Inspiron 13 5368 2-in-1 High Definition Audio Device in Device Manager - no available driver

There are a couple of suggestions about the fading issue in the Recent Issues FAQ, under Inspiron 5368.

Thanks Jim,

Nothing in the FAQ unfortunately. I have removed all the hidden devices in Device Manager and installed the latest Dell Audio Driver -  Audio_Driver_VR8Y0_WN32_6.0.1.7908_A03.EXE

Remove the hidden devices as per (for Vista but same procedure)

www.howtogeek.com/.../

Will see how it goes...

My current install is running Waves MaxxAudioPro and the latest Realtek driver.  The sound does not show to be HD, just Realtek Audio.  Driver version 6.0.1.8004.

I have not noticed the audio fade but I have not been the intense listening I was doing before so I may just not have noticed it.  I don't use the Dimension option in Waves MaxxAudio Pro..

Inspiron 17 7779

Jim,

Still got the fading out but at least the "Other Device" is now under Device Manager Sound Devices as Intel(R) Display Audio.

I have to try everything. I have deselected "Exclusive Mode" in Advanced Speakers/Headphones Properties in Control Panel Sound.

Will keep you updated...

Nothing in the FAQ

Can't quite get the meaning of that. The suggestions for the 5368 fading issue didn't help, or couldn't find them?

I just got my laptop on Dec. 24th (Inspiron 5368) and I'm having the same issue. It came with windows 10 but automatically updated to the anniversary update as soon as I powered it on so I don't know if it worked before that.

The only way I seem to get any audio is if I reboot. It will continue to work till I close the lid then if I reopen later, there's no audio. If this isn't fixed soon, this puppy is going back.

And yes, I have read the Recent Issues FAQ and tried all suggestions given to no avail.

If this isn't fixed soon, this puppy is going back.

Don't wait too long. The return period clock usually starts ticking from the date on the invoice, not the date you received it.

And yes, I have read the Recent Issues FAQ and tried all suggestions given to no avail.

The FAQ suggestions are only about the fading issue that is particular to the 5368 model.

If it is a new machine, to you, go ahead and check for updates for the system.  Bios and firmware updates may be available and such things as chipset drivers can be important.

Not sure it will repair the audio situation, however.

@Gator352,

Deselecting "Exclusive Mode" in Advanced Speakers/Headphones Properties in Control Panel Sound didn't fix the sound fading issue which appeared a couple of days later. Fortunately a simple reboot cured it. (Temporally? I noticed an auto Dell update upon reboot)

Interestingly, I have set closing the lid to do nothing and never power the computer off. I use the "Power Saver Option" only to turn off the display after 5 minutes and never allow it to go to sleep. (It is good practice to avoid heat cycling by adopting an "always on" approach.

It is a serious issue affecting this model but most owners never experience it probably because they reboot on a regular basis by shutting down at the end of each session.

I have too much invested now in this computer go the bother of returning it, and will have to wait until somebody comes up with a fix. That somebody should be Dell, so we will see...

Yesterday I tried going back to the latest Dell driver to see if it stopped the noise generated with powered external speakers, and I did not see the noise.  

But I ran into another situation with the audio fading which I had not seen that obvious.  It was as described in the faq where the audio output dropped about 95% while playing music through the internal speakers.  I did not try the low battery setting but nothing in the FAQ references the Inspiron 17 7779.

I decided to go back to the driver I downloaded directly from Realtek, which was not easy since it kept trying to install a different driver.

If you want to try, I downloaded the Realtek driver, version 6.0.1.8004 and the file mentions Win_10R280.

I then used the Airplane mode to go offline.  Opened the Device Manager and uninstalled the Realtek device and checked the box to remove all drivers which removed the current install file.

I rebooted and checked what version of the audio driver was reloaded and if it does not say Realtek I went ahead with the install of the downloaded file.

I am now running the 8004 version of the driver and have not seen the volume drop off with the internal speakers, so far..

Maybe I should have started a new thread?

I'm not returning it as it seems to be a software problem that can/will get fixed and seems to be related to sleep mode?

About the FAQ, I was meaning I reinstalled the drivers from DELL's driver page and like the other poster, now my drivers say "Realtek audio".

That's the thing, I don't have the fade issue that I'm aware of. Haven't noticed it. Just the sound/sleep mode problem.

I agree. This is an issue that Dell should be fixing. If Dell decided to use realtek audio as their main sound source, then they should be working with them to find a solution.

@Saltgrass,

Whilst the thread is about the Inspiron 13 5368 2-in-1, similar problems may appear in other models.

The issue is precisely as you described, eg trying to play a YouTube video, the audio (on internal speakers) drops 95% to about 5% over a period of less than 15 seconds. This behaviour is repeated at each new attempt to play a video. In addition to the very low level of audio there are momentary bursts at higher levels.

The driver available from the realtek site is a more up to date version than that provided by Dell.

One needs to be careful though, I had a horrible experience about a week ago when I installed the wrong driver for the "Intel(R) Display Audio" device resulting in a computer that wouldn't boot. Luckily I was able to Google around to find out how to get into safe mode and uninstall the offending driver. My original plan though was to restore back to an earlier date until I discovered there weren't any restore points! Maybe always a good idea to create one just in case.

As I mentioned earlier, there was some sort of Dell update at the last reboot, so fingers crossed it has been working properly for nearly 48 hours...

The fading issue has reappeared and a reboot did not resolve it.

Tried running the Windows Trouble Shooter which checks that "Enhancements" are not selected and then plays test sounds before and after reinstalling the current driver. Result: not fixed. I skipped the additional step of trying test sounds with the generic driver because I know it doesn't work properly either.

The issue lies squarely with Dell to resolve, I am confident that they will but when?

When my system exhibited the problem, I was running iTunes at full volume and the internal speakers at 63%.  I checked all volume control settings and they all agreed.

There may be a possibility running internal speakers at high volumes triggers some type of protection scheme, but just speculating.  My system has not seen the problem since I replaced the driver and lowered the speaker volume to around 35.