How to Reset Sound Settings on Windows 11

Key Takeaways:

• Resetting the sound settings is a simple troubleshooting step that is worth trying if you are experiencing any issues with the audio on your Windows PC.
• Resetting the sound settings can help fix various audio issues, including no sound, crackling or static, and distorted or fuzzy sound.
• You can reset audio and sound settings to their default in several ways, including resetting the audio devices, audio driver, etc.

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If you’re having trouble with the audio on your Windows computer, one potential solution is to reset the sound settings. This can help to troubleshoot and fix a variety of audio issues, including but not limited to a lack of sound, crackling or static, distorted or fuzzy sound, or other audio problems.

In this guide, I will walk you through the steps to reset the sound settings on your Windows PC so that it may help you resolve any audio issues present in your Windows system.

Table of contents:

1. How to reset sound settings on Windows
   1. Reset the volume of all devices in Windows
   2. Restore the audio device to the defaults
   3. Reset audio services in Windows
   4. Turn off audio enhancements
   5. Reinstall the audio driver to reset sound settings
2. Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
3. Easily reset sound settings on Windows – Conclusion

The steps below work the same in Windows 10 and 11.

How to reset sound settings on Windows

To reset the audio settings, you must reset the sound device and volume of all apps, restore the audio devices to their default, reset audio services, reset the audio driver, and turn off audio enhancements.

Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Reset the volume of all devices in Windows

Windows allows you to set specific sound devices and volumes for different apps. You can reset the volume of all audio devices via the Volume Mixer page in the Settings app.

Here’s how to reset the volume of all audio devices:

1. Use “Windows logo key + I” to open Settings.
2. Select “System” on the sidebar.
3. Click on “Sound” in the main panel.
4. Scroll down and click on the “Volume Mixer” option.
5. Press the “Reset” button at the bottom of the window.
6. With that, you are done resetting the volume of all devices in Windows.

Steps with more details:

The volume mixer options are available via the Settings app. To start, launch the Settings app by opening the Start menu and clicking the “Settings” icon at the bottom. You can also press the “Windows logo key” and “I” keys together on your keyboard to open it.

Click the “System” option on the sidebar and then go to the “Sound” page. This is where you can manage your audio settings, audio devices, and volume.

Scroll down the Sound settings page and click on the “Volume Mixer” page. This action will open the Volume Mixer page inside the Settings app.

Scroll down on the Volume Mixer page and click on the “Reset” button at the bottom of the page. Pressing the button will instantly reset the volume of all audio devices and applications.

Step 2: Restore the audio device to the defaults

Often, specific custom audio device settings can cause issues with the sound output and input in Windows. In those cases, you can restore the audio device settings to their defaults to fix the problems.

Here’s how to restore audio device settings to default:

1. Open the Windows Settings app.
2. Select “System” on the sidebar.
3. Click on “Sound” in the main panel.
4. Scroll down and click on “More sound settings.”
5. Select the audio device of your choice.
6. Click the “Properties” button.
7. Go to the “Advanced” tab.
8. Click the “Restore Defaults” button.
9. Do the same for other audio devices.
10. With that, you are done resetting the audio device to default.

Steps with more details:

Launch the “Settings” app in Windows. You can press the “Windows logo key + I” keybinding or click the “Settings” icon in the Start menu. In the Settings app, go to the “System” and then the “Sound” page.

Once you are on the Sound page, scroll down and click the “More sound settings” option.

Clicking the option will instantly open the old sound settings window. Here, select the audio device of your choice and click on the “Properties” button. Keep in mind that the audio device should be enabled.

Go to the “Advanced” tab in the Properties window and Press the “Restore Defaults” button.

As soon as you click the button, Windows will reset and restore audio device settings to defaults. Click on the “Ok” button to confirm the changes.

Finally, do the same for all available and enabled audio devices.

Once you’ve done that, reboot the computer, and you are done resetting and restoring the audio device to its default.

Step 3: Reset audio services in Windows

Considering the importance of sound, Windows has two audio services: Windows Audio Endpoint Builder and Windows Audio to manage sound. Restarting and resetting these Windows audio services might help in solving audio issues.

