How to determine the audio hardware of Aspire A315-21 is dead?

Hongz
Hongz Member Posts: 29 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
My Aspire A315-21's audio suddenly stopped working.  I have tried every suggestion that I could find online: run audio trouble-shooter, update drivers, delete all drivers, reinstall them, download the latest version of audio driver from Acer and install it...  Nothing works.
However, the audio works perfectly when I connect the laptop to a Bluetooth headset.
Is there a way to determine the problem is the audio hardware, not Windows 10?

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Make sure Device Manager doesn't have any red or yellow warnings. Then open Control Panel. Search 'restore point'. Click 'create a restore  point' in left pane. If System Protection is turned on in the box that pops up, click System Restore button. Click next. Do you see an automatic restore point  with date/time stamp about when the audio suddenly stopped working?

    If not, shut the laptop off, Remove the charger. Insert  a paperclip into the  reset pinhole on the bottom for about  30 seconds. Plug the charger back in and try it again.

    Jack E/NJ 

    Jack E/NJ

  • Hongz
    Hongz Member Posts: 29 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    Thank you for the tip.
    The audio has come back mysteriously.  
    What happened:
    1. I gave up after trying every possible solution that I could find, and connected a Bluetooth headset to the laptop to get my audio.
    2. After using the Bluetooth headset for a while, I turned it.
    3. When I needed the audio again, I tried to use the speaker of the laptop out of curiosity, and it worked.

    I have no idea what has made it work.  I don't think I have shut down the lap since I started using the headset.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>I have no idea what has made it work.>>>

    Very likely another Win10 update automatically corrected the issue created by an earlier errant update. This is one of the big drawbacks of the new Win10 automatic update policies. That's why it's important to keep System Protection turned on so you can easily reverse and mark the errant update and temporarily block it until a future fixes the problem. Sometimes the automatic fixes don't happen soon enough. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Hongz
    Hongz Member Posts: 29 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    I lost the audio again, but it came again after I used a headset.  I will try to see if there is a reliable pattern and report back here.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Check Control Panel restore point app to see if anything updated at the time that you lost the audio. And possibly another later update that fixed it again. Jack E/NJ 

    Jack E/NJ

  • Hongz
    Hongz Member Posts: 29 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    There has been only one update in the past month: KB4023057.  It happened on May 1. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    When did you lose audio?

    Jack E/NJ

  • Hongz
    Hongz Member Posts: 29 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    I lost the audio for the first time most likely on the evening of April 30, then again on May 3 or 4.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>> lost the audio again, but it came again after I used a headset.  I will try to see if there is a reliable pattern and report back here.>>>

    Intermittent audio problems like this are difficult to track down. Did it happen after using the headset again? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Hongz
    Hongz Member Posts: 29 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    Yes, it did after I used a headset.  I have just tested the laptop after using a Bluetooth headset for two days, and the audio still works. 
    I have just realized that I have never mentioned that this happened for the first time after I used Remote Desktop audio.  Here is what I mean:
    I used RDP on the laptop to connect to a desktop and played a video on the desktop and could hear the audio without any problem (without using any headset), then I lost the audio sometime after closing the RDP session.
    If I remember correctly, the second loss also happened after an RDP session, but not immediately because I remember I intentionally tested this.  I may try more tests.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Are you using Win10Home or some other Win10 version? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Hongz
    Hongz Member Posts: 29 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    The laptop has Windows 10 home.  The desktop RDPed by the laptop has Windows 10 Pro. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    If you continue to have the intermittent audio losses, you might want to see what happens by disabling the remote desktop options in Control Panel's services.msc app. I think they're either set to auto or manual by default. Press WIN+R. Then enter 'services.msc' . Scroll down to 'remote desktop' options.

    Jack E/NJ