Headphones are essential for a personal computing experience. You can connect wired or wireless headphones with your computer. If they are not getting detected, it can be a hardware issue, settings conflict, driver issues, or operating system glitch. If your headphones are not working on Windows 11, you will need to troubleshoot and fix the headphones. Here is a step-by-step guide to narrow down the issue and get it working.
Use Headphones on Another Device
To diagnose if it is a hardware issue, you can try connecting your headphones to a different computer, tablet or laptop. If it works better on another device, that means the problem is with some settings or audio drivers on your Windows PC. You can also try connecting different headphones to your computer and check if it was an issue with the headphones.
Restart Your PC
Most of the time, a simple restart can fix a lot of issues. Just disconnect your headphones from your device, restart your computer and connect it back with your PC. If it gets detected but not working, it must be a settings conflict or driver issue.
Check Audio Mixer Settings
There are different settings for regular speakers and headphones. You need to ensure that the volume bars are all up for your headphones. Try these settings for the same!
Step 1. At the bottom right of the Task Bar, right-click on the Volume icon and select the ‘Open Volume Mixer’ option.
Step 2. Drag up all the volume levellers on the window including the apps to 100%.

Step 3. Click on the device icon to check the Speaker Properties.

Step 4. Click on the Advanced tab and put a check on the ‘Enable Audio Enhancements’ check box. Select Apply and Okay to save changes.

Step 5. Under the speaker icon, click on the small triangle to check Headphone Properties.

Step 6. Ensure that all general settings and advanced settings are appropriate. Click on the Enhancement tab and enable Bass Boost & Loudness Equalization options. Click to Apply changes and save settings.
Set Headphones as Default
There are possibilities that the Headphones are not getting autodetected until you set it as your default audio output device.
Step 1. At the bottom right of the Task Bar, right-click on the Volume icon and select the ‘Open Sound Settings’ option.
Step 2. The Sound settings window will open. Connect your headphones to your computer.