Audio doesn't works after I mute and unmute it

Question

So when I use the mute button to mute all the audio it works as expected but when I try to unmute it I see all the visual signals that states that I have unmuted the device (laptop - windows 10) but I don't hear any audio.

I have to put it to sleep mode and return back the audio starts working.

This is not the case when I use volume down button to go to zero and then use volume up button to increase it. So I don't know what's the problem I have checked the device drivers and everything is up to date.

Solution 1

I have the same problem with Realtek High Definition Audio driver when using the headphone jack. If you are not in this case, please ignore the remaining part of this answer.

I think the reason is that the Realtek High Definition Audio driver is not working properly in Windows 10, because when you go to Device Manager => Sound, video and game controllers => Realtek High Definition Audio => disable and then enable, the unmute problem will be fixed.

But I found another easier way to solve the problem, and potentially figure out what cause this weird behavior.

In short, to reproduce and fix the problem, first you mute and then unmute the speaker. Now no matter how you adjust the volume, the headphone produces no sound. Then you drag the volume bar to 0, and then click the volume icon (should have a cross on it before clicking). Now adjust the volume: sound is back!

It seems that when the speaker is muted, it has to be unmuted to 0 volume before changing the volume value. It might be some new feature of Windows 10 that's not compatible with the old sound driver. Hope this could help.

Solution 2

Posting in case someone finds this thread later. I experienced the same issue as OP. Updating my Realtek audio drivers to the latest version (Version 6.0.1.8335 Jan 2018 in my case for Lenovo Y50-70 laptop) resolved the issue and sound no longer cuts out when muting and then turning sound back on. Realtek must have patched the issue in a more recent audio driver release. N.B.: The automatically downloaded and installed driver version from Windows Update does NOT have the fix. You'll have to manually download the driver from your laptop/PC vendor or try the generic ones on the Realtek website.

Comments

[CodeNaked]

Thanks! This was super annoying! Just to clarify what worked for me (your text above was a bit unclear if this is what you meant), but I unmuted, dragged the volume to 0, muted, unmuted, then dragged the volume up.

[Rajesh Sinha]

Unable to restore the Audio has many reasons. Possibly external Mute button is pressed, or MUTE ALL AUDIO check box is still Checked. So better first start with the basics and check all the parameters using the Control Panel, Hardware & Sound & Sound. Hope this help you.

[michalh]

have the same problem, for me doesnt help anything , drag to 0 magic, nor disabling/enabling device in device manager, only thing that helps is reboot... then sound plays fine until I plug in headphones than unplug or mute, unmute, then speakers are silent until next reboot, it is super anoying...

[Cypher]

Thanks... this is so annoying... What's up with Realtek?

[Adil Mammadov]

It's was super annoying for me as well, solved in my case, thank you. I also have Y50-70