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Alienware 15 audio jack not detected
I've seen lots of posts about audio jack issues but none with my system. I have an AlienWare 15 with Windows 10. It won't detect the 3.5mm audio jack. I have the Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di driver, states it is up to date. Tried uninstalling it an rebooting but it seems to stay installed. When I have headphones plugged in and try to detect disabled and disconnected devices it doesn't show anything. I can get USB headphones to work but really just want to be able to plug into the headphone jack!
Thanks for any help,
Jim Coates
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June 6th, 2016 04:00
Hello.
I would test the audio driver, by switching the Creative SoundBlaster Recon audio driver with the Windows native audio driver. Here are 2 methods for doing that.
1. Open the Device Manager (find it in the Control Panel, or type devmgmt.msc into the search box).
2. Expand the "Sound, video & game controllers" and right click on Creative SoundBlaster Recon.
3. Select to "Update Driver Software".
4. Click on "Browse my computer for driver software".
5. Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
6. Put a check in the box "Show compatible hardware" if not already checked.
7. In the list of devices, click "High Definition Audio" (the native driver).
8. Click "Next".
9. On the Update Driver Warning box, click "Yes" (install the driver).
10. Restart the laptop if prompted. If not prompted, then no need to restart.
[To get back to the Creative SoundBlaster Recon driver, do it again but reverse the names in steps 2 and 7.]
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Sometimes that procedure does not work with Windows 10, so here is another method, which involves removing all of the Creative SoundBlaster Recon driver files.
1. Open the Device Manager
2. Expand the Sound, Video & Game Controllers section.
3. Right click on the Creative SoundBlaster Recon and select to uninstall.
4. Put a check mark in the option to delete the driver software, and then ok.
5. Restart the laptop and go back to the Device Manager and check again for a Creative SoundBlaster Recon driver. Keep uninstalling & restarting until Creative SoundBlaster Recon no longer appears under Sound...Controllers and "High Definition Audio Device" (the native driver) appears in its place.
[The reason you might have to go through the process more than once is because the driver files for more than one Creative SoundBlaster Recon driver could be on the hard drive. When a Creative SoundBlaster Recon driver is removed, the next one gets installed if Windows can locate the files. Windows installs its generic driver only after all Creative SoundBlaster Recon files have been removed.]
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If you don't hear audio through the headphone jack with either driver, then it is more likely to be a hardware issue.
tolbos
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June 9th, 2016 06:00
Thank you a million times! I have been pulling my hair out since my Alinware 15 decided to do the windows 10 install by itself.. I did the first set of instructions and it worked, except the PC did not ask to restart, but the driver update only took effect after I manually restarted my PC. So rather restart your PC after each attempt, it might just work
Jim Coates
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June 12th, 2016 06:00
Thanks for letting me know. I will put it in the instructions.
Muzzy1487
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August 1st, 2017 22:00
Steps 1-5 totally worked. Thanks.
Zari02
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August 21st, 2017 21:00
This worked!!! Oh yeah!!
win121
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October 29th, 2017 02:00
Here is how to fix Windows 10 Not Recognizing Headphones
Press Win and X keys together. You will see a list of options, from which you will have to click on Device Manager.
In the Device Manager tab, expand Sound, Video and Game controllers by clicking on the same.
In the expanded list, find your Audio Manager, right click on it and click on Update Driver Software.
A window appears as shown in the figure below. Click on Search automatically for updated driver software and follow the on-screen instructions.
Source:- merabheja.com/.../
Rice Farmer He
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December 1st, 2017 12:00
Hello I tried to follow your steps on how to fix the audio jack problem but I cannot find the creative sound blaster recon anywhere. Help?
Rice Farmer He
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December 2nd, 2017 17:00
I tried to do your instructions but i cannot find where the creative soundblaster recon is.
Jim Coates
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December 3rd, 2017 05:00
Hello. Which model laptop do you have?
Rice Farmer He
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December 3rd, 2017 07:00
alienware 15 r3 with windows 10
Jim Coates
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December 4th, 2017 05:00
That model has Realtek audio hardware so would not have the Creative Labs driver.
Is your issue that you aren't getting audio through headphones when plugged into the jack? On the modern Dell laptops with Realtek audio, when you plug anything into the headset jack you should get a popup dialog asking you to select the type of device plugged in. The headphones will work after you go through that process. The popup is a function of the Realtek/Waves driver so if you have disabled or removed Waves you might have lost the popup. Download and install a fresh copy of the Realtek audio driver and Waves will be installed with it.
This is it for Win10 for the Alienware 15 R3.
Rice Farmer He
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December 4th, 2017 17:00
I tried that link and downloadedit but i dont seem to be getting the notification for any headphones, is there something im noty doing right?
Jim Coates
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December 5th, 2017 05:00
Did you install the driver after downloading it? If the driver is freshly installed and you still do not see the popup dialog (asking you what device you plugged in) then there could be a hardware failure where the jack is not detecting the insertion event.
Rice Farmer He
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December 5th, 2017 07:00
Yeah i tried to download it so its probably a hardware issue, but i just got this laptop and the audio jack is already not working, is that possible?
Jim Coates
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December 6th, 2017 04:00
Hello. Don't understand what you mean. You tried to download it but was not able to? Or you tried to install it and was not able to. Or you did download and install it?
Any device can fail at any time. You haven't provided any details. What issue are you having?