Frequently Asked Question
Why does my sound not work when my laptop is plugged into my dock?
Last Updated 4 years ago
Assuming that your external speakers are powered on, it is possible that sound is incorrectly being directed to your monitor, which does not have speakers.
(This happens because the HDMI display cable used for the dock is also capable of transmitting sound and the monitor is occasionally incorrectly recognized as an option.)
To change to a valid sound output option:
1) Click (not right-click) the little speaker icon on the right of the Taskbar at the bottom of your screen.
2) At the top of the little window/panel that appears, you will see the name of the current sound output. When the sound is incorrectly going to the monitor, it will typically say "Display Audio" as part of the description.
3) Click the little caret/up arrow and change the selection to either "Headphones", Realtek USB Audio" or "External Speakers" for separate powered speaker/headphone output or Speakers (Realtek Audio) for the laptop speakers.
It is suggested that you play a song or some other continuous sound so that you can notice where the sound is being sent when making changes.
(This happens because the HDMI display cable used for the dock is also capable of transmitting sound and the monitor is occasionally incorrectly recognized as an option.)
To change to a valid sound output option:
1) Click (not right-click) the little speaker icon on the right of the Taskbar at the bottom of your screen.
2) At the top of the little window/panel that appears, you will see the name of the current sound output. When the sound is incorrectly going to the monitor, it will typically say "Display Audio" as part of the description.
3) Click the little caret/up arrow and change the selection to either "Headphones", Realtek USB Audio" or "External Speakers" for separate powered speaker/headphone output or Speakers (Realtek Audio) for the laptop speakers.
It is suggested that you play a song or some other continuous sound so that you can notice where the sound is being sent when making changes.