Connecting your favorite pair of headphones allows you to isolate yourself from surrounding noise and allow you to focus on the task at hand. While your Windows PC is very effective at detecting various accessories, it may sometimes fail to detect your headphones for a variety of reasons. Since there are many factors involved in connecting your headphones to your PC, the troubleshooting methods will vary from user to user. If the usual tricks like restarting your PC or switching to a different pair of headphones don't make any difference, you've come to the right place. In this post, we've outlined some solutions that will help fix Windows 11 not detecting your headphones. So, let's get started.
1. Clean the audio port.
Since you can't cover the headphone jack on your computer, it can easily collect dust and debris over time. Therefore, if Windows 11 fails to detect your wired headphones, you can start by cleaning the headphone port on your computer. Avoid using cotton swabs, as they may leave lint behind.
2. Reconnect the headphones.
You may have already done this, but don't skip this step. If you're using wired headphones, unplug them, wait a few seconds, and then plug them back in. However, follow the steps below to disconnect and reconnect your headphones using Bluetooth headphones.
Step 1: press the . key Windows+A To open Quick Settings panel. Right click on Bluetooth icon To open Settings.
Step 2: Use icon Three-dot menu To disconnect your Bluetooth headset.
Try connecting your headphones again to see if Windows can detect them now.
3. Check the operating device.
Next, you'll need to check the specific playback device on your computer to see if your headphones aren't disabled there. Read on to find out how.
Step 1: Right click on sound icon On the taskbar and select Audio settings from the resulting list.
Step 2: in window Audio settings , scroll down and tap More sound settings.
Step 3: within Employment , you will find All paired devices. If your headset is disabled, right-click on it and select Empowerment.
4. Run the audio troubleshooter
If Windows still can't detect your headset even after enabling it, you can resort to Audio Troubleshooter For help. It will scan your computer for any audio-related issues and fix them. Here's how to turn it on.
Step 1: press the . key Windows + S To open Windows search , And type Troubleshoot settings , and select the first result that appears.
Step 2: Go to Other troubleshooters.
Step 3: Click the button "employment" Next to Play Sound and follow the on-screen instructions to finish. find the mistakes and resolve it.
5. Update the audio driver
The audio driver on your computer helps Windows recognize and interact with connected audio devices. Naturally, if there's a problem with your installed audio drivers, Windows 11 may fail to detect your headphones. You can try Update audio drivers This is done manually by following the steps below to fix this.
Step 1: Click search icon of Taskbar , And type device Manager Click on the first result that appears.
Step 2: Expand Audio, video and game controllers , right click on audio device , and select "Update Driver" from the list.
From there, follow the on-screen instructions to finish updating the driver.
6. Check for Bluetooth issues
If you're only experiencing this particular issue while connecting wireless headphones, the issue may be related to Bluetooth on Windows 11. In this case, restarting the Bluetooth service or updating the Bluetooth drivers will often resolve the issue. If that doesn't work, you can check out this guide on how to fix it. Fix Bluetooth on Windows 11.
7. Windows 11 Update
Regular software updates are essential for any device, and your Windows 11 PC is no exception. If a bug is causing a problem in Windows 11, updating it to the latest version will help.
press the . key Windows + I To open Settings To check for updates, use the right pane to visit the tab. Windows Update And check for updates.
Download and install any pending updates from here and see if that helps with your headphone detection issue on Windows 11.
Connected or disconnected
While such cases are rare, any headphone connection issues can be frustrating, to say the least. We hope the solutions above helped you fix Windows 11's headphones not detecting error once and for all.
