How to Fix No Speaker or Headphones are Plugged In Error on Windows

Sometimes, you may notice a red X appearing on the sound icon on the Windows taskbar. If you hover over it, it will show an error that there are no speakers or headphones plugged in. This error can be caused by a problem with the sound driver or Windows sound service.

To fix the error, run the built-in audio troubleshooter to find and fix common problems with your audio device. If not, you can perform a sound driver rollback or manually reinstall the sound driver to restore sound to your system.

Here are some steps to help you fix the "No Speaker or Headphones are Plugged In" error on Windows.

1. Run the Windows Audio Troubleshooter

You can fix sound problems on Windows using the built-in sound troubleshooter. It scans your Windows system for common sound problems and tries to fix them automatically.

To run the troubleshooter, do the following:

1. Press Win + I to open Settings .

2. In the System tab , scroll down and click Troubleshoot .

3. Next, click Other troubleshooters .

4. Click the Run button for Playing Audio . It will check the audio service status and prompt you to select your audio device.

5. Select your device speaker and click Next .

6. Click NO , Do not open Audio Enhancements in the Turn off Sound Effects and Enhancements dialog box .

7. Apply any suggested fixes and check the results.

2. Perform audio device driver recovery

If a Windows update or driver has damaged your audio device, you can perform a driver rollback to use the last working driver again. You can use Device Manager to roll back drivers in Windows.

To restore your audio device driver, follow our guide on how to restore drivers in Windows . You'll likely find your audio driver in the Sound, video, and game controllers section of Device Manager.

3. Add Network Service and Local Service to Local Administrator Group

Another way to fix this error is to add Network Service and Local Service to the Local Administrator Group. Network Service and Local Service are predefined accounts part of the service control manager. Adding these accounts to the Local Administrator Group will help you fix the sound problem on your Windows PC.

Note that Local Users and Groups is not available on Windows Home editions. However, Home users can add Network Service and Local Service to the Local Administrator Group using Command Prompt.

To add Network Service and Local Service to the Local Administrator Group using Local Users and Groups:

1. Press Win + X to open the WinX menu.

2. Click Computer Management .

3. In Computer Management , click Local User and Groups .

4. In the right pane, double-click Groups  to see all local accounts.

5. Select and right-click on the Administrators account and select Properties .

6. Click the Add button in the Administrator Properties dialog box .

7. Next, type network service and click Check Names . It will change the object name to NETWORK SERVICE .

8. Click OK to add the network service to the local users group.

9. In the Administrator Properties dialog box , you will see NT Authority\Network Service added as the member .

10. Click the Add button again and repeat the steps to add Local Services to the group.

11. Once done, click Apply > OK to save the changes.

If you're using Windows Home, you can use Command Prompt to add Local Network and Local Services to the local administrators group. Here's how to do it.

1. Press the Win key and type cmd.

2. Open Command Prompt with admin rights .

3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following to add "local service" to the Local Group Administrator:

net localgroup Administrators /add localservice

4. Next, type the following command to add "network service" to the Local Group Administrator account:

net localgroup Administrators /add networkservice

5. If both commands are executed successfully, type exit and press Enter to close Command Prompt.

6. Restart your PC and check if the error is fixed.

4. Uninstall audio drivers and devices

A temporary issue with your audio device driver can cause this error in Windows. To fix the issue, uninstall your audio device and its associated driver from Device Manager. After restarting, Windows will automatically reinstall the driver to resolve the issue.

To uninstall an audio device:

1. Press Win + X to open the WinX menu.

2. Click Device Manager from the context menu.

3. In Device Manager , expand the Sound, video, and game controllers section .

4. Right-click on your audio device, such as Realtek Audio.

5. Select the Attempt to remove the driver for this device option in the Uninstall Device dialog box .

6. Click Uninstall to remove the device.

7. After uninstalling, restart your PC. Windows will automatically install the necessary drivers for your audio device.

If the problem persists, manually reinstall the audio device driver from the manufacturer.

5. Reinstall the audio device driver manually

If the automatic reinstallation feature does not work, check to see if your computer manufacturer or audio device OEM has a stable version of the driver available. On a laptop, visit your computer manufacturer's website and download the latest audio driver from there. On a desktop, you can download the latest driver for your sound card from the manufacturer's website. Alternatively, you can manually reinstall the existing driver for your audio device.

If the problem persists, change the device installation settings and then reinstall the driver. To change the device installation settings:

1. Press the Win key and type device installation settings .
2. Next, click Change device installation settings from the search results.
3. Select the No (your device might not work as expected) option in the Device installation settings dialog box .
4. Click Save Changes . Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control .

With automatic driver downloads disabled, reinstall the existing driver to fix the no sound issue.