Windows 10: Stereo Mix: Works with Speakers, Doesn't work with Headphones

When I am outputting audio through my laptop's built-in speakers, Stereo mix works correctly.When I am outputting audio through 3.5 mm headphones, Stereo mix does not capture anything.Here's all the scenarios I have tried:These scenarios above show that:1. It doesn't matter if the headphones have a microphone or not2. It doesn't matter if headphones are PHYSICALLY plugged in, stereo mix only works if audio is coming out of my speakers.Here's all my system information and audio driver information

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How do I enable Stereo Mix when my headphones are plugged it?

I do not use USB headphones. My headphones are plugged into the stereo audio jack in my laptop. My laptop is a Dell, and it is running Windows 10.

Usually using Stereo Mix (which appears as an entry in the "recording" tab in the Windows audio control panel), I'm able to have sound recording software monitor and record the output to the speakers. This is useful when running software that produces sound, but has no feature to save the sound to a file. Stereo Mix allows me to run separate software to record the sound, as it plays from the first piece of software, so I can save the sound to a WAV file.

Unfortunately. This seems to only work when my headphones aren't plugged in. As soon as I plug in headphones, Stereo Mix stops recording the audio signal coming out of the speakers. How does Stereo Mix work? Does it work digitally to record the data being sent to the audio hardware? Or is it actually an analog-to-digital-converter that measures the analog voltage being sent to the speakers? Is Stereo Mix simply incapable of measuring the analog signal that goes to the headphones, because headphones use different wires to carry the signal than is used by the internal speaker (thus preventing Stereo Mix from being able to even see the signal)?

If it's not a problem with diffferent wires being used in the hardware for the headphones, then it must be a problem with how the sound drivers are programmed, as if it's not a hardware defect, then it should be able to record the digital data being sent to the audio hardware (regardless of whether the final destination of the signal is the headphones or the internal speakers).

I hope somebody can solve this, and recommend a way to enable Stereo Mix to be used, even when the headphones are plugged in.

 

Windows 10 stereo mix works with analog speakers but not with Microsoft headphone

I have windows 10. I want to record speaker output . When I set up stereo mix and set it as the default device it will record if the analog speakers are the default speaker. But if my default speakers are "Microsoft LiveChat LX-3000" then nothing that
is played to the headphones go to the recording problem.

 

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.