The Chrome browser sometimes stops playing audio on one or more websites, while system sounds continue to work. Usually, a temporary mute on a website causes this, which you can fix by unmuting the page. Other times, the problem may be more serious.
If you’re having trouble watching your favorite shows on Chrome because of no sound, here are some fixes you can try.
1. Eliminate Hardware Problems
Check your hardware before moving on to major software fixes. When Chrome stops playing the audio, close it and try playing the audio in a different browser or using the system media player. If a problem persists throughout your system, it’s not Chrome-specific, and you can solve it simply by plugging and unplugging sound devices, changing your output sound devices, or updating sound drivers.
If the problem is limited to Chrome, you can try turning the browser off and back on again to see if that solves the problem. Additionally, you can reboot your computer once to make sure that a temporary glitch isn’t causing the problem. When both of these fixes fail, then it’s time to troubleshoot the problem using the fixes below.
2. Check the Sound on Other Websites
Start by playing the sound on websites other than the one where the sound is not playing. When you’re sure the problem is with a website, you can unmute that tab or website to start hearing the sound again.
If the sound isn’t already muted and the problem persists across Chrome, then the problem lies elsewhere and requires further investigation. In that case continue using the fixes below.
3. Check Chrome Sound Settings
If the problem is the same across Chrome, you may have disabled the setting that enables websites to play sound.
In addition, Chrome allows you to mute certain websites by adding them to the list of sites that are not allowed to play sound in the Customized behavior option. Thus, make sure that you have not blacklisted those websites which are not playing any sound.
If no website was excluded, nor were sound settings disabled, check that the Chrome sound in the volume mixer is not set to zero.
4. Check the sound in Volume Mixer
With the volume mixer, you can mute the sound of your speakers, your system, or individual browsers. Here are the steps to make sure Chrome is not muted in the volume mixer.
Alternatively, if the volume in the volume mixer wasn’t muted, you should try some more system-level fixes, like running the sound troubleshooter and updating the sound driver.
5. Run Sound Troubleshooter
Microsoft Windows includes built-in troubleshooters that automatically diagnose and resolve most system problems. Similar troubleshooting is available for sound issues as well. Thus, run this to make sure that some temporary system issue is not causing your Chrome browser to mute.
Upon doing so, the Get Help window will appear, where you will be asked to allow the system to run the quick scan. Click Yes to run a quick scan to troubleshoot sound problems. Hearing the beep confirms that the problem is not on the system side.
Still, update the sound driver as a last resort to eliminate any software issues.
6. Update Your Sound Drivers
Updating the driver didn’t change anything? It’s time to iron out browser-specific problems.
7. Clear Browser History and Cache
A dirty history and a lot of cache can also make your browser silent over time. To eliminate this possibility, clear the browser’s history and cache.
If clearing your browser’s history and cache doesn’t help, consider resetting your browser settings.
8. Reset Chrome
Resetting Chrome will return all your browser settings to defaults and improve your browser performance as well as Chrome not playing sound. However, this comes at a cost as all your customizations will be gone, and you will have to start fresh with your browser.
Chrome still not playing any sound?
If Chrome is still speechless, you should try a few other fixes as a last resort to regain your browser’s sound. These include disabling browser extensions, scanning your system for malware, running browser cleanup, and reinstalling Chrome. Even if that doesn’t work, you’ll have no choice but to switch to another browser until the problem is temporarily resolved.
Do you have slow chrome browser? Then it’s time to switch your default search engine to Chrome, close resource-hungry tabs, update your browser or clear its cache, and last but not least, turn off hardware acceleration.