Fix: Windows 11 Audio Sound Distortion issue

Are you having issues with the Windows 11 Audio or Sound Distortion quite often or continuously? Well, don’t worry as we’ve provided you a couple of possible workarounds to easily resolve such an issue completely. It may be possible that during playing video games or media files, your laptop speaker or the connected external speaker has some problems with the audio quality which could be distorted or not so clear what you expect.

This is one of the most common issues with Windows computer users for years and the chances are high enough that there might be an issue or a conflict with the system software or some other potential software-related bugs or even compatibility issues that we’ll gonna discuss here. As most of the solutions are quite easy to perform and plenty of users get the benefit, we’ll recommend you to follow the methods one by one until fixed.

1. Reboot Your PC and Speaker

The first thing you can do is simply restart the Windows 11 computer to refresh the system from temporary glitches or connectivity issues. Next, you should turn off and on the connected external speaker or home theatre as well to cross-check the audio distortion issue. If the problem still appears, try following the next method.

2. Check the Speaker or Home Theatre Connectivity

Make sure to cross-check the speaker or home theatre connectivity properly with the Windows 11 desktop or laptop because a loose connection can cause some clarity issues. Meanwhile, check whether the audio jack and the audio port are physically damaged or not. If any of the parts are damaged then you’ll need to repair or replace that part.

Try connecting the audio jack of the speaker to another audio port on the computer (with Win10 or older) or if you’ve any other computer then try checking the same. If in case, the Windows 10 or older OS running computer runs well with the speaker and its audio quality then it indicates that there are some configuration or compatibility issues with your Windows 11 PC.

3. Check the Audio Output

Another issue that can happen related to audio distortion is an incorrect audio output configuration on the Windows 11 audio settings menu. It may possibly the audio output is selected as a different one and that’s why the problem appears. To check and properly configure the correct audio output:

Click on the ‘Action Center’ in the Windows 11 taskbar extreme right side. [Press Win + A keys]
Click on the arrow icon next to the volume level. [Manage Audio Devices]
You’ll now find a list of audio devices that are currently connected to the system. Click on the device from the list that you want to play audio.
Make sure to check whether the issue has been fixed now or not.

You should also set the audio output device as a default one from the More Volume Settings option. So that Windows 11 can always play the audio through the selected or default audio output device seamlessly.

Alternatively, you can click on the Start menu and search for the Change system sound. Next, click on it > In the Sound window, head over to the ‘Playback’ tab > Select the output device that you want to set as default and click on ‘Set Default’ > Click on ‘OK’ to save changes.

4. Disable Audio Enhancements

Some Windows 11 users have also reported that after disabling the audio enhancements on the system, the sound distortion issue has been fixed or reduced drastically. If the audio enhancements are enabled on your computer, try disabling them might fix the issue. To do so:

Click on the Start menu > Search for Change system sounds.
Click on it from the search result > In the Sound panel, head over to the Playback tab.
Make sure to select the output speaker that you’re using or facing issues with.
Now, click on Properties > Click on the Enhancements tab.
Checkmark the ‘Disable all enhancements’ checkbox and click on OK to save changes.
Finally, restart the computer, and check for the audio distortion issue again.

5. Select Another Audio Format

In some scenarios, the selected or default audio format on the computer may not be compatible enough with the hardware or the output audio device. So, it’s also recommended to select a different audio format from settings to check if the audio output device works properly or not. To do that:

Click on the Start menu and search for the Change system sound.
Next, click on it to open > In the Sound window, head over to the ‘Playback’ tab.
Right-click on the audio output device where you’re facing the issue.
Click on Properties > In the Speakers Properties, go to the Advanced tab.
Click on the drop-down menu > Make sure to select another audio format from the list.
Now, click on Test. Try checking the same with other audio formats one by one until you find out a better one. [Try testing out the 24-bit audio format as recommended]
Once done, click on Apply and then select OK to save changes.
You’re good to go.

