Game audio sounds muffled in Windows 11 [Fix]

Distorted or muffled sounds while playing games not only cause trouble but also worsen the gaming experience. There can be many causes of this problem, like incorrect sound settings on Windows, corrupted audio device driver, etc. If the game audio sound is muffled in your Windows 11 computer, the solutions provided in this article will help you.

Game audio sounds muffled in Windows 11

Use the following fixes if you experience muffled game audio sounds in your Windows 11 computer.

Run Audio Troubleshooter
Disable audio enhancements
Check the status of the audio services
Reinstall the audio driver
Disable the microphone of your headphone
Disable Handsfree Telephony
Disable the surround sound
Switch your WiFi band

Let’s see all these fixes in detail.

1] Run Audio Troubleshooter

The first thing that you should try is to run the Audio Troubleshooter. Audio Troubleshooter is an automated tool in Windows 11 that will help you fix sound issues. You can launch it via the Get Help app. After launching it, answer the prompts to fix your problem.

2] Disable audio enhancements

Audio Enhancements enhance the user’s experience when playing audio on a Windows computer. Sometimes, this feature can cause issues with some audio devices or some specific applications. To confirm whether this is the case with you or not, disable this feature. The following steps will guide you on this:

Open the Control Panel.
Type sound in the Control Panel search bar and click Sound.
The Sound properties window will appear. Double-click on your Speaker or headset to open its Properties.
Go to the Enhancements tab and select the Disable all enhancements checkbox.
Click Apply and then click OK.

Check if the issue persists.

3] Check the status of the audio services

On Windows computers, background services handle different tasks. If you open the Task Manager, you will find multiple services running in the background. If you are experiencing audio issues, you can check the status of the services associated with audio. Open the Services Manager. Now, locate the following services and see if they are running.

Windows Audio
Windows Audio Endpoint Builder

If you find these services disabled or stopped, start them. For this, right-click on them and select Start. If they are already running, right-click on them and select Restart.

4] Reinstall the audio driver

This step will reinstall the audio driver. Therefore, if the issue occurs due to a bad driver, this step will fix it. Use the following steps:

Open the Device Manager.
Expand the Sound, video and game controllers branch.
Right-click on the Audio Device driver and select Uninstall device.
Restart your computer or scan for hardware changes.

5] Disable the microphone of your headphone

Windows recognizes the headphones with microphones as two different devices, one as a headphone and the other as a microphone. If you are using a headphone that has a built-in microphone, we suggest you disable its microphone and see if it helps. You can disable the microphone of your headphones via Windows 11 Settings, the Control Panel, the Device Manager, etc.

6] Disable Handsfree Telephony

The Handsfree Telephony feature in Windows computers allows users to make or take calls on their Bluetooth audio devices by connecting them to their computers. This feature can cause audio issues on Bluetooth speakers or headphones. If you are not using the calling functionality of your Bluetooth audio devices, you can disable the Handsfree Telephony. Disable the Handsfree Telephony and see if it helps.

7] Disable the surround sound

If you have enabled the Surround Sound for your audio device, we suggest you disable it and see if it brings any changes. If your device supports the surround sound feature, you will find an option to enable and disable it in the dedicated software developed by the manufacturer. For example, if you are using a Logitech headphone, you can disable the Surround Sound via the Logitech GHUB software. Open the Logitech GHUB software and select your device. Now, go to the Surround Sound tab to disable the surround sound.

8] Switch your WiFi band

Interference issues can also cause muffled sound on audio devices. But this only happens with Bluetooth speakers or Bluetooth headphones. When you connect your system to the 2.4 GHz WiFi band, you may experience issues with the Bluetooth audio devices. Hence, switch your WiFI band to 5 GHz.

I hope this helps.

How do I fix bad audio quality on Windows 11?

If you are experiencing bad audio quality issues on your Windows computer, the problem might be due to the corrupted audio driver. Reinstalling the driver can fix this issue. You can also try other audio formats and see if it fixes the problem.

Why is my game audio stuttering?

If you use a Bluetooth speaker, this problem might be due to interference issues. Other causes of this problem include bad audio drivers, the Handsfree Telephony feature, etc.