These are the initial troubleshooting steps that the Technology Help Desk asks people to try out before bringing your computer in for service in relation to issues with audio and video on your Windows computer.
Overview
Use these instructions to troubleshoot audio and video issues (i.e. microphone not working, speakers not working, etc.) on a Windows computer.
Steps
Check for Driver Updates
- Open the Start Menu and begin typing Dell Command Update. This should already be installed on your computer as part of the setup process but if you have an older computer and do not have it, please let the Technology Help Desk know and we can push the program remotely.
- Select Check to run the program to check for driver updates on the computer. This takes care of most common audio issues.
Make sure you're not muted
- There is a common keyboard shortcut, Function + F4, to check if your microphone is muted. On some Dell computers, there is a designated key with a microphone symbol on it, and if the light is on that means it's muted. Double-check to make sure that you don't have Function Lock enabled.
Check security settings
- Open Settings and select Privacy. Look for the Microphone and Camera settings.
- Ensure that your computer is set up to allow applications to access both the microphone and camera. Make sure that the following options are toggled on:
- Allow apps to access your microphone
- Allow desktop apps to access your microphone
- Allow apps to access your camera
- Allow desktop apps to access your camera
- Review the list of applications on each page and ensure that the applications you're trying to use have access to both the camera and microphone are toggled on.
Check default sound inputs and outputs
- Open Settings, and select System.
- Select the Sound settings tab.
- You should see a dropdown menu to select your Output device. If you scroll down the page, you should see another dropdown menu to select your Input device, like an external microphone.
- Another option is to search for System Sounds in the select Change system sounds.
- Select the device you want in the Playback tab and the Recording tab and select Set Default.
- Note: The computer has different "profiles" for your defaults, determined by the combination of devices that are plugged into the computer at any given time. This means that just because you set your defaults once doesn't mean they won't switch to a different profile depending on if you add or remove a device. You can come back here and ensure it's set how you want for each, and mix and match devices.
Look at audio settings within the apps giving you trouble
- Check the application that's giving you trouble to ensure that it is set to use the system default sounds/
- You can also purposely override the system defaults, but keep in mind that if you override the system defaults then the settings you set within the application will take precedence.
- If there's an option within the application for allowing other programs to continue to access your microphone and speakers while the app is running, we recommend enabling that option.
Trouble with Zoom? Uninstall and reinstall the program
- Use the instructions for Getting started with Zoom or How to update Zoom.