How to fix Dell laptop lost sound?

Dell is a laptop brand from the US with high durability and stability. That is why this is a laptop line that is trusted by many customers. However, during use, it is difficult to avoid basic errors from the software. One of the most common situations that customers encounter is that the laptop they are using has lost sound. So how to handle a Dell laptop that has lost sound? Please refer to the instructions below from TipsMake!

What causes Dell laptop to lose sound?

Laptop lines may differ in structure and design, but most of them use Windows operating system and Dell laptops are the same. Therefore, in this case, there will generally be the following causes:

1. Laptop has not activated Playback Devices

During the operation, you may have mistakenly pressed a command that turned off Playback Devices, causing the laptop to lose sound. 

You can check by right-clicking on the speaker icon on the Taskbar, select Playback Devices. The activated speaker will be green.

2. Due to software conflicts

On the computer, software running in conflict with each other can be the cause of the laptop losing sound.

3. Due to hardware errors related to speakers

Speakers are also a component that depreciates over time. If your laptop has been used for a long time, the speakers or related components may also wear out and break, leading to the Dell laptop losing sound.

4. Subjective errors such as not turning on the speaker, loose jack, speaker volume is too low

If the laptop uses external speakers and the speakers have no sound, it may be because the speaker jack to the computer is loose or plugged in the wrong way. In some cases, forgetting to turn on the speakers or the speakers are at a low volume is also one of the reasons why the computer has no sound.

How to fix Dell laptop lost sound?

Check the speaker icon on the Taskbar

Most keyboards today have a row of shortcut keys with many different functions, including volume control. 

Therefore, during use, sometimes you accidentally press a key combination that mutes the sound of the device. Therefore, you should check the volume on both the computer and the external speaker to make sure that the speaker is turned on and the volume is enough for the speaker to emit sound. To check, you can left-click on the speaker icon in the right corner of the screen. When the speaker icon does not have an X, it means that the audio devices are turned on.

Check the volume on the player

When using a laptop, you often watch movies or listen to music on web browsers or media player applications. And each of these players has its own sound management tool. If your Dell laptop cannot play sound and suddenly loses sound, check if the player has turned on the sound.

Restart your computer

Normally, with common basic errors on laptops, if not related to hardware, restarting Windows is the best way you can do to handle these problems. Restarting Windows will help the applications to rest and return to their original operating state.

Similarly, if a Dell laptop loses sound due to conflicts with running software, restarting the computer will turn off background applications and return the laptop to its original boot state.

Use the Troubleshoot sound problems feature

Windows has a built-in feature that can automatically detect and fix basic Windows system problems. If your laptop suddenly loses sound, you can activate this feature immediately through the sound icon in the right corner of the screen.

The operation is also very simple, you just need to right-click on the speaker icon and then select Troubleshoot sound problems.

Immediately after selecting this feature, Windows will automatically launch to find and fix sound problems.

Check audio driver

To function properly, laptop components need to have the correct driver installed. In case your laptop has no sound, it is likely that your laptop has a driver error.

To check the Audio Driver, do the following:

Right click on the Windows icon > select Device Manager

In the control panel, click on Audio inputs and outputs.

If your sound driver is marked with an exclamation mark, you can right-click on your sound device and select Update driver . If you are more sure, you can completely uninstall this driver and reinstall a new driver completely.

Marvin Fry

Update 16 January 2025