Headphone Jack Not Working on Laptop Windows 10 – SOLVED

Headphones are designed to work for hours and hours, and most of us don’t unplug them after using them. That is why manufacturers are making more reliable headphones. But the headphone jack is the most sensitive part of the headphones, and it often gets damaged if it is not handled properly.

Most laptop users have claimed the headphone jack doesn’t work on laptops with Windows 10. This error is specific to laptops and Windows 10. Here we will give _ the best quick, step-by-step methods to solve this issue. So, stay tuned and check the following methods. 

Why Headphone Jack Is Not Working on Laptop Windows 10?

The most common issues leading to a headphone jack not working on a laptop are a damaged headphone jack, damaged headphone wire, not being plugged in properly, audio troubleshooting, the wrong default device selection, mute or low volume, or the wrong window audio format.

Headphone Jack Damage: This is one of the main reasons your headphone jack is not working on a laptop windows 10. If it’s damaged, it won’t work at all.

Damaged Headphone Wire: A damaged wire disconnects the audio signals, so you will hear nothing from the headphones.

Wrong Audio Settings: Each audio device has its configuration. If you have altered any of these configurations, you might experience this problem.

Incompatible Audio Format: Headphones are designed to support a variety of audio hertz, but some headphones have limited accessibility. Such headphones may cause this issue on the laptop.

Outdated Drivers: Some headphones require specific audio formats, and if the laptop doesn’t support that format, it won’t work.

Mute or Low Headphone Volume: Sometimes, the issue can be as simple as a mute sound or low volume setting. Make sure to check these settings before heading into more complex solutions.

Check For Physical Damage (Headphones and Pin)

Physical damage is not uncommon in headphones. Physical damage could occur to the wire or the headphone jack itself. These damages may cause the headphone jack on a Windows 10 laptop to stop working. 

To see if the headphones are physically damaged, look at the pin and the slot on your laptop. If you find any physical damage, replace or repair the damaged component. Repairing must be done by a professional to avoid further problems. To confirm the physical damage:

• Check headphones on other devices.
• Examine the cable thoroughly.
• Check the headphone jack thoroughly.
• Clean the headphone jack.
• Look for any damages in the laptop headphone slot.

Clean Headphone Jack Using Sand Paper

Headphone jacks often get covered with carbon. Because this carbon does not allow current or electronic signals to pass through, connecting your headphones will be difficult. These connections are often unstable or completely dead. 

To avoid this, you have to clean the headphone jack thoroughly. After cleaning the headphones, use sandpaper to rub the headphone jack. Don’t rub it too hard. It may lead to physical damage. 

Check Headphone Cable / Wire

No matter how flexible or braided the cable a headphone has, one day, the wires inside this protective layer will break because of overuse. The reason is that small clusters of conducting metal wires are inside the cable for better sound and less resistance. 

Moreover, from time to time, the coiling and uncoiling of the headphone cable break each wire inside one by one; until all of the wires are broken, and there is no sound at all. So plug in your headphones and play some sound to determine where the cable is damaged or the wires are broken. 

Usually, there will be a visible bend on the cable, and after pressing this bend, you should be able to hear the sound through your headphone speakers. You can also check the headphone cable by connecting it to any other device. If it’s not working there, the problem is the same.

Plugin Headphone and Restart PC

Sometimes the headphone cables are not flexible enough, and they don’t stretch when pulled out accidentally. In this case, the plug is half inside the socket, but it is not plugged in properly; hence it seems like the headphone jack is not working. 

Moreover, some driver and firmware bugs may cause these issues; you can restart your PC while headphones are plugged in. It will restart the drivers and refresh the firmware, enabling you to listen to your laptop’s audio. 

Update Sound Driver

Sometimes the fault is not inside the hardware but inside your laptop’s operating system, which might be missing the sound drivers or the sound driver updates. You can solve this issue by following these easy steps:

• Right-click on the Start menu icon and choose “Device Manager” from the menu.
• A window will pop up with a list of all your installed drivers.
• Drop down the title saying “Audio, Input, and Output Devices.”

• Select the “Speakers” driver and click the update device drive icon in the toolbar.
• A window will pop up where you can select to search automatically for drivers. Hopefully, your drivers will be updated.

Run Audio Troubleshoot

Windows Troubleshooter is another portal to fix broken headphone that does not produce sound. It is usually used when there is a problem with the sound drivers. To solve your issue, you can follow these easy steps:

• Open the control panel by pressing Windows+R and typing “control panel” or by opening the Start Menu and selecting the “Control Panel App.”
• Here select “System And Security.”
• A new Listing will appear when you select “Troubleshoot common computer problems.”

• A window will appear. If it says “No recommended troubleshooters right now,” you do not need to troubleshoot; otherwise, select troubleshoot the problem.

Make Headphone as Default Device

Most of the time, multiple devices with audio output are connected to our laptop, and the Windows 10 operating system prioritizes them in the order of connection. Simply, the first audio device becomes the default device. As a result, some audio devices attached afterward do not even work. You can perform the following steps to make your headphone your default device so you can use them properly, fixing their sound and recording issues:

• Open the Windows “Control Panel App” and select “Hardware and Sound.”
• A new listing will appear where you should select “Manage Audio Devices” under the “Sound” option.
• A small dialogue box will appear with a small list, and the device with a green correction mark will be your default device.

• Select your headphone here and press the button below saying “Set Default.” Congratulations, you have successfully set your headphone as the device audio input/output device.

Increase Headphone Volume

Sometimes the headphones have neither the driver’s issue nor the hardware fault, but the headphone volume is at its minimum value, making it look like the headphones are not working on a laptop. 

It is very easy to adjust the headphone volume, especially when using Windows 10 on your laptop. For this, you need to click on the speaker’s icon in the bottom right corner of your taskbar. Soon, a small menu will appear with a small scrollbar in the same corner. Here, first, you need to choose your headphone from the list and then adjust their volume. 

Change Audio Format (Hertz)

It is possible that you connected a communication device to your laptop that changed the default audio format, and now you cannot hear the sounds using your headphones. To check or solve this issue, you should follow these steps:

• Open the “Start menu” and click the cog icon to open the settings.
• A window will pop up; here, choose the “System” option.
• Afterward, select the “Sound” option from the listing on the left.
• Next select “Device Properties,” written in blue color and has an underlined text.
• Click on the blue underlined text saying “Additional device properties.”

• Now a small dialogue box with multiple tabs will appear with the title “Speakers Properties.”
• You should select the tab “Advanced” and change the audio format according to your headphone format. It should solve the audio format problem and make the sound clear.

Conclusion

The headphone not working issue can be solved in many ways. For example, you can use troubleshooting tools, update the driver, make your headphone the default device and adjust their volume. It is also possible to change the audio format, which may help if you cannot hear any sound from your headphones. Here we have provided a step-by-step guide for resolving the headphone jack not working error.