Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R9YN - Speaker and Headphone Audio Distorted/Garbled

3 days ago, my audio suddenly started to sound distorted or garbled most times I use it, only being temporarily fixed after restarting my computer a few times. I have tried tinkering with every audio setting (including audio enhancements), using the audio troubleshooter and uninstalling and reinstalling audio drivers. I even installed every current Windows update. Nothing fixed the problem, though lowering the audio format lessened it, it just didn't fix the problem.

This coincides with update KB4023057, but I didn't find anybody that has voiced complaints like this and it did not target audio playback related stuff, so I wrote it off as coincidence; After 9/5, I installed feature update 21H1 to fix a screen freezing problem I also had, and I installed KB5005101 (64x systems, Windows 10) and KB2267602 (Version 1.349.377.0). Finally, I installed an Insyde Software Update (Insyde Software - Firmware - 5.41.1.10). Nothing changed.

Lastly, my AC adapter/charger for the laptop seems to make the issue worse for some reason. The aforementioned solutions and this problem makes me think hardware is to blame. That doesn't help me know what to do or where to look for guidance though.

Thoughts?

Part/software in question: Realtek Audio/Audio Drives, Windows system in general
Model number: SF314-42-R9YN
Part Number: NX.HSEAA.003
-CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4700U with Radeon Graphics (2.00 GHz)
-GPU:AMD Radeon Graphics (Unspecified)

-Operating system: Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Thread was edited to add model name to the title

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William_mk2

@Sketchylazers

Regarding the sound issue we are suspecting the issue with sound driver.

Try windows x
Go to device manager - Go to sound video and game controllers. Expand it
Uninstall the sound driver from device manager. Please uninstall all the items below the sound video and game controllers.
Don’t restart the computer.
Go to support.acer.com
chose your country
type snid or chose your model
go to drivers
Install the sound driver

It should work fine..

Sometimes a simple system restore will fix the issue..

Try windows x
click on power shell admin or command prompt admin
type rstrui
chose an earlier date on which your computer was working fine
click on next, finish, yes
It will restore your computer to an earlier date
if you get an message - system restore not completed - click on close
It will show you all the icons..

Try and check whether it is working now ..

Regarding ac adapter try to use an alternative adapter and check.. Please visit the website - support.acer.com - chose your country - click on shop. Alternatively, on the top right corner you can find the phone no to contact Acer store.

Sketchylazers

Error on my part - preemptively hit "yes"...

It looked promising for a moment with the first solution (installing the driver), but the issue persisted. I didn't have system protection on to have a restore point to go to, so I couldn't use the second solution.

I will contact Acer about the AC adapter - I don't have any other adapter to compare it to.

William_mk2

@Sketchylazers

You can always do a refresh and reset. These are steps to do the refresh and reset ..

click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started

or

on start - type here to search - type reset this pc - click on reset this pc on the top - click on get started

It will show you keep my files and remove every thing

chose keep my files
chose the account - type the password - click on local reinstall - click on reset
It will be in progress..
login to computer and start using the computer.

If it is still not working

click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started
chose remove everything
click on local reinstall - just remove my files - click on reset - It will be in progress

If you do refresh ( keep my files ) - all your personal files like pictures, music , documents , videos will still be intact. Only the applications will be lost

If you do reset ( remove everything ) - you are doing a factory default. It will become like a day one computer. It will wipe out everything and take your computer to day one like a new computer.

billsey

There are a number of things that can cause noisy sounds. An issue with the power could easily give noise on the audio outputs, as could corrupted drivers. Can you test with headphones or Bluetooth? If Bluetooth is clean but headphones or the builtin speakers are bad that points more toward induced noise in the circuits, which couold be the power supply. If the Bluetooth is also noisy it's less likely hardware and more likely software. Try removing the drivers with the option checked to remove files, then install the sound driver from Acer before the reboot.

Sketchylazers

@William_mk2 @billsey

Thank you for your advice. I followed William_mk2's advice and did a reset. This seems to have done the trick, but if this fails again I'll use the other advice you both gave. I will do a follow-up thread post if it is ineffective.

indyb

You might be able to avoid all the pain of a complete Windows reinstall. The choppy/garbled sound is unlikely to be a hardware problem. It is a driver problem, but not always with the audio driver. The Sep/Oct automatic update of Windows seems to have installed a bad set of AMD drivers for the CPU or the graphics chip. You can go direct to the AMD site, download the official AMD "check and auto-update" program, the link is below or you can search for "How to Get Drivers Using the AMD Driver Auto-Detect Tool". AMD are the manufacturer of the processor and graphics in the laptop. Run it, allow it to update all of the drivers it suggests, and reboot as many times as you need to (I think I had to reboot 2 or 3 times). Don't answer the "reboot now? Y/N" popups too quickly because it may be installing one driver after another and each update pops up a "Reboot now?" box. My friend's laptop had choppy/distorted and out of sync sound and slightly choppy video too. Doing this fixed it. And you also get a nice utility to check your AMD drivers and see the current CPU/GPU graphics status screen! The auto-update utility might seem a bit old (2020) but it contacts AMD for the latest drivers and worked for my friend's ACER laptop, to cure both the sound and video problems.
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-131

Easwar

Hi @indyb,

Good to know thanks for your information. It will be useful for many people.

SeanT91

Hi,

I have the exact same issue but with a SF314-43-.

Sound works absolutely fine with speakers and built in microphone, but as soon as I connect a USB headset and try to do voipcalls, the sound is terrible.

To add insult to the injury, it is not even possible to download new drivers from Acers website.

This is my first and last Acer laptop.

billsey

@SeanT91 since you have a different model Swift you should start a new thread with your issue. Any suggestions of solutions in this thread may not fit with your newer model.

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