If you are testing your headphone or your speaker but all of a sudden encountered an error that says, “Failed to play test tone” in your Windows 10 computer, worry not for this post will walk you through on how you can fix this problem.
The test tone is used to check the right-left balance of the headphones and speakers in your computer, however, if you are not able to use it, there are several options you can check out. You can try to run the Playing Audio troubleshooter or restart the services that are related to Windows Audio. Aside from these, you could also disable Audio Enhancements or you could also change the default test tone rate and bit depth.
Option 1 – Try to run the Playing Audio Troubleshooter
Since the Windows 10 operating system has the Playing Audio Troubleshooter, you can use this troubleshooter to try and fix the problem with the “No Audio Output Device is installed” error. You can access this tool in the Control Panel or in the Taskbar Search and even in the Troubleshooters page of Windows 10.
Run this troubleshooter and see if it can fix the issue or not.
Option 2 – Try to restart the Windows Audio-related services
The next thing you can do to fix the problem is to restart the services related to Windows Audio. Although the audio services start automatically on every system boot, there are times when they might fail to start. Thus, you can start these services manually by following these steps:
- Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
- Then look for the services named “Windows Audio” and “Windows Audio Endpoint Builder”.
- Double click on each one of these services and check if their Service Status is set to Running or not and also check if the Startup Type is set to Automatic.
- If none of the services are running, just click on the Start button and select the Automatic option from the drop-down menu.
- Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then check if the error is fixed.
Option 3 – Try to update the Audio driver
You might also want to consider updating or the Audio driver as it could help in fixing the error.
- Tap the Win + R keys to open Run dialog box and then type in devmgmt.msc and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
- Expand the section for the outdated device drivers.
- And then select the outdated driver(s) and right click on it/them.
- From the drop-down menu, select the Update Driver option and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version of the driver.
- Then also click on the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software.
- Restart your PC after the installation.
Note: If updating or reinstalling the Audio driver didn’t work, you can go to the manufacturer’s website and look for the support section where you can download the drivers for your computer. You just need to take note of your PC’s correct model and model number so you can find the appropriate driver.
Option 4 – Try changing the default test tone rate and bit depth
Windows selects a default test tone rate and bit depth depending on your headphone or speaker. This allows you to look for the best sound quality from your audio output device. So if your headphone or speaker has some problems with the default settings, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting the “Failed to play test tone” error. To fix this, you can try to change the default test tone rate and bit depth by following the steps below.
- First, you need to open the Windows Settings panel and then go to System > Sound.
- Next, look for the Device properties option located on your right-hand side and click on it.
- After that, select the Additional device properties option and go to the Advanced tab.
- From there, select a different test tone rate and bit depth and then click on the Test button.
- Once done, check if it was able to fix the problem or not.
Option 5 – Try disabling the Sound or Audio enhancements
To make your operating system’s specific hardware sound nothing but perfect, both Microsoft and third party vendors have shipped audio enhancement packages which are usually referred to as “Audio Enhancements” in Windows 10. However, there are instances when instead of improving the sound or audio quality of your computer, it can cause problems so to fix the problem you need to turn off these audio enhancements. How? Simply follow the steps below.
- Type in “Sound” in the taskbar search and then from the list of results, select “Sound Control Panel”.
- After clicking Sound, the Sound properties box will pop up. From there, go to the Playback tab and right click on the default device i.e. Speakers or Headphones then select Properties.
- After that, the Speakers properties box will appear. From there, go to the Enhancements tab and select the checkbox for “Disable all enhancements” option.
Any of the options given above should work in fixing the “Failed to play test tone” error when you test your headphone or speaker in Windows 10. On the other hand, if you are currently experiencing other issues, there is a one-click solution known as Advanced System Repair you can use. This program is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, refer to the steps below.
Perform a full system scan using ASR. To do so, follow the instructions below.
- Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
- After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
- To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
- Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
- Press and hold both R key and Windows key.
- If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
- Type in the URL address in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
- After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
- Once the installation process is completed, run ASR to perform a full system scan.
- After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now” button.
