1

On my Macbook, I could have different "audio profiles" depending on whether or not headphones were plugged in. I'd have my speakers on mute, and when I plugged in my headphones it would unmute. This was great at the office in case any web pages I wasn't supposed to be on suddenly popped up with some video of cats playing piano or what not.

I switched to a new Windows laptop that runs Windows 8.1, however there doesn't seem to be a way to do this. My mute status and volume stays the same regardless of whether or not I have head phones plugged in.

Is there a way to configure Windows to mute the sound unless headphones are plugged in? Seems like a basic feature.

Update:

I have a Realtek HD Audio driver (Stock Windows 8.1 driver). I've already checked, and the driver does not remember volume levels so I can't just turn the volume all the way down. However, it does pop up a notification when I plug in headphones telling me that I just plugged in headphones, thus the hardware is capable of telling the difference.

Update 2:

I installed the latest drivers from Realtek. I now have a Realtek HD Audio Manager that pops up when I plug in headphones. However, it still does not remember audio levels or mute status when I plug in or unplug headphones, nor can I find any features in the Audio Manager for that sort of thing. From what I can tell, this is a driver feature and not an OS feature, and my drivers simply don't support that. Bummer.

Mike Christensen
  • 3,881
  • 12
  • 33
  • 40
  • It's a basic feature of SOME sound adapters. Ensure you have the latest drivers/utilities for yours installed. Also, instead of remembering mute state, often they'll only remember volume levels. So instead of setting it to Mute, try turning it down to 0. – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 Jan 29 '14 at 17:35
  • @techie007 - Just checked, it doesn't remember volume level either.. I have whatever drivers Windows 8.1 comes with, but perhaps the hardware manufacturer has something else. – Mike Christensen Jan 29 '14 at 17:39

0 Answers0