Headphones in the sound industry have long become an integral accessory that allows you to get much better audio playback than through speakers or studio monitors of even the highest class. In computers, such devices have become simply indispensable when listening to music, watching movies, and even when playing games. But how to turn on the headphones on the laptop? In general, what types of playback devices in this category are best used? To many, these issues may seem to be self-explanatory. Meanwhile, it is often possible to meet extraordinary situations when the headphones seem to be connected correctly, but there is still no sound, or various kinds of noise and distortion are observed during playback. Let’s try to figure out what actions can be taken in each case.
Which headphones are suitable for a laptop?
To begin, let's decide on the purchase of the necessary device. Which model of laptop headphones is better to buy? Naturally, the choice depends on many factors, including the preferences of the user himself, the design of the device, its sound characteristics, and also in which area they will be used. So, for example, if you prefer computer games or are prone to some kind of mobility, devices in the form of a headset, the design of which has one or two speakers for sound output and a microphone, are perfect for you.
If you like to listen to music and not be tied to the location of the laptop, you can use headphones that provide a wireless connection to a signal source based on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi technology. In the case when you most value sound quality, it is best to give preference to professional or semi-professional models with a wired connection. However, in all the situations described, constant loss of quality should be taken into account, for example, if the distance from the computer device is too far when connecting wireless gadgets or due to the use of too long cords for wired models.
How to enable headphones on a laptop: options
Now briefly dwell on the main connection options. As already mentioned, you can use a wired and wireless connection. But here, the user may be liable for several surprises, which for the most part is connected with wired models. The fact is that laptops are usually equipped with special inputs with a diameter of 3.5 mm (as on mobile devices) for a mini-jack. Standard laptop headphones generally comply with this connection scheme. The use of USB ports is less common, but this applies more to wireless models. As for connecting studio devices or modern headsets, the biggest problems begin here, since not all users clearly understand how to turn on the headphones for a laptop in such a situation.
Direct wire connection
Wired connection, despite the fact that it looks quite simple, still has several basic features. The fact is that for some types of headsets you can use not one output, but two. The first is intended to output sound directly to the headphones, and the second is used to connect a microphone. But how to turn on the headphones for the laptop, if it has only one input, and the headset has two wires?
In this case, you can use special adapters, which does not always give the desired effect, but it is better to install an external sound card. On ultrabooks, internal soundcards (but not of an integrated type) can also be installed, similar to those usually found in stationary system units. In this case, the connection is simplified by itself. Headphones for a laptop with a plug in the form of a standard jack can also be connected.
Again, this will require a special adapter for the mini-jack.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection
Wireless connection also has its own characteristics. Sometimes users are surprised why the headphones on the laptop do not work, although the system determines them after the first connection. Most often, this situation is due to the fact that the user may be corny outside the coverage area of the radio module, or because the modules themselves are not included on the headphones themselves. It’s not enough just to enable the connection. Sometimes it may take some time to establish a connection (about ten seconds). Finally, special attention should be paid to a special receiver that can be inserted into a USB port. It may well be that changing the port with the interface 2.0 to 3.0 will solve the problem. But it also happens that a laptop with Windows 10 does not see the headphones, and because the wireless models of such devices do not have the appropriate drivers or related software that helps the system “see” the connected device. We will dwell on this separately.
Sound settings for example Windows 10
One of the most common problems of many users, as they say, is terribly simple. It happens that when you connect headphones or headsets, users simply do not pay attention to the volume control. The problem is that when changing the playback device, when it is activated instead of the main one, the sound level may be muted. To do this, first check the status of the corresponding controller on the mixer (and for all currently active applications that use sound circuits). In the case of headsets that also have a microphone, the first thing you need to do is go to the sound section located in the “Control Panel” and then look at the playback devices. If there are no headphones among them, you need to display hidden devices. After that, it is advisable to immediately go to the microphone tab and make a test recording. By the reaction of the indicators, it will immediately be possible to determine whether the system responds to the signal or not. If the reaction is zero, you should check the recording level, and use gain as an additional measure. But usually for microphones of any type, the input level is best set to half the volume, and the gain should not be used at all.
But the questions about how to turn on the sound in the headphones on the laptop may have another solution, which is to select your model of headphones or headset from the list of playback devices, and then set it to be the default one (it should a green circle with a checkmark appears). After that, you can check the sound directly in the same section using the operating system.
What to do if there is no sound in the headphones?
But suppose everything is fine with the settings. But why don't the headphones work on the laptop? It is possible that the reason is that the signal is blocked by some third-party software.
For example, it is often advisable to make sound settings using Realtek soundcards not using the operating system, but on a Realtek mixer. If you wish, you can even try changing the chain of inputs and outputs involved in the playback. When setting up, it is desirable to turn off all effects that may affect sound transmission for now.
The same thing, by the way, can be attributed in a sense to situations where environmental effects are included in the operating system itself (in the sound section, the Enhancements tab is responsible for this). Check the parameters of the involved processing for surround sound, but it is better to turn them off when testing the device.
It is also worth looking at the status of the Windows Sonic for Headphone module, which appeared in the tenth modification of the system. If you use more advanced paid Dolby Atmos technology, see what is set in the parameters of this module.
Considerations for installing and updating playback device drivers
Finally, most often a laptop with Windows 10 does not see the headphones due to the absence or incorrect installation of the appropriate drivers, including sound cards, and wireless sound reproducing devices, and USB controllers, and radio modules.
Use the “Device Manager” and see if these components are marked as unknown or inoperative devices, if necessary, update the drivers (for wireless headphones and headsets, the control software is best installed again from the supplied media with drivers). To simplify things, you can use automated update programs like Driver Booster.
Note: if for some reason the drivers cannot be found, in the “Device Manager” determine the device identifiers using the information tab for this, then find the necessary software on the Internet and install them yourself.
Additional Actions
What other reasons for the lack of sound can occur? Very often this can concern purely physical failures (for example, when the headphone input on a laptop does not work on its own), it is less likely to encounter the effects of viruses, driver conflicts, etc. In this situation, you will have to “ring” all the connectors and also scan system for viruses. It is possible that removing the installed device with subsequent reinstallation of the drivers will also give the desired result.
Conclusion
That, in fact, is all that relates to connecting headphones to laptops and using them as the main device for reproducing sound. It remains to say that only the most typical situations and possible incorrect user actions to adjust the sound were considered above, since absolutely everything can not be foreseen even in principle.