6. Run Audio Playback Troubleshooter

If the above methods didn’t work for you, then try running the audio playback troubleshooter option on your Windows 11 computer by following the steps below. Sometimes it can also let you know what’s actually going on or it may also try fixing out the potential issue in Realtek audio. To do so:

Press the Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Click on System from the left pane > Scroll down the right pane window a bit.
Now, click on Troubleshoot > Click on Other troubleshooters.
Click on the Run button from Playing Audio.
You’ll need to select the audio output device that you want to troubleshoot.
Click on Next > Wait for the troubleshooter to scan for the audio-related issues. It may take some time.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the troubleshooting process, and choose what to do next.

If the issue is still there, you can check out some other workarounds below.

7. Check for Windows Updates

If in case, your Windows 11 system didn’t update for a while then make sure to check for all pending system updates and install them one by one. To do so:

Press the Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Click on Windows Update from the left pane > Click on Check for updates.

The system will automatically start checking for available updates. If available, it’ll notify you.
Just click on the Download & Install button to start updating.
It may take some time to complete the download and installation process. So have some patience.
Finally, the system will ask you to reboot it. Just restart the computer to apply changes immediately.

8. Update the Audio Driver

Well, an outdated or corrupted, or even missing audio driver can eventually conflict with the audio output device as well as the sound distortion issue. It’s always a good idea to update the audio driver on the PC to check if everything is working fine or not. To do this:

Press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Now, click on Device Manager to open it > Double-click on Sound, video, and Game controllers.
Right-click on the active or problematic audio device > Select Update driver.
Click on Search automatically for drivers > Wait for the process to complete.
If there is an update available, the system will automatically check for it, and install the update.
Once done, make sure to reboot the system to apply changes.

It’s also highly recommended to note down your specific computer model number or the motherboard model number and then head over to the respective manufacturer’s website directly to download & install the latest audio driver.

9. Reinstall Audio Driver

The chances are high that the audio driver is either corrupted or has some bugs that might encounter issues with the sound distortion or no sound coming out. In that scenario, you try following the steps below to reinstall the audio driver or audio device on the Windows 11 computer again to fix it.

Press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Now, click on Device Manager to open it > Double-click on Sound, video, and game controllers.
Right-click on the active or problematic audio device > Select Uninstall device.
Click on Uninstall again to confirm the task > Wait for the process to be completed.
Once done, make sure to restart your computer to apply changes.
After the reboot, the Windows 11 system will automatically reinstall the missing audio driver or audio device (if connected).

However, if it doesn’t get installed by the system automatically then make sure to note down the computer model number or the motherboard model number and directly visit the official manufacturer’s website to download & install the latest audio driver.

If in case, the audio driver/device gets reinstalled, but the issue persists, make sure to follow the next method.

10. Restart Audio Service

There are a couple of audio services available in Windows 11 that may cause issues with sound quality in some cases. Make sure to follow the steps below to restart the audio service on your Windows 11 computer if they’re stopped or disabled for some reason.

Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Now, type services.msc in the field and hit Enter to open Services.
Search for Windows Audio > Double-click on it to open Windows Audio Properties.
Next, check for the Startup type: Automatic > Service status: Running. [If not, select Automatic and Start the service]
Then click on Apply and select OK to save changes.

You’ll also have to do the same steps for the rest of the audio services like Windows Audio Endpoint Builder and Remote Procedure Call. Just start the service and set it to automatic for startup type then apply changes for all three of them.

11. Reinstall Audio Driver (Compatibility Mode)

First of all, make sure to download the latest audio driver file for your specific computer/motherboard model directly from the manufacturer’s website. [Recommended]
Then press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Now, click on Device Manager to open it > Double-click on Sound, video, and Game controllers.
Right-click on the active or problematic audio device > Select Uninstall device.
Click on Uninstall again to confirm the task > Wait for the process to be completed.
Once done, make sure to restart your computer to apply changes.
Now, right-click on the Audio Driver Setup file that you downloaded earlier.
Click on Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
Then click on the Run this program in compatibility mode: under
the Compatibility Mode option.
Select the Windows 7/8/8.1 OS option from the drop-down menu.
Next, click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
Finally, make sure to open the driver file or run it to install it on the system properly.
Once done, you’ll need to reboot the computer to apply changes immediately.

Well, this is how you can easily resolve the Windows 11 audio distortion issue.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.

Fix: Windows 11 Audio Sound Distortion issue