How to fix Chrome No Sound issue on Windows 10?

Google Chrome is a terrific web browser, but it is far from infallible. Since it is a regular program, the most popular and widely used browser is not immune to problems. If you can’t hear sound from Chrome on your Windows 10 device, then there is a good chance the browser application is broken, its settings have been modified, or its code got altered in an unknown or obscure event.

You are hardly the only one whose Google Chrome application is refusing or failing to play sounds. Numerous user reports confirm the manifestation of the same issue across computers all over the world. Well, in this guide, we intend to show you how to fix the no sound issue in the Chrome browser on your device. Here we go.

How to fix audio not working on Google Chrome on a Windows 10 PC

You will do well to work your way through the solutions in the order they have been listed below. This way, you get to maximize your chances of finding a fix to the problem in the shortest time possible.

1. Perform preliminary checks:

First things first – you have to rule out the obvious stuff. We do not want you executing complicated operations for a problem that can be resolved through a simple procedure. Therefore, it makes sense for you to begin your troubleshooting work with the most basic steps.

The reason you do not hear sound from Chrome can be so obvious and yet easily ignored. These instructions cover the preliminary checks:

• First, you have to check and confirm that your computer’s sound is not on mute. If you are on a website or web application, you also have to verify that the sound is not on mute there.

Check for a volume control or indicator. Try to increase the volume and see what happens.

• If everything is fine with the sound level on the webpage (and in Chrome), then you have to check other web browsers – such as Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and so on – to see if the same sound issue plays out.

You can also launch other applications (not necessarily web browsers) to check and confirm that the sound setup or feature in Windows is functioning (as it is supposed to).

• If you get sound from other browsers, then you must try to reach the webpage with which you experienced the audio issue earlier and see what happens.

If no sound comes at all from the website even on other browsers, then you will know the problem has nothing to do with inconsistencies in Chrome. You might want to reach other users who access the same site to find out how things work. You might also want to contact the site’s administrator to inform them of the audio issues.

If you somehow manage to confirm that the same sound issue does not play out on other web browser applications (even on the webpage in view) or if other programs in Windows have no issues with sound output, then you will know that the problem is down to something being broken or changed in Chrome. In that case, you must move on to use other fixes. 

2. Check the Windows Volume Mixer:

The Volume Mixer is a feature or function in the Windows operating system environment through which users get to adjust the volume for individual applications, especially active programs. Perhaps, the volume for Chrome in that system setup has been set to a level so low that other controls (in Chrome or on the webpage) cannot make significant adjustments, or the sound for Chrome has been set to mute.

Well, if our assumption holds true, you will be able to get audio output back on Chrome by simply increasing the volume level or doing away with the mute setting. Go through these steps:

• First, you have to check your taskbar for the sound icon (usually in the bottom-left corner) on your screen. Right-click on that sound icon to see the list of options available and then select Open Volume Mixer.
• Once the Volume Mixer window or dialog comes up, you have to drag the volume slider for Chrome up. It must be halfway up, at least.

If you do not see the volume controller for Chrome, then you must go back to the Chrome application, go to a web page, and then try to play some audio or video content. The volume slider for Chrome will be displayed or introduced to the Volume Mixer interface now.

• If you successfully made changes to the volume slider level for Chrome, then you must restart Chrome and then try to play sounds on any website. You will do well to test things on the site with which you encountered the no audio output issue earlier.

3. Update your sound driver (this fix applies in all cases):

Your sound driver is a program that controls or manages audio output operations or interactions involving your speaker (physical device) and applications (software such as Google Chrome or even Windows itself). If your sound driver is broken or in a poor state, then your computer will struggle to play audio normally. Therefore, you have to fix issues affecting your sound driver.

Most sound driver problems are a result of the driver program becoming corrupted or outdated. Something might have modified the driver program setup, or its code might have aged significantly due to the new functions or utilities in the Windows operating system environment. In any case, an update to the sound driver is what you need.

