The short answer
Check the output device first, because updates frequently switch playback to a monitor or a virtual device that produces no sound. Then roll back or reinstall the audio driver from the manufacturer rather than Windows Update. Restarting the Windows Audio service resolves a stuck state that looks identical to a driver failure.
Sound disappearing after an update is almost always one of three things: the output is going somewhere silent, the driver was replaced with a generic one, or the audio service has hung. All three are quick to check and none require reinstalling Windows.
Step 1: check where the sound is going
Click the volume icon and look at the device selected
Updates commonly switch output to a monitor connected over HDMI, which has no speakers, or to a virtual device installed by conferencing software.
Open the sound settings and check all devices
Some are hidden when disconnected. Show disabled and disconnected devices and check your speakers are enabled and set as default.
Check the app's own output setting
Browsers, games and conferencing apps often have their own device selector that overrides the system default.
Check the volume mixer
Individual applications can be muted independently, and that survives updates.
Test with headphones
If headphones work and speakers do not, the problem is the speaker output path rather than the system.
Step 2: restart the audio services
Open Services from the Start menu and restart Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder, in that order. Both should be set to Automatic. A hung audio service produces complete silence with no error and is more common after an interrupted update than people realise.
Step 3: the driver
Windows Update frequently replaces a manufacturer’s audio driver with a generic one, which works on some machines and produces silence on others, particularly laptops with multi-channel amplifiers.
- Roll back the driver in Device Manager under Sound, video and game controllers. If the option is available, this is the fastest fix.
- Install the manufacturer’s driver from your laptop or motherboard maker’s support page, which is the correct version for your hardware.
- Uninstall and restart if neither works, ticking the option to delete the driver software. Windows reinstalls a basic driver on restart, and you can then install the manufacturer’s version cleanly.
- Check for a separate audio component such as a smart amplifier driver, which some laptops need in addition to the main audio driver and which is a common cause of silence on the internal speakers specifically.
Pause driver updates from Windows Update temporarily while you sort this out, otherwise Windows will reinstall the problematic driver on the next restart and you will conclude your fix did not work. Windows has a setting to defer driver updates for a period.
Step 4: the audio format
In the playback device’s advanced properties, the default format can be set to a rate the hardware does not support, which produces silence rather than an error. Try 16 bit 44100 Hz and 24 bit 48000 Hz. Untick exclusive mode options while you are there, since an application holding exclusive control can silence everything else.
Step 5: enhancements and spatial sound
Audio enhancements and spatial sound features can cause silence when the driver changes underneath them. Turn off all enhancements in the device properties and set spatial sound to off, then test. Re-enable selectively afterwards if you want them.
Step 6: BIOS and hardware
- Check the audio device is enabled in the BIOS, which is rare and does happen after a firmware update resets defaults.
- Check Device Manager for a warning triangle on the audio device, which indicates a driver or resource problem rather than a configuration one.
- Check the front panel connection on a desktop if only the front headphone socket is dead, since the internal cable can work loose.
- Test with a USB audio adapter, which bypasses the internal audio entirely. If that works, the internal hardware or its driver is at fault, which separates the two possibilities cleanly.
Be sceptical of third-party driver updater tools offered as a solution for audio problems. They install versions that do not match your hardware and are a recurring cause of exactly this problem. Use the manufacturer’s own support page.
If it is a laptop with no sound at all
Laptops often use a smart amplifier chip that requires its own driver in addition to the main audio driver. When Windows installs a generic audio driver, the amplifier driver is orphaned and the internal speakers go silent while headphones continue to work.
That specific symptom, headphones fine and speakers silent after an update, is nearly always this. The fix is installing the manufacturer’s full audio package, which includes both components.
Why did my sound stop after a Windows update?
Usually because the update replaced the manufacturer’s audio driver with a generic one, or switched the default output device. Both are quick to check and quick to reverse.
Headphones work but the speakers do not. Why?
On laptops this usually means a missing amplifier driver, which the internal speakers need and headphones do not. Install the manufacturer’s full audio package.
Should I use Windows Update for audio drivers?
It works on many machines and supplies generic versions that lose manufacturer-specific features. If you have a problem, the manufacturer’s driver is the correct one.
Why does sound work in one app but not another?
That app has its own output device setting pointing at something silent, or it is muted in the volume mixer. Both are per-application and survive updates.
Will a USB audio adapter fix it?
It bypasses the internal audio entirely, so yes as a workaround and it also serves as a useful diagnostic. If a USB adapter works, the problem is the internal audio path rather than Windows.
The order
Check the output device and the volume mixer, then restart the Windows Audio services. Roll back or reinstall the audio driver from the manufacturer, including any separate amplifier component. Try a different default audio format and turn off enhancements. Pause driver updates while you work, and use a USB adapter to separate hardware from software if you are still stuck.
