Headphones Don't Work in Windows 8, 10 for Some Users

Some users have been recently reporting in the Microsoft Community support forums that they have been noticing problems with their headphones in Windows 8. We go a little deeper

A while ago we were reporting that some Linux users have been detecting problems with their headphones in Windows 8. Now, some new forum postings suggest that the problem is also expanding to Windows 8 users, as well. If you happen to own Parrot Zik headphones, stay calm as they will work in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 since Parrot has made available compatible drivers. Here’s what three users have been saying:

When playing any type of audio, sound will come out perfectly fine from the speakers, but when i plug in the headphones the sound will keep coming out from the speakers. How do i change the settings so that i can use my headphones?

i just got a toshiba laptop with windows 8 on it, it went fine until i want to use my headphones and somehow the sound is not the usual one. it still have sound, but its like it doesnt have the bass, or more clearly if you didnt put your headphones on something throughly. i tried, like when people said to check the disabled on playback and the headphones will appear, but in my case it wont. so how to make my headphone work like its usual sound?

I recently updated my Inspiron 15R to Windows 8.1 and since then, the headphone/audio out jack does not seem to function. When headphones are plugged in, it does stop using the speakers but no audio comes out of the headphones. They are a known working pair and the problem does not happen when I boot into Ubuntu, so it is definitely a software issue specific to Win8. I’ve installed the IDT drivers, re-installed them, deleted everything from the device manager and restarted so it would reset, and nothing seems to change.

Maybe a simple solution could fix the headphones problem

As we can see, the problem isn’t limited only to a single OEM, as more have been reporting problems with the headphones in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. If you are experiencing similar problems, try reinstalling the headphone driver, if it isn’t USB-based. Or you can try the follow fix suggested by a Dell user:

1. Make sure you run as admin
2. In the start screen, type “Computer”
3. Right click on “This PC” and click on “Properties”
4. On the left hand side click on “Device Manager”
5. Scroll down until you see “Sound, video and game controllers” and click on the drop-down arrow
6. Right click on “Realtek High Definition Audio” and click on “Disable”
7. Right click on it again, but this time click on “Enable”

Read Also: Realtek Card Reader Drivers Still not Updated for Windows 8.1

I know it might sound dumb and very basic for some, but this might actually work for those of you who are looking for a workaround. I’ve tried looking for other solutions, but didn’t find. If you happen to know a working fix, do let us know by leaving your comment.

Other headphones issues in Windows 10 and their fixes

This isn’t by far the only issue that could appear while using headphones in Windows 10, 8.1 or 8. There is also the simple no-sound ‘phenomenon’ and it’s quite annoying when it appears. But you can easily get rid of this by following the steps from this guide.

Windows can also give you the ‘won’t recognize headphones’ error. In this case, you should disable front panel jack detection (only if Realtek software installed). If it’s not the case, you can follow up with the rest of solutions from this article. The last big problem that you might encounter is ‘no speaker or headphones are plugged in‘.

Let us know in the comments if you solved your headphones malfunctions in Windows and don’t forget to mention which solution worked for you.