How To Use Realtek Digital Output

Many computers come with Realtek sound cards, and you can use digital output to create audio. Digital output simply means that the audio devices connected to your computer don’t use analog cables.

When using digital output, your audio devices require the correct feature to be enabled on your computer. So, if your computer doesn’t have audio, don’t start with the assumption that there’s something wrong with your hardware. Although that might be the case sometimes, most of these problems disappear in just a couple of clicks.

This article will help you understand and use these features so that you can address audio problems when using Realtek digital output.

Possible Solutions for Fixing Your Audio Problems

Changing the Default Audio Device

In some cases, enabling the Realtek Digital Output feature isn’t necessary at all. If you have regular speakers plugged into your computer, you can simply switch to the speakers to fix your audio problems.

To do solve this, change your default audio device in just a couple of steps. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Click on Start, type “Control Panel“, and click on it. 
2. Now, click on Hardware and Sound – this option might be harder to find in the default Control Panel menu. If your menu is set to Small Icons, simply click on the option next to View By in the upper right corner and select Category. This will make your search much easier.
3. Now, click on Sound.
4. After you have clicked on the Sound option, a small sound configuration popup window will appear. Now, navigate to the Playback tab in this window. 
5. From there, you will be able to see all of the devices that are connected to your computer and that you can configure for yourself. Simply right-click on Speakers and then select Set as Default Option. If you can’t see this option, that means that your Speakers are already set as the default. In that case, just select Enable from the same menu.

When you want to change back to high definition digital audio, simply enable the Realtek Digital Output option in the same way.

Shortcut Tip

If you want to avoid going into Control Panel and searching for the correct features and options, there is a shortcut that can help you.

All that you need to do is right-click on the speaker icon, which is found on your taskbar (usually the bottom-right side of the screen), and then select Sounds. This will open the same sound configuration popup window as before.

From there, everything is the same.

Updating Your Computer’s Audio Drivers

If something as essential as audio doesn’t work on your computer, there’s a chance that something is wrong with your drivers.

Drivers are programs made specifically for your operating system and computer hardware components. Each laptop or computer model has its own type of drivers installed.

What usually happens is that people delete some of their drivers by mistake, or their drivers need updating. When that occurs, your computer most definitely won’t work the way it should.

So, if you are still having problems with your computer’s audio even after changing the default audio device, you should install or update the correct sound drivers. This isn’t as complicated as it sounds.

Here is how you can do that:

1. Press Windows + R simultaneously to open the Run program, type “devmgmt.msc” in the displayed dialogue box and hit Enter. 
2. Every device that is connected to your computer will be shown on your screen. Now, you need to choose the correct category, so choose Audio Inputs and Outputs or Sound, video and game controllers (based on your operating system’s version).
   

The further steps depend on whether or not you have audio drivers at all.

Updating Drivers

You can update your drivers manually by right-clicking on them one by one and selecting Update. If you want to fix your Realtek digital output issues, start by updating the Realtek driver.

Uninstalling and Reinstalling Drivers

1. You can also delete all your drivers by right-clicking on every item below the Audio Inputs and Outputs or Sound, video and game controllers and selecting Uninstall.
2. Once you’ve uninstalled everything under this option, right-click on the parent tab (Audio Inputs and Outputs / Sound, video and game controllers) and select Scan for Hardware Changes. Your computer will then search for Windows updates and install the correct drivers, including the Realtek driver. This might take a while, so be patient.
3. Once your device has finished installing your new drivers, you should restart your computer.

Everything should be ready to go when your system has rebooted.

Know Your Way Around

We can’t overstate how important it is for everyone that uses a computer to know their way around it. Fixing audio issues can be a breeze, you just need to know where to start.

Did the above article help with your Realtek audio issues? Please let us know if there’s something we should add to it.