Windows 11 is great when it comes to features and modern aesthetics but is still riddled with bugs. Visual glitches, incorrect icons and random lags are all regular things that you’ll still encounter despite frequent updates.
In this article, we’re talking about what causes incorrect Windows 11 audio icons and how you can fix them.
What causes the issue?
The issue is mostly caused by a lack of system memory, outdated drivers or too many programs or extensions running at the same time. Additionally, corrupt or outdated programs also often cause such glitches.
Also read: How to fix ‘Realtek HD Audio Manager Missing’ in Windows 10?
How to fix this?
Here are 13 fixes you can try out.
Restart
Rebooting can fix a bunch of seemingly random issues and should be your first troubleshooting step when dealing with things like these. It’s an age-old fix but still works like a charm more often than not.
Update your PC
Another thing you should do is update your PC. Updating your PC will, in most cases, update your drivers and fix any issues in the process.
Check out this detailed guide to know how to update your PC here
Update the app
Another potential reason for the bug as described above is your app being outdated and hence not exactly compatible with Windows 11. Check to see if there’s a newer version or another version compatible with Windows 11 and update or switch accordingly to resolve the error.
Manually select Windows audio output
Check to see if Windows is sending audio to the right output device. This can often cause problems especially if you have external monitors plugged in over HDMI or DisplayPort.
Step 1: Click the Windows audio icon in the taskbar.
Step 2: Click the arrow icon next to the volume bar.
Step 3: Select the correct audio source from the list that appears.
Your audio icon glitch should be in place now.
Disable Audio enhancements
While audio effects in Windows are meant to enhance user experience, they can be problematic at times. Disabling them might help your situation.
Step 1: Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and click Sounds.
Step 2: Head over to the Playback tab, select your speakers and click Properties.
Step 3: Go to the Advanced tab, and under Signal Enhancements, uncheck the Enable audio enhancements checkbox.
Restart your PC and try again.
Update your GPU drivers
Outdated GPU drivers can also cause this issue in particular. While you should update all your drivers, take special care of your display drivers if you run into an error like this.
Step 1: Right-click Start and select Device Manager from the menu.
Step 2: Under Display Adaptors, find your graphics card’s name, right-click on it and click on Update Drivers.
Step 3: Click on Search automatically for drivers. Windows will then automatically look for and download the latest drivers for your particular GPU.
While this should help resolve the error, in case it doesn’t, click Uninstall device and restart your PC to force Windows to install the required drivers. You can then update them later. Alternatively, you can also remove your GPU and reinsert it if you can.
Update audio drivers
Since the error is audio-related, updating the audio drivers on your PC will often fix the problem.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + X and click on Device Manager.
Step 2: Double-click on Sound, video and game controllers to show all visible audio devices.
Step 3: Right-click your audio device and click on Update drivers.
Step 4: Click Search automatically for drivers, and Windows will automatically download and install any driver updates needed.
If this doesn’t work, you can follow the same steps to uninstall the audio drivers and restart your PC to install them again.
Unplug your audio devices
Another thing that is pretty much similar is unplugging your audio devices and plugging them back in again. This can help restart the drivers that power your particular audio playback device and get around the error.
Run the Windows Audio troubleshooter
Windows comes in with a number of helpful troubleshooters that can automatically detect and fix any issues. Here’s how you can run the audio troubleshooter in Windows 11.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for Audio troubleshooter. Click the corresponding search result.
Step 2: Follow along with the troubleshooter and let it carry out any suggested fixes.
Restart your PC and the audio icons should be in place.
Close or uninstall conflicting programs
Closing conflicting programs that may be hogging precious PC resources can also help resolve the error. Just go through the Processes tab on the Task Manager to see if you can fix the problem by closing any programs that might conflict with your audio player or may be using a lot of resources.
Additionally, you can also go one step ahead and uninstall these programs if you don’t really need them to save yourself the hassle every time you encounter the error.
Perform a Disk Cleanup
Disk Cleanup is an integral feature of Windows. It can help iron out many issues that may otherwise impact your system’s performance, including repairing any processes causing the error.
You can refer to this article for more information on Disk Cleanup
Run an SFC Scan
Corrupt files are the number one reason your PC might behave weirdly. Here’s how you can get rid of them and potentially resolve your issue.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + S to bring up the Cortana/Search box and search for Powershell. Open Windows Powershell from the search results.
Step 2: Type sfc /scannow to scan your system for issues.
Step 3: If the SFC scan finds any problem, use the following command to resolve them.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Restart your PC, and your icons should be in place.
Repair your system
If nothing else works, the best way to get rid of the error is by simply reinstalling or repairing your OS.
The Windows Media Creation tool is a great way to install Windows and repair the OS. Using this, you can perform a clean installation or repair your OS without affecting your data.
You can download the Media Creation Tool here
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