That typically happens when your computer fails to detect an audio device due to corrupt, outdated, or incompatible audio drivers. To make things worse, you will experience no sound at all until you resolve the issue. If restarting your computer doesn’t do anything, then the troubleshooting tips that follow should help you fix “No Audio Output Device is installed” in Windows 10.
Run Audio Troubleshooter
Run Audio Troubleshooter
Windows 10 comes with a built-in audio troubleshooter that can automatically detect and fix audio-related issues on your computer. It’s best to run that first before you dive into the rest of the fixes.
Disconnect and Reconnect External Audio Output Device
Disconnect and Reconnect External Audio Output Device
Do you have an external audio output device (such as a headphone) connected to your computer physically? Try removing it. Then, restart your computer and reconnect it. If that did not help, continue on with the rest of the fixes.
Uninstall and Reinstall Audio Device
Uninstall and Reinstall Audio Device
Uninstalling and reinstalling the audio device/sound card on your computer is a potent fix that can help resolve the “No Audio Output Device is installed” error. The Device Manager applet in Windows 10 should help you with that.
Update Audio Drivers
Update Audio Drivers
Try updating the audio drivers on your computer. Head over to the device manufacturer’s website, specify the correct make and model of the sound card, and download the latest drivers. Then, either install them yourself or have Windows 10 do that for you via the Device Manager. If you prefer the second method, go through the following steps.
Update Windows 10
Update Windows 10
Sometimes, updating Windows 10 can break the audio device drivers on your computer. The best way to resolve that is to install any subsequent incremental updates. Back in 2018, for example, the “No Audio Output Device is installed” error showed up on computers with Intel-based audio chipsets due to a faulty driver pushed out by Windows Update. Microsoft quickly fixed that with another minor update.
Install Audio Device as Legacy Hardware
Install Audio Device as Legacy Hardware
If you don’t see your audio device driver listed within the Device Manager, you can try setting it up as a legacy device. You can also do that if the “No Audio Output Device is installed” error still keeps showing up despite going through the fixes above.
Reset Windows 10
Reset Windows 10
If none of the fixes above helped, try resetting Windows 10 to its factory defaults. You may be dealing with a deep underlying audio-related issue that nothing but a fresh set of Windows settings can fix. You can choose to keep your data intact, but it’s best to create a backup of the computer before you go ahead.
