If you want to know how to update audio drivers in Windows 10, the following article features the four guaranteed ways of doing it, either automatically or manually.
In the case you have recently upgraded your Microsoft Windows 10 PC, chances are you don’t have the up-to-date audio driver installed.
Without the latest sound driver, your speakers would give less than optimal sound even when playing at maximum volume.
Other issues that come with outdated audio drivers include breaking sound and missing sound effects while playing games or music.
If that’s what you are facing right now with your Computer’s audio, it’s high time you update your system’s sound drivers.
There are plenty of ways for Windows users to update audio driver. Let’s get started!
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How to update audio drivers in Windows 10
Users can opt to use both built-in update software or visit the Manufacturer’s website to install the latest driver update.
First, let’s have a look at how we can update the sound driver manually:
Updating the audio driver via Device Manager
The Device Manager is a Windows utility that manages the computer hardware. It enables the users to view, scan, update, reinstall, or disable the installed drivers.
In this method, you will have to manually browse for Windows audio drivers to update them.
Here’s how you can use the Device Manager for the updating process:
- Go to the Start Menu and open the “Device Manager“. Alternatively, you can also press the “Win+X” keys to open the power menu and select the app from there. Moreover, you can also utilize the Control Panel app to open the Device Manager from the “Hardware” tab;
- In the Device Manager window, scroll down to “Sound, video and game controllers“. Here you will find the hardware related to your Computer’s audio. If the audio device has a yellow warning sign, there is an issue with the device’s audio system;
- Double-tap on your preferred audio driver to open the audio properties. A new window will open up;
- Switch to the “Driver” tab, and select the “Update driver” button;
- Now, click on “Search automatically for updated driver software“;
- In case no update is available even after conducting the Windows search, click the “Update driver” button again and select “Browse my computer for driver software“. Windows operating system will then determine the suitable drivers for your device;
- Restart your Windows PC to check if the audio drivers have been updated or not.
Using Windows Update to update driver software
Before trying more complicated methods, it’s better to use the Windows OS update features to get your hands on the latest audio driver and additional updates.
The best thing about this method is that you don’t have to determine a driver by yourself as Windows 10 update will automatically detect and install the most appropriate audio driver for your PC.
Besides, the drivers are certified, so you don’t have to worry about installing malware on your system.
Follow these simple steps to update drivers via Windows Update:
- Open the “Settings” app from the Start Menu. You can also search “Windows Update” directly on the Windows search bar and then select the most related search;
- In Settings, click on “Update and Security“;
- In the “Windows Update“tab, click on “Check for updates“;
- If your device is already up-to-date, tap on “View optional update“;
- Click on “Driver update” and check if any updates for sound are available;
- Check the desired one, and then on “Download and Install“;
- Finally, restart the PC to apply the recent changes.
Update sound driver via manufacturer’s website
While using the Device Manager to update audio drivers is the best way to install the latest drivers, Windows search doesn’t always offer a new driver.
If that’s the case, you can visit the computer manufacturer’s website to install the most updated version of audio drivers.
This happens as OEM websites always provide some basic drivers that are compatible with their audio chips. To learn about your system’s manufacturer and OS, go to “Control Panel > System and Security > System”.
Moreover, you can also visit your sound card’s official site to check for recent updates regarding the audio drivers.
Realtek audio driver
Most computers come equipped with Realtek audio, but that doesn’t make it free of errors.
Among the most popular issues are troubling between in-built Microsoft drivers and Realtek HD audio, and missing Realtek HD icon.
Fortunately, these issues can be easily fixed by updating the Realtek driver in Control Panel.
Besides, if your PC has gone through some Windows updates and the latest version of Realtek audio isn’t compatible with it, it might create some sound errors.
For this, you can try reverting to the previous version of the device driver by utilizing the rollback feature in Realtek audio.
Simply go to Device Manager > Realtek High Definition Audio > Properties > Driver > Rollback Driver > OK.
If troubleshooting errors and rolling back to the previously installed version doesn’t work, you can visit the Realtek website and download updates from there.
Here’s how you can do it:
- Open any browser and head over to Realtek’s official page;
- Select the “Download” page from the main menu or type “PC Audio Codecs” in the search bar;
- Download the latest driver according to your system’s requirements. If you have an old computer, we recommend you go for “AC’97 Audio Codecs“. For newer systems, “High Definition Audio Codecs” should work fine;
- Once you have downloaded the desired executable file, open it and follow on-screen instructions to properly integrate the latest drivers in your Windows system.
Updating audio drivers automatically
Searching and finding a relevant audio driver for your device from the Manufacturer’s website could be an exasperating experience.
Manual search requires a significant amount of time, and the risk of installing an unstable driver could potentially harm your computer.
In these circumstances, we suggest you go for driver updater software as they are quick and provide updates in one click.
Bit Driver Updater
One reliable updating tool is “Bit Driver Updater“, which is a free resource that detects and repairs malfunctioning drivers, improves system performance, and resolves additional driver issues.
Plus, the tool is compatible with Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10, so you don’t have to worry about checking the compatibility with the Windows version you are using.
Furthermore, the driver updater automatically creates a backup of the existing drivers, so they can be restored when needed.
Driver Easy
It is a paid updater that helps Windows users automatically detect defective sound drivers in just a few seconds.
Like the above driver software, this updating utility also uses genuine drivers, so it wouldn’t put your system at risk.
One key benefit of using Driver Easy is that it provides offline scans in case of no internet connectivity. Simply download the tool from its official website, and click “Scan now” to get a list of recommended drivers.
After that, select the drivers of your choice and tap the “Update” option to download audio driver on your PC.
The software also offers a free version but it has certain limitations, like the basic version runs at low speed and doesn’t include the “Update all” functionality.
Nonetheless, it accurately performs its job of updating drivers without any hassle.
Wrap up
Audio quality is important since most of the content consumed today includes sound. The aforesaid methods of updating drivers provide easy solutions when your computer’s sound system runs into audio driver issues.
However, using Windows Update is the most reliable method of all since it doesn’t have any limitations and performs the task automatically.
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