I accidentally tripped over my headphone cable, which pulled the cable out of my audio interface and also disconnected the interface from USB. After reconnecting everything, the right audio channel stopped producing sound.
I tested both the front and rear outputs, reset the system several times, and tried a Line 6 UX2 USB sound card in every available USB port. I also tested three different pairs of wired headphones; they all have the same problem on this computer but work normally with other devices. Both channel levels are turned up in Windows sound properties, enhancements are disabled, and the Windows troubleshooter found nothing. Bluetooth audio still works correctly, so the issue seems limited to wired audio.
The timing makes me suspect something related to the cable being yanked, but the problem occurs across multiple jacks and even with a separate USB audio interface. I would strongly prefer not to reinstall the Line 6 drivers unless there is no other practical option.
1 Answer
Since the same missing channel happens with several headphones, multiple outputs, and a separate USB interface, a single damaged headphone jack is unlikely. Check Windows' per-device left/right balance and make sure the right channel is not set to zero for each wired output. Also test with mono audio, disable spatial effects, and select the correct output device. If the balance is normal everywhere, removing and letting Windows redetect the affected audio devices—or reinstalling their drivers—may be necessary, since the cable yank could have caused an audio-device or driver state to become corrupted.
The fact that Bluetooth still works does not completely rule out Windows settings or drivers; Bluetooth and wired devices can use different audio paths. Check the balance separately for the motherboard output and the USB interface rather than relying on the master volume.