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January 18th, 2017 05:00

Problems with Audio Inspiron 13 7000

Hey Guys!

So for some time now the audio on my laptop is causing lots of problems.

When it first happened the realtek (Dell Audio app & Driver) had crashed it switched to SPDIF which was terrible quality and I couldn't use any earphones.

So after a while I went online and found that I need to re-install the Realtek Audio Driver from the site for my laptop.

After I did this It was fine for some time.

Then...... (Now) Every time I plug in earphones (skullcandy) I get the popup I choose Skull candy like I always do and then when I play something from Groove Music (Default music app for Win 10) it immediately changes to the speakers.

So i tried pressing that end of laptop slightly towards the table and the popup would re-appear and when I let go it would go.

Then after a while the speakers would say no audio devices are plugged in, then I would have to install the  driver again.

This would happen over and over again.

I would have to install the driver again and again and then plug the earphones and then the story starts again.

I have installed the driver so many times, its just frustrating now...

Please help

4 Operator

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13.6K Posts

January 18th, 2017 06:00

So i tried pressing that end of laptop slightly towards the table and the popup would re-appear and when I let go it would go.

Could be a problem with the headphone jack's detection circuit. I would try testing the audio driver by switching to the Windows native audio driver. If the problem persists even with the native driver, then probably a hardware issue, for which you should contact tech support to get a repair done.

This is the easiest method of switching drivers, but some owners of 2-in-1 models have run into problems with this method.

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 "Realtek High Definition Audio".
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 [but SEE NOTE].
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, sometimes you have to restart, sometimes not.
[To get back to the Realtek driver, do it again but reverse the names in steps 2 and 7.]

NOTE: if you have a 2-in-1 model and do not see a "High Definition Audio" option after step 6, then uncheck "Show compatible hardware". Then in step 7, if you see 2 "High Definition Audio" devices, select the 2nd one. On some models the native driver is called Intel High Definition Audio.


Here is another method. Might be a good idea to create a Restore Point or back up the registry first.

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" section.
3. Right click on "Realtek High Definition Audio" 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 Realtek driver. Keep uninstalling & restarting until Realtek 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 Realtek driver could be on the hard drive. When a Realtek driver is removed, the next oldest one gets installed if Windows can locate the files. Windows installs its generic driver only after all Realtek files have been removed.]

3 Apprentice

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4.3K Posts

January 18th, 2017 07:00

The part about pushing on the case and having the popup appear doesn't sound good.  It may be due to another reason but a loose connection might be indicated.  My unit if fairly strong and does not seem to allow for flex in that area.  Moving the headset plug, slightly may also have some effect.

If it is behaving as you describe, if you set Device Manager to see hidden devices, you might show multiple entries for the sound device.  The greyed out ones are devices which are not currently connected, so uninstalling them would not hurt.

The properties on the sound device has an Events tab.  You might check that to see what has been happening with the device as far as driver installs.

9 Posts

February 4th, 2017 05:00

So soory for the late reply....

Have been tied up lately.

Thank you for the replies @jimco and @saltgrass

I have done as @jimco said using the first method, and for some time it did seem to be working fine. Then when I shut down my laptop for the day, the problem resumed.

It would then occasionally keep changing between three states.

Either it would say:

1. No speakers or headphones connected

2. Speakers connected (Generic Microsoft ones) - Dont sound as good

3. Realtek (Speakers/Headphones) connected

This is really important as audio is imp to me....

and my earphones and headphones sound way better and give me better quality and clarity when the Realtek driver and speakers are connected

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