How to fix "High Definition Audio Device" on my Windows 11?

Question

How to fix "High Definition Audio Device" on my Windows 11?

Krish Mathur 40

Hello,

Since a couple of days I've been encountering this issue of my laptop speakers randomly not playing audio, even if I'm playing a video with audio, the sound just "disappears", after multiple restarts only is when the audio returns to play from the speakers, there's no such issue when i connect my Bluetooth earphones. As per previous forums questions, I've also tried restarting the audio services, re-installing audio drivers, but nothing seems to be working. I'm suspecting it to be driver issue and not a hardware issue as the hardware diagnostics show no result of a failing hardware.

I noticed a greyed out, hidden driver named "High Definition Audio Device", the device status shows the following:

Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45)

To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer.

Driver version : 10.0.26100.8737
Driver date: 18/06/2026

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Answer 1

GsN5034 - IA 76,570 Independent Advisor

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Yes, it appears to be an audio driver-related issue. Try these troubleshooting steps and see if it resolves the issue -

On the Device Manager -

Right-click the 'High Definition Audio Device' driver, Select Uninstall device > *select the "Attempt to delete the driver software for this device " checkbox, and then click Uninstall.

Then, restart your computer and check the audio output.

Note: Windows will automatically reinstall the drivers during this restart.

If you are still having issues,

1.

Visit your PC manufacturer's website.

Enter your computer serial./model number.

Go to the Drivers & Downloads section.

Download the latest high-definition audio device driver and install it.

Restart your computer and check the audio output.

If you are having difficulty finding the drivers,

Type msinfo in the search bar on the taskbar and click Enter.

Post a Screenshot of the resulting dialog box.

Krish Mathur 40 Reputation points

2026-07-30T06:45:52.4133333+00:00

Hi,

I've removed the HDAD from device manager, since then I've had no issues. I'll continue to monitor the performance and errors. I'll let you know.

Thank you
GsN5034 - IA 76,570 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-30T07:37:25.0833333+00:00

Hi,

Yes, please monitor the issue for a few days.

If all is resolved, feel free to rate this thread. Otherwise, please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Krish Mathur 40 Reputation points

2026-07-30T11:29:02.4+00:00

It worked fine yesterday and worked fine until a few hours ago when i had to restart my laptop and the audio from the speakers is gone again.

Windows troubleshooter suggests that it is an audio driver problem. but, the troubleshooter is not able to solve the problem.
GsN5034 - IA 76,570 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-31T03:28:55.7066667+00:00

Hi ,

If this is the case, please try reinstalling the latest version of drivers from your PC manufacturer's website instead and see if it permanently fixes the issue.
Krish Mathur 40 Reputation points

2026-08-03T06:53:49.8+00:00

Hi,

The driver on the dell page is an older version of what I currently have installed. still worth a try?