Suddenly no sound from YouTube

Hello. I just had the weirdest thing yet happen: suddenly there is no sound playing from YouTube videos.
The videos play OK, but no sound. VLC and Winamp play OK.

Of course I haven't changed anything or fiddled with any settings since watching YouTube last, 2 hours ago.

 

As you can see  the volume is up. It's the goddarndest thing . . . I even restarted the PC - same difference.

Thank you for any suggestions.

Windows 10 version 21H2 (OS Build 19044.1766)

Uninstall the audio driver and restart your computer to Windows 10 reinstall the audio driver.

Hi:

Reinstalling the audio drivers is a good first step.

In addition to advice to uninstall & reinstall your audio drivers, especially if doing so does **not resolve your issue, you please tell us:

1– In which browser is this happening?

2– Do you have any ad blockers in the browser?

3– What happens if you try YT in a different browser?

4– Why are you running an outdated, unsupported version of Windows 10? (21H2 reached end of servicing almost a year ago. 22H2 is latest, last major feature update.)

We may need to ask you to run a couple of diagnostic utilities to obtain more system info. But this will suffice for the moment.

Thank you

. . I even restarted the PC - same difference.

Ah, but did you restart the PC properly by choosing RESTART from the power options?

 

If you did and it didn't help then right-click the speaker icon bottom-right in the Notification Area then choose "Open volume mixer". Make sure that the app you're using for YouTube isn't muted and its volume is at a decent level.

 

If that doesn't help then let us know if you're using a web browser or the YouTube Windows app. If it's the former then which browser are you using and also tell us whether other sounds play fine in it  - such as Vimeo videos.

 

By the way, I don't think it's a driver issue because only one thing is affected.

I agree with you @Secret-squirrel but reinstalling the driver will reset all the audio settings to default that can help to resolve the problem as long as its not web browser problem.

Thank you all for the advice. I just wonder why the sound driver could have been damaged when all other sounds work. But sure, I'll try anything.

I will report back when and if there is some progress.

 

Oh, and Secret-Squirrel, I wrote . . I even restarted the PC as I am aware that that is the thing to do ;)

I I just saw this on the YouTube tab:   If I did it it was inadvertently. Hope only that was it. Anyway I unmuted the tab and presto - sound.

Looks as if the setting is in your browser.

I'm glad you resolved the issue.

Thanks for letting us know.

PS It would nonetheless be advisable to update to Windows 10 22H2. You are not getting critical security & performance patches running 21H2. (And Windows 10 as a whole will be out of support in October 2025. Home users will be able to purchase ESU (extended security updates) after that, but AFAIK the consumer price has not yet been released. )

This happened to me, a while back. I tried a legion of solutions and nothing worked.

 

Then the problem disappeared, only to return again. Several times.

 

It only happened when I was streaming so, I put it down to the download speed as VLC worked perfectly, with stuff stored on my HDD.

 

It still happens, every now and again. I accept that it is just another annoyance and I now put up with it.

Oh, and Secret-Squirrel, I wrote . . I even restarted the PC as I am aware that that is the thing to do ;)

I know what you wrote. Most folks think that shutting down the PC then turning it on again does a proper restart. It doesn't with Windows 10 so that's why I suggested that useful tip.

 

Good to hear that you fixed your problem.