Sometimes while installing a Windows update, audio issues occur due to Intel High Definition Audio driver malfunction. The problem occurs when there is a version mismatch between the Intel audio driver and Windows 10.
In this article, we have three methods that will help you fix this problem. But first, let us understand some basics about high-definition audio drivers.
What is an Intel High-Definition Audio Driver?
Intel Corporation has developed a new specification for integrated audio, which is capable of delivering high-end performance and exceptional features that you get from an add-in audio card.
The audio driver helps users to play multiple audio streams through the PC at the same time. For instance, you are playing instrumental music to study and watch movies in the living room.
Intel HD Audio Driver can support 192kHz/32-bit quality compared to the analog Codec ’97 which could support only six channels at 48 kHz/20-bit.
What is HD Audio?
High-Definition Audio or HD audio refers to digital music formats that offer CD-quality audio that sounds closer to the original studio recording.
Any music lover who wants to be fully immersed in the music from their favorite artists prefers HD audio that allows them to listen to the audio exactly as the singer intends.
HD audio formats include FLAC and WAV, which are lossless music formats that have a minimum sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, a minimum bit rate of 850 kbps, and a minimum bit depth of 16-bits.
What is a High-Definition Audio Device?
A High-Definition audio device allows you to listen to HD music and gain its complete advantage. You can’t just plug in any audio gear and enjoy HD audio.
If you want to stay wired to your device, it would be a great option to invest in a digital-to-analog converter or DAC and enjoy music in high resolution.
If you want to stay wireless, look for audio devices from manufacturers that provide headphones or earphones capable of HD music playback. Also, instead of Bluetooth devices, Wi-Fi-dependent devices will offer better quality wireless.
Is Realtek or Intel High-Definition Audio a Sound Card?
The Realtek High-Definition audio manager is not a sound card. It is an audio codec that is by default installed by Windows if your computer has its chip.
Its chips offer DAC with minimal features and process the audio using the driver. The software is excellent for users who want to reassign jacks and do not wish to configure the audio jack manually.
Intel HD Audio (IHDA) is not a sound card. Instead, it is an improvement over the integrated audio and sound cards that can prevent the occasional glitches or pops.
Methods to Fix Intel High-Definition Audio Driver Error on Windows 10
We hope that by now you are now familiar with the High-resolution audio that Intel provides and are ready to fix the error that is causing the audio to fail in your computer.
Fix 1: Update Intel High Definition Audio Driver via Driver Easy Automatically
Fix 2: Download & install the correct Intel High Definition Audio Driver manually
Fix 3: Rollback your driver
Fix 1: Update Intel High Definition Audio Driver Automatically Using a Tool
Sometimes the driver that you have may not be compatible with the Windows 10 version, and thus you need to update the driver to fix the issue.
Installing a driver on our own might not be effective because the driver should be compatible with our computer. Thus, we will be using Driver Easy to install the driver.
Step 1. Go to the Driver Easy website and download and install it.
Step 2. Start Driver Easy software and click on the Scan Now button to scan the computer for problematic drivers.
Step 3. In the update tab, you will be able to see all the drivers that need updating. Click on the Update all button or Update button individually to update the drivers.
Fix 2: Download & Install the Correct Intel HD Audio Driver Manually
If you feel insecure about installing any software, you can download the audio card driver and audio controller directly from the manufacturer’s website or the laptop’s website.
Step 1. Go to the Intel website.
Navigating the Intel Website
1. On the homepage, you can find the sign-out & USA(English) or “en-us” buttons on the right side of the menu, from where you can set the language and sign out.
2. On the right side in the menu bar, you can find the following menus and submenus:
Toggle Navigation
- Products,
- Support (Drivers & Downloads, Support For, Resources),
- Solutions (Industries, Topics, Resources, Services),
- Developers (Software Development, Hardware Development, FPGA Development),
- Partners (Intel Partner Alliance, Retail Partner Solutions, Find Partners)
Step 2. Inside the Driver & Downloads menu, enter Intel HD Graphics and the model number of the driver you want and press enter.
If you don’t know how to know the model number, you can follow the below steps:
1. Navigate to your Desktop and right-click on the blank area on the screen. Select Display Settings.
2. In the display settings, go to Advanced display settings and choose display adapter properties.
3. You can find the graphics model number in the Adapter Type section under the Adapter tab.
Step 3. Based on your system, choose Windows 10 64-bit or Windows 10 32-bit.
Step 4. Click on the first result from the page as it’s the latest version.
Step 5. Click on the .exe file and install the driver using the on-screen instructions.
Step 6. Restart your computer.
Fix 3: Roll Back Your Driver
It could be possible that updating the drivers won’t solve the issue if the latest version is also not compatible. In such a case, you can roll back the driver to the previous version to which the driver was working.
Step 1. In your Windows 10 PC, right-click on the start button and go to Device Manager.
Step 2. Navigate to the System devices and search for the audio controller such as HD Audio Controller or Intel® Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller.
Step 3. Right-click on the driver and go to the Driver tab.
Step 4. Click on the Rollback driver. In some cases, the roll-back option would be disabled or greyed out. You need to install the previous version from the manufacturer’s website in this case and install it.
Step 5. Restart the system to allow the changes to take effect.
Do check out our 8 Fixes For Nvidia High Definition Audio No Sound
