Recent Windows 11 Update damages audio - Low volumes

[JohnWilliams149]

The recent Window11 Upgrade appears to have damaged the Realtek audio drivers on my computer. The symptoms are low volume to the speakers though volume through the headphones seems normal.

Searches of the various communities suggest one remedy is either to roll back the drivers but this option isn't offered or reinstall the drivers from the PC Support site - ie here but I can't find the drivers,

Sorry if I'm being boringly basic but is it possible to get the Realtek audio drivers from here and if so how?

John

 

[Martinr36]

Can you please post the full specs from your orders page

 

[JohnWilliams149]

Desktop Configuration
CORSAIR 3000D AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE| AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.2GHz/38MB CACHE/AM5)| ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!| | 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (1 x 16GB)| INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)| 512GB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR, 1625MB/sW)| 1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW) !CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY| DeepCool AG400 Performance ARGB CPU Cooler| STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING|ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)| ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT| WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0| MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS| Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]

 

[ubuysa]

If you login to your account on the main PCS page (not the forum) you'll find all the drivers for your build there.

 

[SpyderTracks]

For a PC though, you wouldn't use any drivers from your PCS account as they will be out of date.

You'd always go to the manufacturers website, so the motherboard download page on Asus in your case.

 

[Scott]

Just to rule out anything obvious, can you right click on the speaker down the bottom right of the screen and then click "Volume Mixer". Ensure that they are all at max when playing audio.

Where are the speakers you are connected to? Is it through the monitor, or external speakers? Are the volume of them full?

 

[JohnWilliams149]

Checked the mixer and ensured the volumes are set high.

The speaker are active speakers connected through the sound output on the read of the PC. This connection hasn't been changed and they worked before the upgrade.

I want to reinstall the previous driver version but cannot find it on the PC Specialist site

 

[TonyCarter]

Are the active speakers getting power, do the work on other devices? (I ask as my internal amp gave up on a set I had).

 

[SpyderTracks]

I want to reinstall the previous driver version but cannot find it on the PC Specialist site

As already stated, you wouldn't use PCS, your driver will have been updating by windows update regularly.

Any drivers are on the Asus site, they list historical versions as well, so you can install whichever version you want to test.

 

[ubuysa]

Why do you think the audio drivers are 'damaged'? Does this low volume problem happen with all apps (and Windows) or only one? Have you checked both the Windows sound settings and the Realtek audio settings?

I think it would be wise to step back and look at the bigger picture because I suspect you've already gone down a rabbit hole.

 

[JohnWilliams149]

Hello everyone and thanks for your comments and suggestions. The low volume problem occurred with all applications but only when using the speaker output - ie the green output connections.

The audio problem occurred after the Windows 11 update was installed. I've had a similar problem once before and reinstalling the drivers cured it. This time it didn't.

I'm ashamed to say I had hopped down the rabbit hole. While I'd checked all the system accessible volume settings, I hadn't carried out the basic check of examining the physical settings on the speaker system - an old and much-loved Harman Kadon system I've had since my first Dell system several years ago. The system has a volume setting on the right-hand satellite speaker. I set this to 75% and haven't touched it for a long time preferring to use the computer volume settings to control volume.

When I checked this setting, the volume returned to normal. After the upgrade, the system hardware volume control had been turned down. In any case all's well now and I'm able to listen to my music again.

Thanks again to all your suggestions and support.

John

 

[ubuysa]

Thanks for the feedback.