How to Get Sound Back When Windows Plays Through the TV

Audio is coming out of the TV across the room, or out of a TV that is switched off, and the speakers on the desk are silent. An HDMI or DisplayPort connection to a TV registers in Windows as a playback device, and Windows switches to whichever device connected most recently. Picking the speakers again and setting them as the default puts sound back where it belongs.

Pick the speakers from the taskbar

Click the speaker icon in the corner of the taskbar. Click the arrow to the right of the volume slider (Select a sound output) and choose the speakers or headphones. Sound moves immediately.

Set the speakers as the default device

Go to Settings, System, Sound. Under Output, click the speakers, and next to Set as default sound device choose Use as default for audio and communications. For the older view, scroll to Advanced, open More sound settings, and on the Playback tab right-click the speakers and choose Set as Default Device, then right-click again and choose Set as Default Communication Device so calls use them too.

Fix apps that kept their own output

Go to Settings, System, Sound, Volume mixer. Each app that is playing audio has its own Output device menu; set any that still point at the TV to the speakers. Zoom and most browsers also remember an output device in their own settings, so check there if one app refuses to move.

Disable the TV as a playback device

If you never want sound on the TV, open More sound settings again, right-click the HDMI or TV entry on the Playback tab, and choose Disable. Windows can no longer switch to a disabled device. To bring it back later, right-click an empty area of the list and tick Show Disabled Devices.

If this is a Mac. Go to System Settings, Sound, Output and select the speakers. macOS does the same switching when a TV connects over HDMI, and the same apps remember their own device.

If the speakers are not in the list. Check the cable is in the green line-out jack, not the microphone jack, and that the speakers are powered. USB speakers and headsets show up only after they are plugged in.