sorry to hear about the tragedy that occured in your brothers sanctuary.

Glad to know that the Bluetooth issue is resolved.

Try the below methods to troubleshoot the issue on the headphones and check if this helps.

Before trying the below methods, I suggest you to try connecting the headphones to a different port or check the headphones on a different computer and check if you are able to hear the audio from the headphone.

Method 1:
Setting The Headphones As Default Playback Device.

1. Select on the Start button > Type Sound in the search box > Select
   Sound from the list of results.
2. Go to Playback tab > Select your headphones > Then click on
   Set Default.
3. Restart the computer once and check if this helps.

Method 2:
Updating The Audio Drivers.

Follow the steps mentioned in Update drivers in Windows 10
and update your Sound drivers and check if you are able to hear the audio from the headphones.

Restart the computer once after updating the sound drivers.

We're looking forward to your response.

 

Move audio to one side for speakers but not headphones

Hello J1mmyth3F1sh,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

• Is your headphones getting detected in the Playback settings?
  
• Are you trying to play the audio on both Speakers and Headphones at the same time?
  

Ideally, if you have configured Sound settings to play on your left speakers, the same goes with the headphones. The sound starts playing only on the left side of your headphones according to the settings changed.

Meanwhile, we can try configuring the headphones and change the balance level in the sound settings and see if it works. Kindly check with the steps listed below and see if it helps.

Method : Run audio test for your headphones.

• Open Control Panel from the Start menu and click on
  Sound.
  
• In the Sound window, click on your
  Headphones and select Configure option at the bottom left.
  
• By running the test, check if both sides of your headphones are working fine.
  

If that doesn’t help, I would suggest you to check with the audio balance by following the steps listed below:

• Open Sound settings from
  Control Panel, and right click on the Headphones to open its
  Properties.
  
• Click on Levels tab and select
  Balance button. In the Balance window, you can use the slider to balance both left and right headphones equally.
  

However, I commend and appreciate you for recognizing this behavior. This is a valuable suggestion as there may be other users with a similar requirement. Hence, I suggest you to leave a
Feedback for this product so
that our developer team can look into this and check if it can be implemented in the future updates.

Regards,

Mala S

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Speaker / Headphones playing at same time and they are 1 drive.

Hi,

I'm Nikah, a fellow customer, and an expert user. I'm happy to help answer your question.

Audio playing through headphones and speakers at the same time is a common audio issue we may encounter. If you are experiencing this issue, don’t worry. Below are some possible solutions listed for your information.

Solution 1. Set Headphones as the Default Device

Step 1. Click on the Start menu and select Control Panel to open it.

Step 2. Select Hardware and Sound.

Step 3. Click on Manage audio devices under the Sound tab.

Step 4. On the Playback tab, click on your headphones, and then click on the Set Default button.

Step 5. Click on the Recording tab. Then select your microphone/headphones and click on the Set Default button.

Step 6. Save the changes by clicking OK.

Now try to play an audio file to see if the “audio playing through headphones and speakers at the same time” issue is gone. If no, try the following feasible methods.

Solution 2. Uninstall and Re-install Your Audio Driver

Step 1. Launch Device Manager.

Step 2. Locate Sound, video, and game controllers and double-click on it.

Step 3. Right-click on your audio device and select Uninstall from the pop-up menu.

Step 4. Check the “Delete the driver software for this device” option and select OK when asked to confirm the uninstall.

Step 5. Once you’ve uninstalled the driver completely, restart your computer.

Then you can manually download the audio driver for your device from manufacturer's official website and install it.

Solution 3. Try to update your audio driver maybe it is outdated or corrupted.

Solution 4. Run the Windows Audio Troubleshooter

Step 1. Type “Troubleshoot” in the search box and select Troubleshoot from the search results.

Step 2. Scroll down to locate Playing Audio in the list and click on it.

Step 3. Click on the Run the troubleshooter button under it. Then the troubleshooter will automatically detect the audio issues on your computer and resolve them. You may need to restart your computer in the process.

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Nikah J.

Expert