Windows 10: Stereo Mix not showing

Hello. I recently purchased a Surface Laptop Studio and am using a Surface Go as a secondary monitor. I wanted to enable Stereo Mix but it doesn't show up no matter what I do even when I updated audio drivers. Is there a fix for this?

:)

 

Stereo mix showing but not showing audio

A potential solution for those who use digital outputs to a separate sound system for your sounds (rather than speakers or headphones), and have tried all the normal suggestions when Stereo Mix shows up on the recording tab, but shows no audio, and programs
such as Audacity won't record a signal.

I use digital optical out from my sound card (Realtek High Definition Audio) to my sound system. There are therefore no speakers connected, and no speakers show in the sound settings. And no audio showing in Stereo Mix.

However, connecting headphones instantly solves the problem - stereo mix shows audio, programs like Audacity can record again (plugging headphones in the headphones jack makes no difference to the digital optical output signal = does not mute it).

I would be really interested to know why Stereo Mix will not show audio if there are no speakers or headphones connected.

 

Stereo Mix Not Showing

It appears that the driver is not recognized by the computer. Your audio chipset drivers may be outdated, that's why Stereo Mix does not appear in the list of devices. We suggest checking the device manufacturer if there are available updates for the drivers.

Once you're done updating the audio chipset drivers, check again if the missing device will appear.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

Windows 10 Stereo Mix

Hi Nicholas,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

I suggest you to follow the methods below and check if it helps:

Method 1:

Try the following steps to enable the stereo mix and check if that help.



a) Right click on the audio icon in your system tray and select “Recording Devices” to open the Recording device settings in the “Sound” window.



b) In the pane, right-click on a blank area, and make sure both “View Disabled Devices” and “View Disconnected Devices” options are checked. You should be able to see the “Stereo Mix” option appearing.



c) Right-click on “Stereo Mix” and click “Enable” to be able to use it.



This should enable the “Stereo Mix” on Windows



Method 2:

If the issue persists then I suggest you to uninstall and reinstall the sounds card driver and check if it helps.

• 
  Right Click on Start, Select Device Manager.
  
• 
  Find and double-click the category of device whose driver you wish to uninstall.
  
• 
  Right-click the device, and click Uninstall.
  
• 
  Windows will prompt you to confirm the device’s removal. Click
  OK to remove the driver.
  
• 
  After the uninstallation is complete, reboot your computer as soon as possible
  

Hope the above information helps. Reply with necessary information and the result to help you further. Thank you.