Youtube No Sound (Causes and How to Fix)

It’s incredibly frustrating, especially if you’ve been looking forward to watching something for a while. I know how it feels, because I’ve been there too. Luckily, I’ve done some research and found some tips and tricks to help you figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it.

In this post, I’m going to be sharing what I’ve learned about the causes of Youtube no sound and how to fix it. Hopefully, this will help you get your sound back and get back to watching videos without any issues.

There are many reasons why a YouTube video may not have sound, which can range from issues with the platform to issues with your device’s hardware/software. Consequently, there are often multiple potential fixes you can use to help regain sound on a YouTube video.

Potential Causes of YouTube No Sound	Troubleshooting Steps
Video/sound settings	Check video and sound settings to see if they are on mute.
System sounds	Check system sounds to see if they are on mute.
Internet browser	Update your internet browser.
Sound drivers	Update your sound drivers.
Background programs	Close background programs.
Security software	Reconfigure your security software.
Restart device	Restart your device.
Different device/monitor	Try playing YouTube through a different device or monitor.
Speakers/headphones	Check if there are problems with your speakers or headphones.
Corrupted video	The uploaded video may have become corrupted.

Table of Contents

Why A YouTube Video Has No Sound

There are twelve common reasons why YouTube may have no sounds:

YouTube may be on mute,
Your system sounds may be on mute,

Your internet browser may need an update,
Try using incognito mode,
Update your sound drivers,

Use audio trouble-shooter,
Close background programs,
Reconfigure your security software,

Restart your device,
Try playing YouTube through a different device/monitor,
Problems with your speakers or headphones,

The uploaded video may have become corrupted.

1. YouTube May Be On Mute

A reason why a YouTube video has no sound is that it is on a very low volume, or you may have accidentally muted the video.

To see how loud a YouTube video’s settings are and if the video has been muted, look to the bottom left-hand side of the YouTube video; if there is a diagonal line across the speaker icon, it means the video is on mute.

Simply click on the speaker to remove the diagonal line and take the YouTube video off mute.

2. Your System Sounds May Be On Mute

Like how YouTube may be on mute, it is possible that your system itself may be on mute or on a very low volume.

Depending on the device you are using (Windows, IOS, Android, etc.), there may be various ways to unmute your device’s system. However, the typical method involves opening up your volume mixer in settings and increasing the volume of the device’s overall sound and your browser’s sound.

3. Your Internet Browser May Need An Update

If you find your device is not playing YouTube videos with sound and playing other sounds with poor quality, you may need to update your device’s sound drivers.

To update sound drivers, open your device’s device manager and find a tab that includes audio, speakers, or sound-related. Open that tab and scroll down to the sound driver that needs to be updated.

Whereafter you can usually find a tab that automatically downloads and install an update; alternatively, you can manually search for the latest update of your sound drive online now that you know the name and version of your driver.

4. Update Your Sound Drivers

If you find your device is not playing YouTube videos with sound and playing other sounds with poor quality, you may need to update your device’s sound drivers.

5. Try Using Incognito Mode

Your internet browser may have too many cache files; therefore, removing these files and clearing your browsing history may be a solution.

Alternatively, certain browsers like Google Chrome have incognito mode. Incognito mode allows users to browse the internet without the browser saving their history, storing cookies, site data, and form information.

6. Use Audio Trouble-Shooter

Should there be more advanced issues with your sound system that requires a diagnostics scan, you can consult your audio trouble-shooter in your device’s settings. If an issue is detected, the trouble-shooter may provide steps and downloads to help fix the issue.

7. Close Background Programs

Sometimes background programs can interfere with your device’s sound or cause your system to become overloaded when running programs in the background while also trying to watch YouTube videos online.

Therefore, it is best to exit background pragmas on your device if you find YouTube is slow to buffer and experience audio issues.

8. Reconfigure Your Security Software

Your device’s security software may be mistakenly flagging YouTube videos and their audio as an unwanted security risk. Therefore, you should enter your device’s security software and reconfigure its allowances to allow you to stream and watch YouTube videos.

9. Restart Your Device

Often the simplest and easiest method of improving your device’s performance is to restart your device. Once your device has rebooted and performed a thorough problem-solving scan once rebooted, you can attempt to access and play YouTube videos again.

10. Try Playing YouTube Through A Different Device/Monitor

While the majority of problems and fixes around YouTube not having any sound stem from software issues, there is a possibility that hardware issues are causing sound issues (particularly if it is not just YouTube videos experiencing sound problems on your device.)

Therefore, it may be worth rerouting the video to another monitor/tv via Bluetooth, WiFi, or HDMI cable if you are playing YouTube through a TV or monitor with speakers.

11. Problems With Your Speakers Or Headphones

Like solution number ten above, there may be hardware issues with your headphones or speakers. The best method to determine if there is an issue is to attempt to use other sound devices to see if they can play YouTube videos with sound.

Alternatively, most headphones and speakers have innate software that you can play to test their sound quality and to determine if the lack of sound is a hardware or software problem.

12. The Uploaded Video May Have Become Corrupted

Finally, it is possible that the video you are trying to watch may have become corrupted when it was uploaded to YouTube. Save for contacting YouTube and the content creator to alert them to the problem; there’s not much you can do to solve it.

However, it may be worth searching for the video on other video streaming platforms like Vimeo to see if a non-corrupted version is available.