There are different methods or procedures through which you can get your computer to run a new sound driver, but we can narrow down the paths in all of them to these: automatic and manual. In the automatic method – which is the easiest and most straightforward path of the lot – a program gets to assist you with the tedious and complicated update tasks.

You can get Auslogics Driver Updater to do the job through the automatic path. Of course, as you might have come to expect, the recommended program will handle everything on your behalf. It will begin its work by running a scan to identify or isolate the troubled or problematic drivers (the sound driver being one) on your PC. After it completes the tasks in the identification phase, it will move on to search for, download, and then install the newest manufacturer-recommended versions as replacements for the bad drivers.

In other words, by choosing the automatic method, your computer gets to run the ideal replacements (for all the corrupted or outdated drivers) without you having to do much. You also would not have to contend with the risks, complications, and potential fallouts associated with the manual procedure, which we will now move to describe.

If you intend to update your sound driver manually, then you have to begin by gathering as much information as you can about the audio output device on your machine. These steps cover that aspect of the process where you get to open the Device Manager and access the needed details:

• Do a right-click on the Windows logo button on your PC’s screen to see the Power User menu programs and options. Once the list comes up, you have to click on Device Manager.
• Assuming the Device Manager window is now on your screen, you have to locate Audio inputs and outputs on the list and then click on the expansion icon for this category.

Your audio output device will now be visible.

• Take note of the device name. You can write it down somewhere.
• Double-click on your audio output device.

The Properties window for the selected device will be brought up now.

• Click on the Driver tab to go there. Copy down as many details as you can.
• Close the selected device window and the Device Manager application.

Now, since you have all the information you need about the audio output driver on your computer, you can proceed to search for its replacement (a new or updated version of the same driver) on the web. These are the instructions you must continue with:

• Fire up your web browser app. Once the program window appears, you have to fill the URL or address field with the name of your audio output driver.
• Hit the Enter button on your machine to run a search task on Google using the inputted keywords as the query.
• Go through the entries on the Google Search result pages. Check for links to reputable or official websites.

If you do not find the appropriate links on the first page, then you must navigate to the next page and check the stuff there.

• Assuming you are now on the download page for the driver, you have to select the newest version of the driver available carefully. You might also have to specify your operating system version and build.

You must make the right selections here.

Note: If you do not find good links to pages where you can get the driver, then you must go to your PC manufacturer’s site or the site of the firm that manufactured your audio output device. In that case, these instructions apply:

• You will have to specify the details that define your machine. Typically, these are the parameters: your computer’s name or model, the version or build of Windows running on it, and so on.
• You will also have to choose the version of the driver you want. Ideally, you should go for the most stable new driver. You do not have to get the newest of the lot.
• At this point, assuming you have gotten your browser to download the new driver package, you have to click or double-click on the file to get Windows to run it.
• You will have to follow the instructions on the driver installer window and perform the requested tasks to install the driver. You might also want to pay some attention to the progress of the operations.

Here, assuming your computer is done installing the new driver for your sound or audio output device, you have to restart your PC to allow Windows to take the new changes into account. After the recommended reboot operation, you can then fire up Chrome (or other applications) to test things and confirm that your sound output function is now in order.

4. Open Google Chrome in incognito mode; Disable your extensions:

If you are getting sound on other applications or setups but not in Chrome, then you can try running the browser application in incognito mode. In the environment or platform resulting from your usage of incognito mode, the extensions or add-ins you installed in Chrome will not be allowed to run.

If you get sound on webpages while Chrome is in incognito mode, then you will know the no audio output problem has something to do with the extensions. Follow these instructions to test things in incognito mode:

• Assuming you have the Google Chrome window up on your PC screen, you have to click on the menu icon (formed from three dots aligned vertically).
• From the list of options displayed, you have to click on New incognito window.

If you have Google Chrome shortcuts enabled (and did not change the settings for the function), then you can use this keyboard shortcut to launch an incognito window quickly: Ctrl + Shift + N.

The required browser window will be brought up now.

• You have to fill the URL or address field on the incognito window with the site or webpage link where you encountered the no sound issue.
• Hit the Enter key on your machine’s keyboard.
• Assuming you are now on the webpage, you have to play some audio or video content to see if you get sound this time.

