How to Troubleshoot: Your Computer is Not Recognizing Your Headphones

If you got a pair of audio devices that you are struggling to connect to your PC, you are not alone. Plenty of people have difficulty when they are first setting up an audio device with their computer. As we like to say around here: technology can be your best friend and your worst enemy within the same span of 5 minutes.

We’ve all been there. The sweat. The cursing. The tossing of our hands in the air. 

Several common mistakes are easy to avoid once you know what to look out for, but unfortunately, many people fall prey to when they first try.

Luckily, in this article, we have put together a short guide to help you troubleshoot your audio devices.

Top Tips To Help Troubleshooting Headphones

Most of the time, if you are having difficulty, it is not anything serious.

There are plenty of small issues that are easily remedied that can prevent your device from connecting to your computer. It is important for you not to get overwhelmed as you work through the steps. Follow along with them at your own pace.

Try To Connect Headphones To Pc

First, you should try to connect headphones to PC and see what happens. The link you will do this depends on the connector that your headset has equipped. Most devices that work with computers utilize USB port connections.

However, some devices make use of audio jack first popularized by the Sony Walkman. If your computer has a 3.5mm jack and you want to make sure your headset device has the proper connectors, it is compatible.

What To Do If Your Computer Not Recognizing Headphones

It can be very frustrating when your computer not recognizing headphones.

If you have connected the device to your PC and are still unable to establish a connection, then a few things may have gone wrong. Let us go through them one at a time so we can cover all of the bases.

Go To Device Manager And Look At Your Audio Devices

Open up the start menu and type in the words device manager into the search box. This should pull up an application by that name, which you should click. Once you have opened the application, you will be presented with a list of all the different hardware components connected to your computer.

Look under the audio settings and ensure that your device is recognized.

If you do not see it, then you may need to restart your computer. If it is there, you can right-click on it and go to properties. Ensure within the properties that the device is enabled and it is not muted.

Open The Control Panel And Go To Your Sound Settings

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If there is nothing wrong with the device manager’s settings, you can try going to the Control Panel of your and looking in the sound settings. You may have routed the sound to go through a different device than the one you would like to go through.

Sometimes computers will do this automatically, so it is one of the biggest reasons people have difficulty connecting their headphone devices to their computers. Make sure that the correct audio device has been selected before moving on.

Update The Drivers Of Your Audio Hardware

Finally, you should check to see if there are any driver updates available for you to rule out any software issues. Open up your device manager again and click on the properties button for your audio device.

Once the window has opened up, click on the tab that says the driver. You see a button that says update or check for update. Click on that button and then wait. Your computer will scan to see if there are any updates available for your hardware and if it will install them.

Final Advice Regarding Troubleshooting Headphones

By now, your audio device should be working. If it is still experiencing difficulties, it is most likely due to a hardware issue rather than a software issue.

Unfortunately, in most cases, if it is a hardware issue, there is not anything you can do it, you will need to get a new headset device.

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