Windows 11 keeps changing audio output.

I suspect this issue will never be resolved.

I mean look at how amateur this company has become with their recent outages. This issue has been around for years, it will remain around for years. The "experts" that report on here don't work for microsoft, i highly suspect microsoft aren't even aware of the issue.

This won't be a beloved breakdown, but as an audio professional (engineer, producer, artist) that's been fighting w/Windows & iOS for 20 yrs at this point, a major issue exacerbating this problem is device developers not keeping their products updated; both PC components & peripherals. Sometimes it doesn't matter if you've updated drivers or not, because even when they've been updated, a fix for your issue wasn't a part of it. Also, sometimes devs tell their boss the fix is in, just to make deadlines, when in fact the fix isn't technically finished & they cover their tracks by saying the fix was just unsuccessful. This happens a lot more than you would imagine especially w/outsourced industries w/less direct oversight.

Consider the many thousands of devices Windows 11 has to connect with, all of them getting more advanced each year & all of them have to work or people come here & complain. Over the course of nearly a year that this post has been up, there have only been 45 complaints & that's actually very low in comparison to other issues & the number of connected devices across the platform. If you look thru the entire feed you'll find some people getting the fix after new motherboard installations or updates, or after a Windows update, or just randomly one day, & that also suggests the issues are multifaceted, not just Windows 11.

You probably won't like my solution either. Working w/PC & Mac, I've got lots of gear to go wrong & drivers needing constant updating. There's nothing I can do about Mac since their components are proprietary, but they don't have the same issue either. With my PCs tho, about a decade ago I started building my own desktop PCs, which is much easier than people think. That way I know every component that goes into my PC; I know the manufacturers history w/supporting their components & drivers, & I can troubleshoot them individually, w/most components offering phone support warranties for 3 to 5 years. It's very rare that I have an issue w/audio dropout, & even less so since Windows 11.

I know that's not a practical solution for 99% of people, I only mention it as proof that your issue is most likely not with Windows. As you would imagine, this has been a big issue in the audio production world for some time, & picking your components & who makes them has been the best solution for us. There's also been a significant improvement w/the introduction of 11 & while that might not offer you the solution you need right now, you will have fewer issues going forward.

If this issue is something you can't solve or live with, sell your current laptop (most of the issues seem to be w/laptops) & consider a more proprietary based PC, like something from MSI; they're one of the best choices for hassle-free driver experience, since they'll have made the motherboard in that machine & many other PCs. Asus & Gigabyte are also motherboard manufacturers making their own laptops these days, & they'll offer a better driver experience as well for the same reasons, but buying external peripherals is important too, since they'll have to keep up support, so research your peripherals carefully. I would also avoid Chinese firms & try to stick w/Taiwanese S. Korean makers if you can, after the recent sanctions banning high-tech chips in China. The tech divide between the West & China is getting wider & that means you might not get the proper product & driver support you need from companies based on mainland China.

A day after posting that I thought it was fixed, I woke up my pc and it didn't have any sound devices to choose from. None of my output devices were listed in the sound settings.

A reboot fixed it this time but that's not an ideal solution with how I use my computer.

The culprit seems to have been found for my original problem.

Dell ended up installing a new main board. And that did the trick. Apparently three was a fabrication error near the jack output port that caused the trouble.

Further to your experience, the latest disruption in productivity is that my sound disappears whenever I have a Zoom call. I get set up for the call and then as soon as I connect, no sound; inevitably forcing me to leave the meeting and restart my laptop.