If Chrome delivers audio output when in incognito mode, then you will know what to do. Proceed with these instructions to disable your extensions:

• First, you have to open a regular Chrome window (not incognito). Launch Chrome normally by clicking on its icon (or shortcut) on your taskbar or desktop.
• Once the regular Chrome window comes up, you have to fill the URL or address field on it with chrome://extensions and then hit the Enter key on your PC’s keyboard to run that code.

You will be directed to the Extensions screen in a new tab.

• Now, you must disable the extensions you suspect to be causing trouble on Google Chrome.

Most users reported that the Pepper Flash extension was responsible for their travails. If you have this particular extension or a similar add-on, you have to disable it.

To disable an extension, all you have to do is click on its toggle to deselect it.

• After you disable the extensions you suspect to be the culprits, you must restart Chrome and then check whether the sound issue is still in play.

If the problem persists, then you have to disable all your extensions and then test them out by turning them on and off (one at a time, each one after the other) until you identify or isolate the problematic extension. You can then decide to uninstall the bad extension to keep it away from the Chrome application on your PC forever, or you can get a replacement for it. An ideal replacement should be an extension that replicates the same functions without causing the no audio output issue to manifest itself again.

5. Clear the cache and cookies used by Chrome:

Google Chrome, like all modern browsers, uses a cache setup through which its stores content for websites and then retrieves the data when necessary. This way, webpage load-up operations become faster than they would normally be had Chrome been programmed to fetch websites’ data from their respective online servers every time. Unfortunately, given the way data is stored in the cache and how the retrieval process goes, the setup is prone to malfunctions or faults, some of which translate into other problems in Chrome.

Perhaps, you cannot get sound on your webpages in Chrome because something is wrong with its cache. The same shortcomings or setbacks associated with the cache setup also apply to cookies. In other words, the problem in view might be down to your cookie setup being broken.

Fortunately, you can fix the issues affecting your cache or cookies by clearing them. These are the steps you must follow:

• Assuming the Chrome application window is up on your screen, you have to click on the menu icon (the object formed from three dots arranged vertically) in its top-right corner.
• From the list of options that show up, you have to click on More tools. From the list, you must then choose Clear browsing data.
• Once the Clear browsing data window or dialog gets brought up, you have to specify the appropriate parameters for the operation.
• If the no sound issue only started to manifest itself recently, then you can select 7 days as the value for Time range.

Otherwise, you have to specify the longest timeframe you can afford.

• You have to click on the boxes for these items:
• Cookies and other site data
• Cached images and files

You do not have to click on the box for Browsing history – especially if you do not want to lose the details about your recent activity on the web.

• At this point, assuming you have made all the necessary selections, you have to click on the CLEAR DATA button to get on with the task.

You might have to click again to affirm things.

• After the data clearing operation, you have to restart the Google Chrome app and then check whether the sound function or property on websites is back to normal.

6. Remove bad or unwanted software from Chrome:

If the disabling/clearing operations for extensions, cookies, and similar items fail to deliver the needed result, then you have to consider the possibility where the no audio output problem is down to the presence of malicious, unwanted, or unknown software in your web browser. At this point, you do not have to bother yourself thinking about the means through which the bad code got into Chrome.

Google provides a special clean-up tool for users to run when they have to deal with malicious items affecting Google Chrome. Of course, you are going to do the job here using that utility. We have described the process in these steps:

• First, you have to open the Chrome application. Once the browser window comes up, you have to input the following keywords into the URL or address field on it:

Chrome Cleanup Tool

• Hit the Enter button on your device’s keyboard to perform a search task on Google using those keywords as the query.
• On the Google Search results page, you have to click on the first good download link on the list.
• Assuming you are on the right page, you have to check for the Download button there and click on it to get the file.

You might have to agree to certain license terms or service agreements by clicking on the Agree or Accept and Download button.

• At this point, assuming your browser is done fetching the executable file, you have to click or double-click on it to get Windows to run it.

