Chrome: Sound Not Working Through Headphones

Google Chrome is my default browser. I work from home, and I enjoy listening to my favorite playlists on Youtube while working.

One day, I experienced a really annoying technical issue. There was no sound coming from Chrome through my headphones. It took me 15 minutes to solve the problem. And this is how the idea of this guide came up.

By the way, setting up my headphones as the default output device for Chrome was the magic solution for me. So, you may want to jump straight to that method.

Fix Headphones Not Working on Google Chrome

Unplug the Headphones and Restart the PC

Unplug your headphones from your computer. Then restart the computer. If this is only a temporary issue, restarting the device should fix it.

Make Sure Chrome Is Not Muted

Check if there’s a specific sound setting on your computer that mutes Chrome.

1. Right-click on the speaker icon.
2. Then click on Volume Mixer.
3. You should now see a list of volume controls for different programs.
4. Check if Chrome is on the list.
5. Unmute the volume for Chrome if it’s muted.
6. Refresh the browser and check if your headphones are working now.

Check If the Tab Is Muted

Check if you accidentally muted the tab where the sound is coming from. For example, if you’re listening to music on YouTube and have tens of tabs open, you may have accidentally muted the YouTube tab. If that’s the case, you should see a slash on the sound icon anyway.

Right-click on your YouTube tab and select Unmute site.

Reset the App Volume Preferences for Chrome

Setting the app volume settings to default may help you to fix the audio issue with your headphones.

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. Then select System.
3. Click on Sound.
4. Scroll down to Advanced sound options.
5. Locate Chrome under App volume and device preferences.
6. Hit the Reset button to bring the audio settings back to Microsoft’s recommended default settings.

Set Your Headphones as the Default Device for Chrome

Setting your headphones as the default output device under the Chrome output section worked for many users.

1. Navigate to Settings → System → Sound.
2. Then go to Advanced sound options.
3. You should now see the App volume and device preferences.
4. Scroll down to Chrome, and click on the Output drop-down menu.
5. Select your headphones to send sound from Chrome directly to your headphones.

Check Chrome’s Sound Settings

Chrome has its own sound settings. For example, you can mute all sound coming from the browser. Or you can blacklist certain websites. Maybe they’re automatically playing audio ads when you visit them, and you don’t like that.

1. Click on the browser menu and go to Settings.
2. Then select Privacy and security.
3. Scroll down to Site settings.
4. Scroll all the way down to Additional content settings.
5. Then click on Sound.
6. Locate the following option: Allow sites to play sound (recommended). Make sure the option is enabled (the toggle is blue).
   • As long that that option is enabled, the websites you’re visiting are allowed to play sound/music.
7. Check if there are any websites blocked under Mute. Remove them and check if the issue is gone.

Set Your Headphones as the General Output Device

Some users suggested that setting the headphones as the main output device solved the problem. Basically, you’re going to instruct Windows 10 to send all sound to the headphones.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select System.
3. Then click on Sound.
4. Under Output, select your headphones as the default output device.
5. Refresh Chrome and check if the issue is gone.

Update or Reinstall Your Sound Drivers

If your sound drivers are outdated or got corrupted, that might explain why you can’t use your headphones with Chrome.

1. Launch the Device Manager.
2. Go to Sound, video, and game controllers.
3. Expand the list of drivers.
4. Right-click on your sound driver.
5. Select Update Driver.
6. Restart your computer and reload Chrome.
7. If the issue persists, try reinstalling the driver. So, instead of Update driver, select Uninstall device this time around.
8. Restart your computer again and check if there’s sound coming through your headphones.

Disable Your Extensions and Clear the Cache

Your browser extensions might be interfering with the audio scripts of the websites you’re visiting on Chrome.

Turn off all your extensions and check if the audio problem persists.

1. Click on your Chrome menu.
2. Go to More tools.
3. Then click on Extensions.
4. Disable all your extensions one by one.
5. Close the browser and relaunch it.

If the issue is still there, try clearing the cache. Your browser cache might be blocking the audio scripts. Clearing it should help.

1. Click again on your Chrome menu.
2. Select History.
3. Then click on History again.
4. Hit the Clear browsing data option.
5. Start by clearing the cache from the last 4 weeks. Check if you notice any improvements. If that did not help, clear all the cache. Select All time under Time range.

Reset Chrome

If you reached this step but could not fix the problem yet, you may need to reset your browser.

1. Click on the Chrome menu.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Type ‘reset’ in the search bar.
4. Click on Restore settings to their original defaults.
   • This action will disable all your extensions and clear your cache and cookies.
5. Hit the Reset settings button.
6. Restart your computer. Launch Chrome and check if your headphones are working now.

Reinstall Google Chrome

If nothing worked, try reinstalling Chrome. Maybe some files got so corrupted that the only solution is to install a fresh copy of the browser.

1. To uninstall Chrome, open the Control Panel.
2. Select Programs and Features.
3. Click on Uninstall a program.
4. Select Chrome.
5. Then hit the Uninstall button.
6. Then download a fresh copy of Chrome and install it.

Re-installing Chrome is the last resort solution. If that failed to fix your problem, we’re afraid you need to switch to a different browser.

Let us know if you can use your headphones on Chrome. Which solution worked for you? We’re really curious to read your answers.