What to Do When Your Windows 11 Laptop Stops Playing Audio After Being Closed

Quick Tips

• Windows laptop audio issues can be caused by power management settings, drivers, and audio services.
• If you want to play audio once the lid is closed, try changing your power settings.
• If audio has stopped working after reopening the lid, try restarting the audio service or disabling power saving.
• For general problems, try running the audio troubleshooter.

If you’ve closed your laptop and found that the audio stopped working, or if you want audio to continue playing while the lid is closed, but it doesn’t, then this is the article for you. The Windows 11 laptop audio not working problem has several fixes that can help, depending on your issue. We’ll be covering as many as possible.

Windows Laptop Audio Not Working – Fixes to Try

Depending on your audio issue, we’ve got fixes below that can help. Let’s get started:

Change Your Power Settings

If you want audio to continue playing after the lid’s been closed, then your go-to solution is your Power Profile. You need to set your laptop to stay powered on after closing. These settings can be changed in the Control Panel. Here’s what to do:

To keep your laptop running when the lid is closed:

Step 1. Open the Control Panel via the search bar.

Step 2. In the window that pops up, scroll down to “Power Options” and select it.

Step 3. In the Power Options menu, click “Choose what closing the lid does” from the sidebar.

Step 4. You should see two dropdown menus next to “When I close the lid.” Choose the “Do nothing” option, which will keep your laptop running after closing.

Step 5. Click the “Save changes” button to finalize.

Disable Power Saving

Power-management settings can sometimes cause audio hardware or drivers to enter a low-power state. In some cases, the device may not resume correctly after sleep or after closing and reopening the lid. To check that this isn’t the case, you’ll need to check Power Management Settings in Device Manager:

Step 1. Open the Run Dialog (Win + R) and type “devmgmt.msc” and click “Enter.”

Step 2. In Device Manager, click “Sound, video and game controllers” to expand the menu.

Step 3. Right-click your audio device, and select “Properties” from the context menu.

Step 4. In the window that pops up, click the “Power Management” tab.

Step 5. Uncheck “Allow this computer to turn off this device to save power” and click “OK” to finalize.

While you’re in Device Management, it’s also a good idea to ensure your Windows 11 laptop audio driver is up to date. Simply right-click your audio device and select “Update driver.” Choose “Search automatically for drivers” and follow the steps.

Restart the Audio Service

If your problem is that the Sound options have completely disappeared upon reopening your laptop, then a quick solution is to restart the Windows audio service completely. Here’s how:

Step 1. Open “Run Dialog” (Win + R) and type “services.msc” before selecting “Enter.”

Step 2. In “Services,” navigate down to “Windows Audio” and right-click it.

Step 3. Depending on its current status, you will either need to “Start” or “Restart” it. You can find both options in the context menu.

Run the Audio Troubleshooter

If the problem is a bit more nebulous, you can use the Windows Troubleshooter to help out. Here’s how:

Step 1. Open “Settings” (Win + I) and click “System” in the sidebar.

Step 2. Scroll down to “Troubleshoot” and click it.

Step 3. Click “Other troubleshooters.”

Step 4. Click “Run” next to “Playing Audio” and follow the steps to troubleshoot your audio problem.