Fix: Kodi No Sound on Windows 7, 8, and 10

The missing of sound in Kodi occurs when either the firmware is causing problems, there are compatibility issues, or there is an update issue with the software module. This has been on the radar for Kodi users for quite some time and there are simple workarounds to solve the issue without any hassle.

The settings mostly relate to software components of the software and require you to change your configurations or the sound output from your computer. We will go through all the troubleshooting tips starting with the easiest one first.

How to fix Kodi with no Sound

In addition to the above topic, there are also other titles as well which relate to the issue under discussion:

• Kodi X96 No sound: This issue highlights the specific framework of Kodi producing problems with sound.
• Kodi No Sound over HDMI: This title signifies that the sound and the display medium is HDMI and Kodi is having problems transmitting sound using HDMI.
• Kodi is Showing Red Mute Icon: This issue highlights the scenario where Kodi is muted and a red mute icon is visible on it.

Force restarting Kodi

Before we take a look at other complicated and extensive methods, we should try force restarting Kodi. When we force restart Kodi, all the existing configurations and connections with your operating system will be lost and Kodi will be forced to reinitialize all the settings including sound settings.

Follow the order of steps listed below to force restart Kodi:

Navigate to the Guide > Scrolling on the app in The guide menu > Press Menu > Press Close app

After force closing the application, open it again and try connecting and playing something. Check if the problem is solved.

Enabling Sound properly after Update

Like we all know, Windows releases updates every now and then and tries to implement more useful features and makes changes to the existing architectures. One of the changes to existing architectures was after April’s update to Windows 10 where the background music is independent of the applications. Because of this, you might be turning the volume up the wrong way. Follow the steps below to set the volume correctly.

1. Start the Kodi application and click on the Guide button.
2. Now you will see a recent application list. Navigate to Kodi application and press A to enter.
3. A media player will appear with play (and backward and forward buttons). At the bottom, you will see a slide bar with a controller on the left and a musical note icon on the right.
4. Slide the bar (musical icon note) all the way to the right and then navigate back to the Kodi app.
5. Try playing some audio and check if the sound properly outputting.

Checking for muted volume

Another thing to check is the volume on both your Kodi and your computer. Here you should also make sure that your computer is transmitting volume properly from other applications as well.

Click F8 once on your keyboard to mute/unmute the volume on Kodi and use the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ on your keyboard to either increase or decrease the volume on Kodi.

Also look for the sound icon on your Windows desktop present at the bottom-right side of the screen and make sure it isn’t muted.

Changing Speakers to 5.1

Speakers have their configurations set according to the hardware on your computer. A 2.1 configuration means that the system is a stereo system with 2 bookshelf speakers and 1 subwoofer speaker. This configuration is the most common amongst computer users.

A 5.1 surround system contains 5 speakers and a subwoofer and is mostly present in home theaters. It is also the primary configuration for hardware in home cinema. It turns out that Kodi had some misconfigurations in its settings and only outputs sound when the sound architecture is selected as 5.1. We will change to 5.1 and see if this proves any useful.

1. Press Windows + S, type “sound” in the dialogue box and open the application.
2. Once in sound settings, click on your output speaker and click on Configure present at the bottom left side of the screen.

3. Select the option 5.1 surround and press Next.

4. Complete the setup. You can leave the default settings and keep pressing Next.
5. After the setup of 5.1 is complete, restart Kodi and check if the problem is solved.

Reset Audio Settings

If all the methods don’t work, you can reset your Audio settings before moving on to reset/reinstalling the module/application entirely. Resetting your Audio settings will refresh all the audio settings saved on your computer to default and hopefully bring the sound back.

1. Launch Kodi and click on the Settings icon present in the home screen.

2. Once in the Settings, click on System settings present in the menu.

3. Click on Standard so we can change to a different settings mode. Click on Advanced to navigate to Advanced settings.

4. Select Audio from the left navigation pane. You can also check out the official Audio quick start guide to help in changing the settings.

5. Restart after changing the settings and check if you can hear the sound properly.

Reinstalling Kodi

You should check is if Kodi is updated to the latest release available. The team releases builds every once in a while targeting various bug fixes and new features. You should head over to the official website and download the newest version. You can choose any of the options (Installer or Windows Store). As to this date, v17.6 “Krypton” is the newest one.

If your Kodi is updated to the latest version already, you should reinstall it after uninstalling the entire software module.

1. Press Windows + R, type “appwiz.cpl” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Here all the different applications installed on your computer will be listed. Navigate through all of them until you find Kodi. Right-click it and uninstall.

3. Now download the latest version available from the official website and install it on your computer.