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gregsedwards
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March 1st, 2025 15:40
S3221QS, speaker delay
Hi all, I have a Dell S3221QS attached to a Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio via DisplayPort to a Surface Thunderbolt Dock. In general, the integrated speakers work well, but I've noticed there is frequently a delay of a couple seconds when I start playing media before the speakers start playing audio. To be clear, I'm not saying there's an AV delay. The audio is synced perfectly, but there's a delay of a few seconds before it I can hear anything.
I've ensured the monitor is using the latest version of the DDPM console and monitor drivers.
I've noticed this delay with other computers connected to this monitor, and I haven't noticed a similar delay when I connect other speakers to the devices. Any suggestions? Thanks!
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Posted June 22nd, 2025 16:39
I also have this issue - and it's majorly annoying.
The problem:
When you start a video (YouTube, X, any source of media), there is a 3 second delay between the start of the video and the start of the sound. Once the sound is started, it's perfectly synched, but there is something going on with the monitors (actually both, as I have two monitors). You can hear a faint "click" sound in the monitor 3seconds into the video, then the sound is turned on.
It seems to be related to the power savings setting/feature, but I can't find a way to turn off any such feature.
I tried a Reddit-sourced fix here:
See this comment in the Reddit thread:
This solved it for me: disable power saving on Realtek High Definition Audio: Open regedit then:Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96c-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\xxxx\PowerSettingswhere 'xxxx' is one of keys which contains DriverDesc value 'Realtek High Definition Audio'.Note: There may be multiple ones containing PowerSettings, for example 'Nvidia High Definition Audio'.You'll find there three binary values and set them:ConservationIdleTime = ff ff ff ff;IdlePowerState = 00 00 00 00;PerformanceIdleTime = ff ff ff ff.Default values are all 00 00 00 00 which disables power settings, but driver somehow overrides it with 0a 00 00 00 which is 10 seconds (0x0a = 10) and is by default in driver.
This does work - until you reboot the computer and the issues appears again in exactly the same manner as described.
Help. This shouldn't be happening with a Dell monitor, and the regedit fix suggest this problem is fixable with a firmware update.
Help.
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Posted June 22nd, 2025 21:48
The four year/10 month old S3221QS is end of life and last received a firmware update in 2022.
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell
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Posted July 4th, 2025 20:37
The four year/10 month old S3221QS is end of life and last received a firmware update in 2022.
As someone who purchased this S3221QS directly from Dell 15 months ago, it just warms my heart to learn that Dell stopped supporting it long before you sold it to me. And yes, it has this issue. I've been trying to chase it down for months. It's fixable but won't be fixed. Great.
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Posted July 5th, 2025 11:06
"purchased this S3221QS directly from Dell 15 months ago"
Go HERE. Insert the private S3221QS Service Tag to check the warranty. If still under warranty, then GHN (Get Help Now) chat support could troubleshoot with you.
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell 5
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Posted July 13th, 2025 20:59
"If still under warranty, then GHN (Get Help Now) chat support could troubleshoot with you."
We already know what the problem (and fix) is. We don't need help troubleshooting it. We just need the fix, and the fix should have been made a long time ago.
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Posted September 18th, 2026 14:52
@OnTheRocks great suggestion, and I'll definitely check this out. I feel like I previously tried HDMI but got no audio at all. Maybe also just a cable-specific issue as well. Thanks!
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Posted September 18th, 2026 15:09
One more note: I did want to separate Chris M from my frustration with Dell and their policies as a whole. Chris reached out to me personally, quickly and helped me change my display name. I believe he also marked my comment as the answer on this year old thread. I really appreciate your work Chris, especially on something as relatively unique and nuanced as this!
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Posted September 18th, 2026 15:10
@gregsedwards, you're welcome and good luck! Hopefully a specific/newer cable helps you!
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Posted September 18th, 2026 16:09
@OnTheRocks That Amazon link: "Sorry. We can't find that page."
Also, I'm connected by an HDMI cable, not USB. I'm glad it's fixed for you, though.
OnTheRocks
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Posted September 18th, 2026 14:19
Apparently the only thing more "questionable" than product and product support is the challenge in logging in and inexplicably sticking me with a display name I can't change. As if I needed further reason to never buy anything from Dell again ...
Anyhow, I know this is a year old thread but I wanted to say that I had the same problem with the same monitor, a Surface Dock, and a Surface Pro 7. Turned out to be the DisplayPort to USB-C cable I was using and the dock. Switching to an Acer HDMI to USB-C cable (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQTDRMPY), fixed my issue, after many years with the problem. It also fixed the issues of Netflix going black on full screen, with the monitor, through the dock.