Here’s how to reset and restart audio services in Windows:

1. Press “Windows logo key + R” to open Run.
2. Type “services.msc” in the blank field.
3. Click on the “Ok” button to open Services.
4. Right-click on the “Windows Audio Endpoint Builder” service.
5. Select the “Restart” button.
6. Click on the “Yes” button when prompted.
7. With that, both Windows audio services are restarted.

Steps with more details:

First, we must open Windows Services. To do that, search for “Services” in the Start menu or press the “Windows logo key + I” keyboard shortcut to open Run, type “services.msc” in the field, and press the “Ok” button.

After opening the Services window, find the “Windows Audio Endpoint Builder” service. Next, right-click on it and choose the “Restart” button.

Windows shows a prompt asking if you also want to restart the “Windows Audio” service. Click the “Yes” button.

Pressing yes will immediately restart both Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder services. With that, you’ve restarted and reset Windows audio services.

Step 4: Turn off audio enhancements

Not often, but having audio enhancements enabled can cause issues with Windows sound. As such, you have to turn off audio enhancements to reset sound settings in Windows.

Here’s how to turn off audio enhancements in Windows:

1. Open the Windows Settings app.
2. Select “System” on the sidebar.
3. Click on “Sound” in the main panel.
4. Scroll down and click on “More sound settings.”
5. Select the audio device of your choice.
6. Click the “Properties” button.
7. Go to the “Enhancements” tab.
8. Select the “Disable all enhancements” checkbox.
9. Press the “Ok” button.
10. Do the same for other available audio devices.
11. Click the “Ok” button in the main window.
12. With that, you’ve disabled audio enhancements for all audio devices.

Steps with more details:

First, we must open the old Sound settings window. To do that, launch the Settings app with “Start key + I” and go to the “System -> Sound” page.

Once you are here, find and click on the “More sound settings” option. It will open the old sound settings page.

Now, select the audio device of your choice and click the “Properties” button.

In the audio device properties window, go to the “Enhancements” tab and select the “Disable all enhancements” checkbox and press the “Ok” button to save changes.

Do the same for all audio devices that are available and enabled.

Finally, click the “Ok” button to complete the process and reboot the computer. With that, all audio enhancements are disabled in Windows.

Step 5: Reinstall the audio driver in Windows

The final step to resetting sound settings to default in Windows is to reset or reinstall the audio driver.

Here’s how to reset or reinstall the audio driver on Windows:

1. Right-click the Start icon on the taskbar.
2. Choose the “Device Manager” option.
3. Expand the “Sound, video, and game controllers” section.
4. Right-click on your audio device driver.
5. Select the “Uninstall device” option.
6. Click the “Uninstall” button when prompted.
7. Close the Device Manager once done.
8. Reboot the computer.
9. After rebooting, Windows will reinstall the audio driver automatically.
10. With that, you’ve successfully reinstalled the audio driver.

Steps with more details:

To start off, right-click on the Start icon on the taskbar to open the Power User menu. Find and click on the “Device Manager” option from the list of options in the Power User menu. You can also search for “Device Manager” in the Start menu and open it from there.

After opening the Device Manager, find and expand the “Sound, video, and game controllers” section. This is where you will find all the audio devices.

Find your audio device from the list, right-click on it and choose the “Uninstall device” option.

Selecting the option prompts for your confirmation. Select the “Attempt to remove the drive for this device” and click the “Uninstall” button to continue.

As soon as you do that, Windows will uninstall the audio driver. After that, close the Device Manager and reboot the computer. After rebooting, Windows will automatically reinstall the audio driver.

With that, you’ve successfully reinstalled the audio driver in Windows and are done resetting the audio settings.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Here are a few frequently asked questions about resetting sound settings in Windows 11 and 10 operating systems.

Easily reset sound settings on Windows – Conclusion

In conclusion, resetting the sound settings in Windows is a simple but effective troubleshooting step that can help to fix a variety of audio issues. If resetting the sound settings does not resolve the audio issues, there may be other underlying problems that need further troubleshooting.

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I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.