Dell G5 SE 5505 Realtek Driver Update Issue.

@trickylion27 

you can use Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) to rollback the Realtek(R) Audio driver on the Driver tab from the Sound, video and game controllers section.  there's a button that says "Roll Back Driver" - click on that if it is available.

otherwise, you will have to uninstall the existing version, then download & install an older version from the Dell support site.

I want to confirm that as of 26 Mar 2021 this is still an issue.  And this solution is still the only thing that works.

This also has implications for games and video not playing as well.

Before rolling back the realtek audio driver I could NOT load games (Fallout 4 or 76) without it freezing after the intro unless I was using my bluetooth headphones.  Once I disconnected bluetooth or switched to the realtek speakers the game instantly crashed. Same goes for something as simple as watching youtube.

try it: watch you tube with bluetooth headphones (it should be fine) turn off bluetooth or switch to the internal speakers and the youtube video will instantly have loading problems and stop playing.

Only solution was as recommended by the other contributors here, download and install the previous realtek audio driver.

Even tried updating BIOS (again), downloading the AMD firmware update, and AMD software (adrenaline) from the Dell drivers updates.  Nothing but reverting to the older realtek worked to get my back gaming and watching videos without using an external audio device.

April 11, 2021, still an issue. Headphones work, speakers do not. I haven't tried the reverting solution given yet but I don't see why it shouldn't work.  

edit: one rollback and restart later, sound works good as new. tip to anyone coming from the future:

You're targeting the driver under "Sound, video and game controllers" -> "Realtek(R) Audio" -> "Properties".

You may have to scroll down.

Skip the driver under "Audio inputs and outputs" -> "Speakers (Realtek(R) Audio)"

also after doing a driver rollback, use this Microsoft tool (wushowhide.diagcab) to hide/block any driver updates the Windows 10 OS offers.

Rolling back the driver worked, thanks you!

I'm still having issues with random 5-10 second mouse freezes, not sure if anyone else is experiencing this as of April 2021.  I like this laptop but I've had to mess around with drivers since buying it a week ago and if I was less computer literate I'd have returned it. 

I just found my G5 had this speaker problem this evening.  I verified all my drivers were up-to-date.  I tried rolling the Realtek driver back to 6.0.8940.1 and it solved the problem!  So the issue is still present.

I have been having this problem since we started using our new G5 SE in March 2021. Solved it once early on and then somehow it updated again recently only to cause problems again. In March is just caused no audio, but this time it was causing video to glitch and freeze (my regular video apps would not work properly). Rolled back the driver version and everything seems to be functioning right again. Every time I run support assist it's recommending this Driver update. Dell, can you please remove this as a recommended update for this system or figure out what the problem is? 

I thought sound problem was on me.

I troubleshooted it in sound settings did nothing after restarting my laptop.

I then followed this and I can finally hear from it again. 

Seriously thank you.

I had the same problem and rolled back the driver in device manager.Worked like a charm

headphone only work after laptop restarted.

WORKAROUND.

My experience----I struggled with this problem where I'd plug in external headphones and get the popup on the bottom right confirming if what I just inserted was indeed headphones. Even if I confirmed the popup I'd get no output into my headphones. I struggled with this over a period of several months. I resorted to buying a DAC off Aliexpress and connecting it through the USB C port and then plugging my headphones. 

SOLUTION: ----- On the laptop, there is an application called "Realtek Audio Console" whenever I periodically have the issue of my headphones not outputting any sound I open this application AND THEN try inputting my headphones. It is not a permanent fix but it dramatically reduced the amount of times I'd struggle to listen to anything through my headphones. I think having the application open 

TLDR---

1. `Windows Key` -> search "Realtek Audio Console" and open the application

2. Click `Device Advanced Settings` on the bottom left

3. leave the application open as you insert headphones into the audio jack.

4. Doesn't work? try again.

EDIT oops sure fire method

SOLUTION turn off "Enable auto popup dialog, when device has been plugged in"

THEN try plugging the headphone jack