SOLVED Realtek speakers not working when headphones unplugged

[Kathy C]

Last night I plugged in headphones to the small round jack (not the USB) and sound worked fine as Iistened to a program. When I unplugged the headphones, I cannot get any sound to come out of the computer. I've tried restarting, muting/un-muting, and I've looked at all audio settings I can find. I cannot locate headphones settings - they don't show up anywhere. I recently installed the Windows 10 update a couple of weeks ago and this is the first time I've used headphones in this jack. Wondering if I need updated drivers but can't locate and system says drivers are fine.

Thanks for any help.

 

[BigFeet]

Right click on the little speaker icon next to the clock, and select playback devices. What's listed, what's selected, and what's set as default?

 

[Kathy C]

When I right click, only Realtek High Definition Audio is listed and it is the default and it is selected. I can't find an option anywhere for headphone settings.

 

[davehc]

Try and restore the drivers:
Right click the start icon.
Open "Device Manager"
Right Click "Sound, Video & Game controllers"
Right Click an "Uninstall" the current High Definition Audio" driver
Click "Scan for hardware changes",
This should reinstall the drivers.

If you still have no sound, Log off and on, or restart, the computer.

 

[BigFeet]

When I right click, only Realtek High Definition Audio is listed and it is the default and it is selected. I can't find an option anywhere for headphone settings.

That's normal. When you plug headphones in the 3.5mm jack, it just shows as normal speakers. Try what davehc said. It certainly sounds like a driver issue.

 

[Kathy C]

Try and restore the drivers:
Right click the start icon.
Open "Device Manager"
Right Click "Sound, Video & Game controllers"
Right Click an "Uninstall" the current High Definition Audio" driver
Click "Scan for hardware changes",
This should reinstall the drivers.

If you still have no sound, Log off and on, or restart, the computer.

Thanks Dave - I tried what you said but it didn't seem to resolve anything. It seems to me like the old driver keeps showing back up and I don't know how to get the system to let me install more current drivers for realtek. i'll keep trying

 

[davehc]

In the window mentioned in the earlier post, is it not also showing "High Definition Audio Device"? If so, select it as the default device. This is the built in generic driver for windows 10, and is often good enough for the average user.

 

[Kathy C]

I'm not seeing any different options. I just spent over an hour with microsoft tech online. He took over the computer and found audio drivers on the Lenovo site and had me install those...which was much more substantive install. Fully uninstalled and then installed...and still no audio out of the speakers. The system thinks they are working. The activity bars for the speakers are active. But not working... so frustrating! Thanks for your suggestions...

 

[davehc]

OK. We'll branch off in another area.
What is the make and model of your computer?

 

[Kathy C]

You are MVP for a reason! I was on the chat with 2 different MS guys last night until 12:30...watched them both navigate through the system and do all the things I had already done based on your suggestions and my own knowledge. Nothing new and no resolution

Ended up with the guy suggesting I revert to 8.1 and then re-upgrade to 10. If I go back to 8.1 and it's resolved...even if its not...i'm not keen to come back to 10 at the moment. Not enough change that I care about for the glitches that seem to come with it!

I have a Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro I purchased a year ago. Model is 80HE0047US.

What's your opinion on reverting to 8.1 and what would you recommend I do to minimize issues associated with that? I just finally upgraded around December 10...a few weeks ago. I haven't had any other problems than this and I am assuming this is related but of course I can't be sure.

 

[Saltgrass]

You should not need to revert to 8.1. If the system is only a year old, unless some special circumstance regarding the Windows 10 drivers are involved, it should work.

When I plug a headset into my system (Dell) it opens a window asking me what I plugged in. But the representation shown below stays the same. If I unplug the headset it goes back to the speakers automatically.

The panel below on your system may have other output devices. So, as was mentioned, check the default device and the level meter when audio output is happening. Post back with a picture. Be aware you may need to scroll down on your system to see all the options.

 

[bun yippee]

Over time I've had some problems with audio on my pc and have found the following options often help ... just keep an eye out for junk during install with " Slim Drivers " ...
http://download.cnet.com/SlimDrivers-Free/3000-18513_4-75279940.html
.
also try this ...

FIX SOUND & VOLUME

OPEN " WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER ".... SONGS

CLICK " ORGANISE "

" OPTIONS

" DEVICES

" SPEAKERS

" PROPERTIES

" DROP DOWN

SELECT " SPEAKERS ( REALTEK HIGH DEF AUDIO )

" APPLY..... THEN OK..... CLOSE ALL....

 

[Kathy C]

You should not need to revert to 8.1. If the system is only a year old, unless some special circumstance regarding the Windows 10 drivers are involved, it should work.

When I plug a headset into my system (Dell) it opens a window asking me what I plugged in. But the representation shown below stays the same. If I unplug the headset it goes back to the speakers automatically.

The panel below on your system may have other output devices. So, as was mentioned, check the default device and the level meter when audio output is happening. Post back with a picture. Be aware you may need to scroll down on your system to see all the options.

View attachment 2032

Thanks - here is what I see when playing

Sorry - file too large...but the meter is working and I see exactly what you see - there are no options listed other than the realtek and it's also default. Meters for both speakers are active, volume is up, when you test, it shows the test and meters work and all looks normal. There is just no sound. It's weird. Almost like I hit a button somewhere or something but there isn't one!

 

[davehc]

I think this is could be a hardware problem. The headset input has shorted out the speakers permanently. You could try plugging in and out the jack a few times, to see if it could free it up a little.

 

[Kathy C]

I think you are right! I just looked up the problem on Lenovo forums and the same exact problem is documented many times. I will contact Lenovo in the morning here - pacific time

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Saltgrass]

If it is a hardware problem, plugging in the headset opens a switch which redirects the signal to the headset. When the plug is removed the switch resets. Perhaps, with the system off, you could play with the headset plug and insert and remove a few times.

Could I ask you what was meant by "Meters for both speakers are active". You should be able to attach a picture if you use the Snipping Tool to take the picture and save it as a JPG.

The other thing, on some systems, speakers may be set as a communication device with the little phone icon. That can keep the sound volume down.

Dell just posted (Dec. 29th) new Realtek drivers for my system so you might check if any recent driver updates are available for yours.

 

[Kathy C]

Thank yo so much! I got is resolved about one hour ago. The Lenovo tech was able to browse to the microsoft default drivers and override Realtek. I had been trying to do that through the weekend and the MSFT tech did too. I think that when I reverted to 8.1 last night, that option came back and for some reason wasn't visible in 10. I may be wrong but in any case, the speakers are working and I will just not be using Realtek.

 

[Thunderman]

A work around for you since I don't have headphone front jack working either. Get a spliter on ebay, one for your speakers and one for your headset. Works for me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390519345128?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[dukemorty]

Thank yo so much! I got is resolved about one hour ago. The Lenovo tech was able to browse to the microsoft default drivers and override Realtek. I had been trying to do that through the weekend and the MSFT tech did too. I think that when I reverted to 8.1 last night, that option came back and for some reason wasn't visible in 10. I may be wrong but in any case, the speakers are working and I will just not be using Realtek.

PLEASE ADVISE how you "browse to the microsoft default drivers and override Realtek" I essentially have the EXACT same issue with my Lenovo Yoga II --- Speakers not working, I have tried EVERYTHING listed above and want to override Realtek. Please advise

 

[aruntlife88]

It seems you need to choose the speaker from speaker properties. This may help : No Sound after Unplugging Headphones in Windows 10