Skip to main content

Realtek problems with front panel after Windows 11 update?



So, you have a desktop computer with a motherboard that has Realtek sound built in, you've upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11 and when you plug in the headphones on the front panel, the speakers keep playing... What a hassle!

I will tell you my experience and my solution because maybe it will help you.

I have a PC with an Asus H110 motherboard. It's been a few years now and has always behaved very well. However, I upgraded to Windows 11 (with some tricks because the processor is on Microsoft's blacklist). When I plugged in the headphones on the front panel to listen to a Mojave 3 album at 3am while working, the speakers continued to produce music although it also came out through the headphones at the same time.

The first thing I did was uninstall the drivers and reinstall. Realtek Audio Manager disappeared from Windows11 and the problem continued to persist. After several tries with various versions of the drivers, I returned to the Asus support page

Then, I chose the audio driver with the largest size (about 750Mb), despite not being the last version and in the hope that it had that tool that controls the driver.

After installing the driver the problem persisted - I connected the headphones but the speakers continued to play. So I tried playing around with the options and as soon as I chose "High Definition" instead of "AC97" for the front panel, everything was resolved! I've heard that with some motherboards, the solution is precisely the opposite. Try the various options and don't forget, if Realtek Audio Manager is gone, download the larger file from the motherboard manufacturer's page.