I'm having a frustrating issue with the audio on my new laptop, which I got for school in August. One day, the sound just stopped working when I tried to mute it, and it's been a hassle ever since. During the semester, I managed by using my iPad and headphones, but now I'm really tired of that setup. After some basic troubleshooting with a tech-savvy friend, we discovered that the audio driver seems to be the problem. We've tried all sorts of fixes like uninstalling and updating the drivers, but nothing's worked. My friend suggested using an adapter, but that would still limit me to using headphones, which aren't comfortable for me due to ear irritation. I also have a second monitor that has an audio port but no speakers. I'm looking for advice on whether I should buy the adapter, get a new monitor with speakers, or try to figure out a new driver. I'm not tech-savvy and I'm on a budget, so I'm hoping for a cost-effective solution. Here are the specs of my laptop: Acer Nitro V Gaming Laptop with Intel Core i7-13620H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB DDR5 RAM, and 1TB SSD.
6 Answers
There are plenty of cheap USB adapters available that can help solve your audio issues. It’s definitely worth checking those out if you're looking for a quick fix.
Have you checked your Windows System Restore points? You might be able to revert to a time when the audio was working well. If that doesn't pan out, consider trying a Live Linux USB to see if the audio works there. If you can hear sound with Linux, then the issue is likely with your Windows installation. You can find a Linux version like Mint or Ubuntu, create a bootable USB, and test it out. If the audio works, you might need to delete the audio drivers and let Windows reinstall them. You can find drivers for your Acer laptop on their support page with your serial number.
You could try reinstalling Windows, or just stick with Bluetooth earbuds or an external Bluetooth speaker until the audio issue gets resolved. Sometimes it's the simplest fix, especially if you can live with wireless sound options for now.
I just bought a USB audio adapter for my laptop, and it worked great! You can find some affordable options online, like this one [Sabrent External Adapter](https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Adapter-Windows-AU-MMSA/dp/B00IRVQ0F8/). It might be a good temporary fix until you sort out the driver issues.
Since you bought the laptop just a few months ago, consider using the warranty for a repair if it's a hardware problem. They might fix it for you without any cost.
Have you checked the software that controls your audio? Also, contacting Acer’s tech support can be really beneficial. They often do remote diagnostics, and they might be able to troubleshoot the driver issues directly for you. If they can't fix it, they could arrange for a warranty repair or replacement.

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