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No sound from speakers or headphones

Play the test tone, then follow the list. The first three steps fix most silent computers.

First, test it.
The speaker test shows in seconds whether the device works at all — that decides which steps below apply.
Open the speaker test

Press Play on the speaker test. If you hear it, your device is fine and the silent app is the problem (volume mixer, muted tab). If you hear nothing, continue.

  1. Wrong output device. Windows 11: click the speaker icon in the taskbar › the > arrow next to the volume slider › pick your speakers or headphones — an HDMI/DisplayPort monitor without speakers is often selected by mistake. macOS: Control Center › Sound, or System Settings › Sound › Output.
  2. Muted app or tab. Windows: right-click the speaker icon › Open volume mixer and raise the app’s slider. Browsers mute tabs individually: right-click the tab › Unmute site. On Mac, the app may have its own mute (Zoom, Spotify).
  3. Bluetooth is playing somewhere else. Your phone or laptop may be sending audio to earbuds in a drawer or a speaker in another room. Disconnect the Bluetooth device or pick the right output.
  4. Physical jack. Push the plug fully in. On desktops use the green rear jack; front panel jacks can be unconnected. Plugging headphones into a laptop’s jack usually switches off the speakers — unplug to hear speakers again.
  5. Enhancements and spatial sound. Windows: Settings › Sound › your device › turn off Enhance audio and set Spatial sound to Off. These can silence some devices after an update.
  6. Driver. Device Manager › Sound, video and game controllers › your audio device › Update driver, or Uninstall device and restart. “No audio output device is installed” means exactly this.
  7. Troubleshooter / Core Audio reset. Windows: Settings › System › Troubleshoot › Other troubleshooters › Playing Audio. Mac: Terminal sudo killall coreaudiod or a restart.
  8. Monitor speakers. If you want sound from the monitor over HDMI, select the monitor as the output and raise the monitor’s own volume in its menu.

Did it work?

Run the speaker test again. If the device now registers here, every app that has permission will see it too.

Related guides

Headphones only play on one sideUse the left/right test to see which side is silent, then find out whether it is software, the plug or the headphones.

Questions, answered

Sound works in headphones but not speakers (or the reverse).

The output device is switching with the jack. Pick the device explicitly (step 1); on Windows also check the device is not disabled under More sound settings › Playback › Show Disabled Devices.

Only one speaker works.

See the one-side guide for headphones — balance settings and cable checks apply to speakers too.