Fix: Front Audio Jack not Working

Front audio jacks refer to the front headphones/microphone ports present on a personal computer. Laptops usually have single audio ports located either at the sides or at the front. We will be talking about personal computer desktops in this article and discuss how to fix the front audio jacks.

Front Audio Jack not Working
Front Audio Jack not Working Fix

The reasons why your front audio jack is not working are directly related either to your drivers or the connection between the computer casing and the motherboard. This issue is usually fixed using simple steps and doesn’t require much troubleshooting.

What causes the Front Audio Jack not to work in a PC?

Like mentioned before, the causes of the front audio jack not working in your Desktop PC are quite limited. The causes are but not limited to:

  • Bad connection between the front audio jack module and your motherboard.
  • Outdated audio drivers installed on your computer.
  • The required port might not be enabled from your audio settings.

We have listed the solutions in an order prescribed by the difficulty and the level of occurrence. Make sure that you follow the top solution first and work your way down accordingly.

Solution 1: Setting Audio Device as Default

In the best case, it is possible that there is nothing wrong with the installed drivers on your computer and the connection between the motherboard and the audio jack is proper as well. The audio device corresponding to the front audio jack might not be set as the default device for communication which may cause issues. We will change these settings and see if the issue gets fixed.

  1. Right-click on the sounds icon present on your taskbar and select Sounds.
Sounds – Windows taskbar
  1. Select the tab Playback, right-click on your Audio device and select Set as Default Device. After you have set it properly, you will see the window somewhat like below.
Setting default device
  1. Now check if the front audio ports are working properly.

Solution 2: Enabling Detection

Another issue which we came across was where the detection was turned off for the front panel of your computer. If the detection itself is disabled, the audio device will not get recognized by the computer. Here, we will navigate to the audio jack properties and enable the detection manually.

Note: If it is already enabled, we recommend that you disable it and then see if the issue gets resolved.

  1. Navigate to Realtek’s official download website and download the required drivers for your computer to an accessible location.
  2. Now run the driver setup and install the drivers on your computer accordingly. You might be prompted for a restart. Restart your computer properly before proceeding.
  3. Press Windows + R, type “control” in the dialogue box and press Enter for the control panel to launch. Select Small icons display type from the top-right side of the screen. Select Realtek HD Audio Manager
Realtek HD Audio Manager
  1. Now click the folder icon present at the top-right side of the screen.
Realtek HD Audio Manager
  1. Once the window has opened, check/uncheck the option Disable front panel jack detection.
Disable front panel jack detection
  1. Press OK to save changes and exit. Now check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 3: Checking Connection between Motherboard and Audio jack

If both the above methods don’t work, you need to make sure that the connection between your motherboard and the front audio jack is proper and connected. This occurrence is very common in a number of different users. If the connection is not proper, it will appear to the computer that there is no front audio jack at all.

  1. Open the casing of your computer and locate the connection between the motherboard and the front audio jack.
  2. If you also have USB capability at the front of your tower, you will see audio and a USB wire. Make sure they are connected properly.
Checking Wire Connection
  1. In some cases, users also reported that reversing the face of the jacks and then inserting them inside the motherboard solved the problem instantly. Make sure that the wires are connected properly.

Note: If this doesn’t work for you, you need to troubleshoot whether the audio jack is functional. If it isn’t, you need to check the connections soldering, etc.

Solution 4: Using the Audio jack at the back

If all the above method fails to remedy the problem, you can try plugging your audio jack at the back of the device. Each computer has a capability for front audio jacks but always have audio jacks connected directly to the motherboard at the backside of the tower.

Audio Jack at back

Locate the audio jack which probably is of green color (pink for microphone) and plug your audio device there. These will connect by default and you will be able to use your audio device without any issues.

Solution 5: Reinstalling Audio Drivers

Another reason why the front audio jack on your computer might not work is that there are outdated audio drivers installed on your computer. Either this or the drivers are themselves corrupt. Since drivers are the main interface that communicates with your OS, this might cause problems. We will update the drivers properly and after disabling some options, check if the issue is resolved.

  1. Press Windows + R, type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialogue box and press Enter. Once in the device manager, navigate to sound/audio devices drop-down.
  2. Select the HD audio device (or whichever is installed), right-click on it and select Uninstall.
  3. Once the device is uninstalled, restart your computer completely.
  4. Navigate back to the device manager and you should notice that the device will be reinstalled automatically using default drivers. If it didn’t, you can navigate to your sound-card manufacturer’s website and install the latest drivers from there.
  5. After installing the latest drivers, check if the issue is resolved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin Arrows


Kevin Arrows is a highly experienced and knowledgeable technology specialist with over a decade of industry experience. He holds a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification and has a deep passion for staying up-to-date on the latest tech developments. Kevin has written extensively on a wide range of tech-related topics, showcasing his expertise and knowledge in areas such as software development, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. His contributions to the tech field have been widely recognized and respected by his peers, and he is highly regarded for his ability to explain complex technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.