You might have to click on the Run button to affirm things – if your system brings up a dialog or window.

The Chrome Cleanup Tool window will eventually appear. The utility will then begin its job by scanning your computer for malicious or harmful software that affects web browsers like Chrome.

• At the end of it all, if the tool finds something, you will have to click on the Remove suspicious programs button.

You will then be directed to a new Chrome tab where you will be prompted to reset the settings in the browser.

• Click on Reset.

Note: If the reset prompt fails to come up (for any reason), then you have to reset Chrome settings to their defaults on your own. You can check the next fix for the description of this procedure.

7. Reset Chrome settings:

If Chrome is struggling to play sounds on webpages because its settings changed, then the procedure here will prove to be the ideal fix to the audio output issue. There is a good chance that an extension or application altered Chrome’s configuration without much input from you (or even your permission), which means you do not know of the events where the unfortunate changes occurred.

Even after you remove problematic extensions to fix the problem, Chrome might retain the bad alterations they made – and that is probably one reason you got no reprieve from the issue earlier. In any case, the Chrome reset operation will come in handy. Go through these steps to reset Chrome:

• Assuming the Chrome application window is on up on your computer’s screen, you must click on the menu icon (formed from three dots arranged vertically) in its top-right corner.
• This time, from the list of options that show up, you have to click on Settings.

You will be directed to the Settings screen in a new tab now.

• Scroll down to get to the bottom of the list. Click on Advanced.
• Now, you must scroll down to get to the bottom of your current screen again.
• Click on Restore settings to their original defaults.

Chrome will now bring up a confirmatory box or dialog.

• You have to click on the Reset button there to confirm things.

Chrome will now act to initiate the operations for the reset process. After everything is done, Chrome will restart.

• Go to a website where you can play a video or audio file to test for sound in Chrome.

8. Update Chrome:

If the no sound issue has anything to do with bugs or inconsistencies in Chrome’s code itself while being unrelated to third-party applications or external influences, then an update to the browser application might be the only thing you need to resolve the no sound issue. Chrome is programmed to fetch and install updates automatically, but it does not hurt to initiate a manual check for a new Chrome version.

Perhaps, the automatic update function for Chrome on your computer got disabled or became broken. The manual check for updates is relatively easy to carry out, anyway. Here you go:

• First, you have to open Chrome (as you have always done) to access its regular window or tab.
• You then have to click on Chrome’s menu icon (formed from three dots arranged vertically) in the top-right corner of the browser window.
• This time, from the list displayed, you have to click on Help. And from the sublist, you have to select About Google Chrome.

If Chrome has an update ready for installation, then you will see the Update Google Chrome link. Of course, if this link is available, you are better off clicking on it to get the job done there and then.

Once you get to the About Chrome screen, you will find Chrome checking for updates automatically. If a new browser build is found, it will be downloaded and installed automatically.

• You might have to restart Chrome, or you might see a prompt to this effect (to allow the operation to proceed) – if the Chrome application ends up installing a new browser build.
• After the installation process for the new version of Chrome is complete (and the browser restarts), you have to go to some websites to play videos or audio clips to find out if the no sound problem has been resolved for good.

Other things you can try to resolve the no sound issue in Google Chrome on Windows 10

At this point, if you still cannot get Chrome to output sound when you are playing videos or audio clips on websites, you have to try out the procedures and workarounds on our final list of fixes. One of the solutions in fewer details here might prove effective where the others failed.

9. Update Adobe Flash Player:

Adobe Flash Player is fast becoming obsolete, but it still handles media content for a good number of sites on the web. If the Adobe Flash Player plugin installed on the Chrome application on your computer is faulty or broken, then you have to fix things to hear sounds by installing an update or a new version of the same player.

10. Reinstall Chrome:

If all else fails, then you have to reinstall Chrome. We recommend you uninstall Chrome properly using the most disruptive options or techniques to ensure all its data files or entries get removed from your computer. You must then reinstall Chrome by fetching its installer package (through another browser, perhaps) from Google, running the downloaded file, and then following the on-screen instructions to finish things.