Dell Precision 5520 audio jack not detecting (Win10)

@SimplyLucKey you have covered the majority of the troubleshooting that i can suggest.

There was a similar issue to this with another user where they outlined the following steps to resolve the issue - 

Thanks for the response, Alan. This is how the issue was fixed.

1) Disable Realtek High Definition Audio in Processes and Startup
2) Uninstall Realtek Audio Drive in Device Manager
3) Reboot
4) Windows 10 will install fresh driver.

Is this the exact process you followed when you mentioned the following troubleshooting step - "Restarting after uninstalling + reinstalling audio drivers"

Have you tried rolling back to a previous version of the audio driver?
Have you tried installing Realtek's own version of the driver?
Have you tried a Windows refresh, this refreshes Windows whilst retaining all your data? -https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln297920/reset-or-reinstall-windows-10-on-your-dell-computer?lang=en#Refresh
Is the audio jack port loose at all?
Does this issue happen if you try a different set of headphones or external speakers in the port?
Are you running the latest BIOS and chipset drivers on the system?
Have the headphones worked correctly on the system up to this point?
Do the headphones work fine on another system?

Alan

Hi Alan, 

Thanks for the response.

I have followed the steps from the person with the similar issue but I cannot execute step 4. Windows 10 isn't automatically installing the realtek drivers. 

To your other questions:

Have you tried rolling back to a previous version of the audio driver? No
Have you tried installing Realtek's own version of the driver? Yes? I searched realtek drivers and downloaded from some website. I've also downloaded drivers from Dell's website. 
Have you tried a Windows refresh, this refreshes Windows whilst retaining all your data? This is not an option for me. This is happening to my work laptop
Is the audio jack port loose at all? No
Does this issue happen if you try a different set of headphones or external speakers in the port? All of them
Are you running the latest BIOS and chipset drivers on the system? Not sure, but I'll have to say no. (Other coworkers with the same laptop don't have the same problem however)
Have the headphones worked correctly on the system up to this point? It never did. It only worked when I have it plugged in when the laptop boots
Do the headphones work fine on another system? Yes

Hi Alan, 

Sorry I guess I got ahead of myself. The solution worked. I had to update an "Intel Audio Driver" or something and that installed the Realtek Audio and now it works.

... let's hope I don't jinx it. 

@SimplyLucKey hows the system now after testing it for a few days?

Alan

I'm on a Precision 7520 and having the same problem, with a twist:

If/when I switch to native windows drivers, the jack works just fine; as soon as Realtek drivers are installed, the jack is no longer detected.

I've tried installing each of the older Realtek drivers as well, to no avail. Only the native Windows driver recognizes the audio jack.

Question: I'm recording podcasts on this machine, will the audio quality suffer by using the native Windows driver instead of the Realtek driver?

The one thing I haven't tried and am not excited about: refreshing/reinstalling Windows.

I have the same problem with Dell Precision 5520. Headphones attached while boot works fine. When not connected during boot - headphones are not detected when plugging the jack in. It is even worse, when connected during boot and in Windows 10 I pull off jack and then pull in - it is not detected and laptop plays through build in speakers.

What does it mean "1) Disable Realtek High Definition Audio in Processes and Startup" - what exactly mean "Processes and Startup"?

What finally worked for me was to uninstall all the sound drivers and reinstall them in Safe Mode. Everything worked properly after that.

The other thing that works is to switch from the Realtek driver to the native Windows driver, but that may mean a reduction in sound quality if you're doing anything important with sound, like I am. If you're not, that's the easiest fix. Let me know if you need help doing it.

Thank you Tarbaby007! That solution worked for me!

I had to keep uninstalling (3 or 4 times) audio drivers with "Delete the driver software for this device" option checked and keep rebooting until I got no driver with no sound. Then in Control Panel I had two unrecognised devices "Intel High Definition Audio" or similar name (but 2xIntel). I updated one driver and that installed two drivers "Audio for Intel" and "Realtek Audio".

Now when I plug in/out the jack, that event is detected and audio is streamed between headphones and internal speakers according to the jack state.

Tarbaby007 you have helped me. Thank you.

How do you switch to the native audio driver and ensure Windows doesn't update it again automatically?  We have found that uninstalling the driver and rebooting is only a temporary fix and reoccurs the next day or two.

That was tricky for me as well, it's not very user friendly. Here's how you do it:

1. In Device Manager, right-click on Realtek Audio (under Sound Controllers).

2. Select Update Driver.

3. Select Browse My Computer for Driver Software.

4. Select Let Me Pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.

5. Select the generic "High Definition Audio Device", then Next. 

If you don't do it this way, the Realtek drivers take over again every time you reboot. 

Hope that helps!

Let me know if you need further help.

I have found that after uninstalling all sound drivers and updated them to have two drivers "Audio for Intel" and "Realtek Audio" when I reboot my laptop (or log out) there is still the same problem - plug in/out event is not recognised. I need to uninstall sound driver and install it again to make it work, but that works only until the next reboot (or log out).

What a disappointment DELL that you didn't test audio driver as much as needed in the product what you provide to the end customer...

I have an older M6700 and I gave up trying to get the audio jacks to work properly. Even though Dell supposedly supports this system for Windows 10, it has a more ancient IDT audio chipset and the drivers were never updated. My solution was to purchase a Sound Blaster Play 3. When I want to use a headset, simply plug it into a USB port. The Play 3 software give more control and the sound quality is superior to the built-in hardware.  

https://us.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blaster-play-3

actually I have solved this issue on 1 user installing a bit older driver:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/it/download/27879/Realtek-High-Definition-Audio-Driver-for-Windows-10-64-bit-for-NUC8i7HNK-NUC8i7HVK

cheers

I use Dell Precision 5540 and see audio jack not detecting (Win10), this solution fixes my problem!

Thank you