MacBook Air and Windows 10 - external speakers issue

Question

MacBook Air and Windows 10 - external speakers issue

Hello I recently upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 on MacBook Air (purchased in 2013). I followed the instructions given on the Apple Support page for upgrading to Windows 10 64-bit version. Installed all the proper updates on Mac OS X Yosemite before proceeding with the upgrade to Windows 10. After the upgrade, I updated my Bootcamp drivers using Apple Software Update on Windows 10. Then, I noticed something strange happening every time my external monitor times out and comes back, my external, analog speakers don't work. The audio comes through the laptop speakers rather than the external speakers even though the headphone jack is plugged into the laptop. I need to unplug the headphone jack and plug it back in. Then, the external speakers start working again.

The external speakers work fine when my MacBook laptop display times out and comes back but somehow have an issue with external monitors. I'm able to replicate this issue on Samsung and Viewsonic LED monitors and Bose and Creative analog, external speakers. I contacted Bose and they mentioned that these speakers are analog speakers and there shouldn't be an issue with the speakers. I also contacted Viewsonic and didn't get a positive reply. They both think it's an Apple and / or Microsoft issue. This issue didn't occur when Windows 7 was installed on MacBook Air and only starting happening after upgrading to Windows 10.

I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this issue and whether there's a solution for it?

Thanks in advance,

Sunil

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Sep 1, 2015 8:41 PM

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Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 4:41 AM in response to sunilfromsammamish

sunilfromsammamish wrote:

Then, I noticed something strange happening every time my external monitor times out and comes back, my external, analog speakers don't work. The audio comes through the laptop speakers rather than the external speakers even though the headphone jack is plugged into the laptop. I need to unplug the headphone jack and plug it back in. Then, the external speakers start working again.

This is related to sleep/wake issues and being unable to probe/reload appropriate drivers. The monitor timing out implies a sleep event has started. Look under Control Panel -> Power Options -> Advanced settings for changes you can make.

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Answer 2

Sep 2, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Loner T

Thanks for your reply. I already tried the power settings and they don't seem to help with the problem. If there's another solution, let me know. I'm also checking with Microsoft as well to see if they can provide me with an answer. I have a feeling there might be more finger pointing rather than an actual fix.

Appreciate it,

Sunil

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 1:18 PM in response to sunilfromsammamish

Have you looked at Sound Playback settings in Windows when the internal speakers start playing? Do you still see the analog speakers available in the Playback settings?

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Answer 4

Sep 2, 2015 1:25 PM in response to Loner T

Yes. I have looked at the Playback devices settings and it indicates that there are no headphones plugged into the audio port of MacBook Air even though the external speakers are plugged into the audio port. When I unplug and plug back in then the headphone port becomes active and automatically switches the sound from the MacBook Air speakers to the external speakers.

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 1:28 PM in response to sunilfromsammamish

After you unplug the speakers. Can you look in the headphone jack and check if you see a faint red light?

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Answer 6

Sep 2, 2015 1:35 PM in response to Loner T

No. Don't see any light inside the headphone jack in MacBook Air. I also tried to plug in the headphone jack and unplug again to see if I can see the light and there's no light in this situation as well. However, when I plug in the headphone plug the external speakers seem to work until the next time the display times out.

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 1:49 PM in response to sunilfromsammamish

If you still have the BC6 drivers on a USB (or you can download using OSX BC Assistant), run setup.exe from the Bootcamp folder and Repair your drivers and test. You may have a conflict between sound drivers (old W7 and new W10), if the BC drivers were installed incorrectly.

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Answer 8

Sep 2, 2015 2:38 PM in response to Loner T

Thanks Loner T. I tried reinstalling the BC drivers from my USB that I used for Windows 7. However, since I have a more updated BC drivers after I installed Windows 10, it's not letting me install my older BC drivers. Also, I contacted MS to see if they can help since it could be Windows 10. They seem to indicate that it's a hardware and audio issue and not related to Windows 10. I contacted Apple and they seem to think it's a Windows 10 issue. So, any help from anyone would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sunil

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 3:05 PM in response to sunilfromsammamish

BC6 drivers are W10 drivers. There is no need to re-install W7 drivers. Can you copy all your important files (not applications though) from the W10 and wipe Windows 10 and do a clean installation using BCA and BC6 drivers. It would also require you to re-install all your applications.

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Answer 10

Sep 2, 2015 3:10 PM in response to Loner T

I was trying to avoid that but that may be the best option. Thanks for your help.

Sunil

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Answer 11

Sep 3, 2015 11:19 AM in response to sunilfromsammamish

I was able to get some ideas from answers.microsoft.com community and tried an option that seems to have resolved this issue.

After installing Windows 10 and getting the latest version of Boot Camp from Apple Software Update, I believe Boot Camp 6 installed the latest Cirrus Logic driver. Unfortunately, there seems to be a compatibility issue with Windows 10 and latest Cirrus Logic driver. So, needed to go back to the previous version of the driver.

There may be quicker steps but here are the steps that I used in Windows 10:

1. Right clicked on Windows icon and chose Device Manager.

2. Expanded 'Sound, Video and Game Controllers'

3. Selected Cirrus Logic CS4208 (AB 114)

4. Right clicked on Cirrus Logic and chose 'Properties'

5. Chose the 'Driver' tab and chose to 'Roll Back Driver'.

6. Selected 'OK' for the dialog box.

This seems to have solved the problem.

Hopefully, this will help someone who is having a similar issue. Better yet, perhaps there will be an update to the Cirrus Logic driver which will correct the issue so no need to roll back the driver.

Sunil

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