Realtek Audio Console Greyed Out: How to Fix it

The Realtek Audio Console being greyed out may indicate that you’re running an outdated version of the app or that your drivers are incompatible.

It is also possible that you installed a corrupt version especially if you downloaded it from an unverified source or the installation was interrupted. Unofficial or altered apps tend to have compatibility issues or come missing important features.

What can I do if the Realtek Audio Console is greyed out?

1. Restart related services

1. Hit the Windows + R keys to open the Run command.
2. Type services.msc and hit Enter.
3. Locate the Realtek HD Audio Universal Service service, right-click on it, and select Properties.
4. Navigate to the General tab, under Startup type, select Automatic from the drop-down options, and click on the Start button.
5. Next, click Apply and then OK.
6. Repeat the same steps for DCOM server process launcher and RPC Endpoint manager then restart your PC.

The Realtek Audio Console relies on these services to function so if they have been misconfigured or stopped for some reason, the app may be greyed out and restarting them will reactivate it.

2. Uninstall and reinstall the audio drivers

1. Hit the Windows key, type Device Manager in the search bar, and click Open.
2. Navigate to Sound, video, and game controllers to expand, right-click on Realtek High Definition Audio and select Uninstall device.
3. Repeat the same for any Realtek device under Audio inputs and outputs, Software components.
4. Restart your device and the drivers will automatically reinstall themselves.

Pay attention to the time frame it takes for the driver to download because, at times, Realtek audio driver takes too long to download. If so, we have a dedicated guide to help you bypass this issue. Also, if the Realtek audio driver keeps crashing, you may need to download it from the manufacturer.

3. Update Realtek drivers

3.1 By using the manufacturer’s website

NOTE

You’ll go to your PC’s website whether Dell, HP, Lenovo or any other.

1. Go to the driver section of HP’s official website, and select your device from the option listed here.
2. Now, enter the product name or serial number in the provided text field, and click the Submit button.
3. Click on the All drivers entry to check out the various available ones. Also, ensure that the latest iteration is selected as the operating system. If it isn’t, click on Choose a different OS and select Windows 11.
4. Now, locate the Realtek audio driver, and click on the Download option next to it.
5. You can now download the install assistant or click on No thanks, I will download and install manually. We choose the latter.
6. Once the setup is downloaded, click on it to launch the installer.
7. Click Yes on the UAC (User Account Control) prompt.
8. Now, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process, and restart the computer once it’s done for the changes to come into effect fully.

3.2 By using the Device manager

1. Hit the Windows key and select Settings.
2. Click on Windows Update.
3. Select Optional updates.
4. Click on Driver updates and check if there are any from Realtek Semiconductor Corp. MEDIA. If there are any new updates, click Download & install.

4. Reset the Realtek app

1. Hit the Windows key and click on Settings.
2. Click on Apps on the left pane then Apps & features on the right pane.
3. Locate the RAC app, click on the three vertical ellipses, and select Advanced options.
4. Click on Repair.
5. Go back and click on Reset if the repair option failed.

5. Reinstall Realtek software

1. Open the Settings app using Windows key + I.
2. Navigate to Apps and select Installed apps.
3. Locate the Realtek software, click the three dots next to it, and choose Uninstall.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen to remove it.
5. Once done, download Realtek Audio Console and install it again.

When reinstalling the app, you may encounter an issue where the Realtek Audio Console missing from the Microsoft Store. In this case, you have to download the universal audio drivers but we have a more detailed account in our article.

Further, Realtek Audio Console is not your only option. You may fix the Realtek Audio Console greyed-out issue but find other features like the equalizer missing. Other times, the Realtek Audio Console speaker configuration may be greyed out especially if the audio format is unsupported or there’s no playback device.

If these issues become overwhelming, we’ve listed a few Realtek Audio Console alternatives that work just as well. We also have a guide that explains if you can swap left/right speaker in Realtek Audio Console, so you might want to visit it.

Has this happened to you before? How did you resolve it? If you used one of our solutions, let us know which one and if you have another, drop it in the comment section below.