Realtek HD Audio not switching to Headphone settings

I'm running Windows 10 Pro v.1607 build 14393.447 on an Asus Z170-A motherboard with Realtek HD Audio ALC892. I have speakers connected to the rear of the motherboard, and headphones via the front panel port.

A few weeks ago, the Realtek HD Audio Manager started behaving oddly. When I would plug in my Headphones, it wouldn't detect them, and would continue playing through the Speakers. Restarting seemed to fix that, but introduced a new issue.

Previously, when I would plug in my Headphones it would recognize them and switch to the Headphone settings and volume setting. It stopped doing that, and continued to display 5.1 Speakers in the Speaker Configuration and use the Speaker volume control. I keep my Speaker volume set to 50%, and my Headphone volume to 8%, but now it was always on the Speaker volume setting.

I tried updating to the latest ASUS driver, no difference. It would recognize the headphones when plugged in, but would stay on the Speaker settings and volume.

I uninstalled the driver, and Windows automatically replaced it with the default Microsoft driver, and it started working normally again. As soon as I plugged in my headphones it would switch the Playback device to Headphones and the headphone volume. Unplug, and it went back to Speakers and the speaker volume. Fine, I can live without the Realtek HD Audio Manager.

Yesterday I see that the volume icon on the Taskbar has a red X through it, and I have no sound. Clicking on it, Windows tries to correct the problem and tells me that I should restart. I restart, and sound is back, but it no longer switches to the Headphone setting when I plug in my headphones. It switches the output from the rear to the front panel, but it stays on the Speaker setting and volume.

I try uninstalling the driver and installing the Realtek driver from their website. I install the driver I had downloaded a few weeks ago (I don't know what version since it's all listed as 2.80 on the site). It installed the Realtek HD Audio Manager, but no longer switches to the Headphone setting when I plug my headphones in.

I downloaded the most recent Realtek driver, 6.0.1.8004, and installed that. That replaced the Realtek HD Audio Manager with the ASUS branded Realtek HD Audio Manager, but still doesn't switch to Headphone settings.

I'm at my wits end trying to figure out how to fix this. I want it to go back to working how it used to, where I would plug in my headphones and it would switch to Headphone settings and the corresponding volume.

I would suspect the HD Audio connector from the front panel headphone/mic jack assembly. With the Realtek drivers and using the "HD Audio" connector for the front panel, it is supposed to auto detect and switch. With the generic, basic function, HD Audio drivers some of the auto detection is not there. Many cases have both a "HD Audio" and an "AC97" connector for the front panel headphone/mic assembly. If you are using AC97, switch to HD Audio (Preferred). If you are using HD Audio and have the AC97, switch to AC97 and see how it acts.

FWIW, I just built a new system with an ASUS ROG Z170 motherboard and an i7 6700K.

fireberd said:

I would suspect the HD Audio connector from the front panel headphone/mic jack assembly. With the Realtek drivers and using the "HD Audio" connector for the front panel, it is supposed to auto detect and switch. With the generic, basic function, HD Audio drivers some of the auto detection is not there. Many cases have both a "HD Audio" and an "AC97" connector for the front panel headphone/mic assembly. If you are using AC97, switch to HD Audio (Preferred). If you are using HD Audio and have the AC97, switch to AC97 and see how it acts.

FWIW, I just built a new system with an ASUS ROG Z170 motherboard and an i7 6700K.

My case, Antec P280, has an HD Audio front panel, and the motherboard is configured for HD Audio.

It still detects when I plug headphones in, and I get the Realtek popup asking me to confirm that I plugged headphones in and whether to use the Auto, IEM, or Full Size headphone setting. But then it stays on 5.1 Speakers in the Realtek HD Audio Manager, and in the Windows device settings.

If I plug headphones in via the front, the Realtek Audio Manager detects the headphones and mutes the rear jacks, but stays on 5.1 Speaker setting. Clicking on the pictures of the 5.1 speakers causes every speaker except the sub to play via the headphones.

If I plug the headphones in the back, in place of my front speakers, and click on the output jack to switch it to Headphones within the Realtek Audio Manager, it still stays on 5.1 Speaker setting and only the front speakers play via headphones.

It used to work fine, and I haven't made any hardware changes in the last few weeks.

Could it be that the recent drivers have disabled the separate Headphone setting entirely, and it's now always whatever Speaker setting you specify?

If you have it set for 5.1 and plug a headset into the front speaker jack it is still going to be on 5.1. That is not a valid test.

I can't test 5.1 on my new ASUS Z170 motherboard as I only have a 2.1 speaker system.

For testing, set the speaker system to "Stereo" and then see how the front panel headset works.

If I set it to Stereo, it stays on Stereo when I plug in my headphones via the front panel. The only thing that changes is that I get hissing from my front speakers when the headphones are unplugged (which isn't there when 5.1 is enabled.)

What happens on your computer when you plug in the headphones? Does the Realtek Audio Manager switch to Headphone settings and volume, or does it stay on Stereo?

I'll check what happens with headphones. I don't normally use headphones with the PC audio. I have a home recording studio and most of my audio applications are with my recording studio interface (MOTU 896mk3 Hybrid), not the PC's.

I plugged in a headset to test my ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII Hero motherboard.
The first screen that popped up asked if plugged in headset or speaker to the front jack
The second screen checked and set the headphone impedance and level.
The third screen just shows configuration with headset plugged in.

Thanks. Your Audio Manager looks slightly different and more advanced than mine, but it looks like they're doing the same thing.

Could you check a couple more things for me:

If you set the Speaker Configuration to something like 5.1, and then plug in your headphones, will the Speaker Configuration stay on 5.1?
If you set one volume with the speakers connected, and set a different volume when you plug in the headphones, will it switch between those volume settings when you plug / unplug the headphones?

Thanks.

I set the speakers to 5.1. Plugged in headset and got the same screens as I did before for #1 and #2. However, screen #1 showed the speakers set to 5.1 BUT screen # 2 showed speaker system as "Stereo" with the headset plugged in. When I unplugged the headset it went back to 5.1.

I had the volume set to "63". After plugging in the headset I set the volume to "85". When I unplugged the headset the volume stayed at "85" it didn't return to "63".

Okay, so to confirm that I've got it right, yours is switching from 5.1 to Stereo when you insert the headphones, but the volume setting is the same across both. Mine is staying on 5.1 and the volume setting is the same across both.

What's your driver version (Cog -> About)?