To ensure your audio equipment, headphones, or speakers connected to your Windows 11 laptop or PC are able to function without any issue, you need to make sure you have the latest audio drivers. Outdated audio drivers could cause various problems such as the music not playing, distorted sound quality, or Bluetooth speakers and headphones not connecting to your laptop. This can be problematic when you’re watching movies, editing videos, gaming, or attending video meetings. Here’s how you can ensure you’re running the latest version of all the audio drivers on your machine.

How to update audio drivers in Windows 11 via Device Manager

1. Press Windows key + R to open the Run command window.
2. Type devmgmt.msc in the Run command window and click OK.
3. Click to expand the Audio inputs and outputs section in Device Manager.
4. If you don’t find your desired device here, then check under Sounds, video and game controllers.
5. Right-click on the audio device and click on Update driver.
6. In the Update driver window click on Search automatically for drivers option.
7. This will prompt Windows to search for and download the latest updates for the respective audio driver.
8. If you have audio devices whose drivers you downloaded from the vendor website, then click on Browse for drivers on your computer > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
9. Follow the respective prompts to install the updated driver.
10. After installation is done, restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

How to update audio drivers in Windows 11 via Windows update

1. Press Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
2. Click on Windows update > Advanced options > Optional updates
3. Expand the Driver updates to see if there is any update available for any audio component.
4. Select the component and then press Download & install.
5. Restart your PC or laptop.

Why do you need to update audio drivers?

You need to have the latest audio driver updates to ensure uncompromised sound quality and proper functioning of all audio components. Generally, most updates should work with "Search automatically for drivers," but there may be cases where you would need to download the updates from the vendor website. Here are some of the Windows 11 features in preview you can try out if you are a Windows Insider.