Question No sound from 3.5mm jack after formatting to Windows 11 — only USB headset works

[kenco99]

Hey everyone, I could really use some help here.

I recently did a clean install of Windows 11 on my PC. Everything went fine, but now I have no audio when I plug earphones or speakers into the 3.5mm jack, whether it's on the front panel or directly into the motherboard.

The only audio that works is through my USB headset. Also, if I plug my earphones into the audio jack on my monitor, I get sound — so the earphones are working, just not through the usual ports.

Here’s what I’ve tried and noticed so far:

• In Device Manager, Realtek High Definition Audio doesn’t show up at all. The only thing listed under “Sound, video and game controllers” is NVIDIA High Definition Audio.
• I downloaded and installed the latest Realtek drivers from my motherboard’s support page, but nothing changed — still no Realtek, and no audio from the regular jacks.
• I tried installing the Realtek driver using the “Add legacy hardware” option, but that just gave me a blue screen (BSOD).
• Onboard audio is enabled in the BIOS.
• The Windows troubleshooter doesn’t help.
• There’s no Realtek Audio Manager, and nothing pops up when I plug something into the jack.

At this point I just want to be able to use my normal earphones and speakers again — not just the USB headset or monitor jack.

System Info:​

• Windows 11 (clean install)
• Motherboard: PRO H610M-E DDR4
• GPU: RTX 4060

If anyone’s been through this or knows how to fix it, I’d really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.

https://imgur.com/a/dG2lwFW

View: https://imgur.com/a/dG2lwFW

 

[BFG-9000]

Realtek audio drivers not working are a known issue in Win 11 24H2. Just plug your speakers into the monitor for now.

 

[SteJBorchard]

Ah ok, I was going to say manually install driver only (No installer .exe) from manufacturer's website.

I'm sure you already tried this but you could try a older version of the driver/software if you can find it.

Otherwise the super long shot in the dark is a BIOS flash to newest firmware and reinstall.

Not much help, sorry.

 

[kenco99]

Ah ok, I was going to say manually install driver only (No installer .exe) from manufacturer's website.

I'm sure you already tried this but you could try a older version of the driver/software if you can find it.

Otherwise the super long shot in the dark is a BIOS flash to newest firmware and reinstall.

Not much help, sorry.

i already installed the latest version of bios using msi center

 

[kenco99]

i tried to downgrade bios version with mflash , to an older version to see wether the issue would be fixed , one from 2023 , and it didn't fix it , i ran out of ideas honestly , i tried that because i saw in a forum that some people had this issue on msi mother board after a bios update

 

[BFG-9000]

That shouldn't help at all. Last month I would've suggested going back to 23H2 and waiting to see if it's fixed in 25H2 due around September, since 23H2 is supported through November and 24H2 has been broken for half a year with no fixes yet. But that doesn't look like a simple option anymore now that you can only delay it for a month.