Audacity Does Not Recognize Headphones, No Sound [SOLVED]

Audacity 3 Help Forum Windows
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I am running Audacity 2.1.1 with Windows 10. I used the .exe installer. I have been trying to record from a hip hop drum pad to audacity. I can play on the hip hop pad and hear it in my wired headphones. I am able to record into Audacity when the headphones are NOT connected to the computer. However, whenever the headphones are plugged in, Audacity no longer recognizes the signal and there is no activity on the Audacity sound monitor when I am playing the hip hop pad.

The recording device is set to ‘Speakers (Conexant SmartAudio HD) (loopback).’ The only other option is an internal mic that only picks up external sounds (voice, etc). Once I have recorded into Audacity without the headphones, when I plug the headphones in to listen to what I recorded, the sound plays through the notebook’s speakers instead of the headphones. Nothing comes through the headphones. The playback device only has one option: Speakers (Conexant SmartAudio HD).

The headphones are recognized in the computer’s control panel under sound playback devices. I have also right-clicked in the recording devices tab and both the ‘show disabled devices’ and ‘show disconnected devices’ boxes are checked. The only other option in the recording device tab is the same external microphone mentioned earlier.

Can someone please help me get my headphones working properly with Audacity?

Thank you

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If you plug in an external device such as a computer mic or headphones while Audacity is running and the device is not shown in Audacity’s Device Toolbar, use Transport > Rescan Audio Devices in the Audacity menu bar.


Gale

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Gale, thank you, that worked great!!

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I searched on every forum on internet and eventually end up fixing this by enabling playback device from sound settings.

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I’m running Audacity 3.6.1 on a Mac. I’m a HUGE fan and very grateful for Audacity and the team.

Audacity still doesn’t seem to update audio devices in real time. If it’s already running and I insert headphones, Audacity doesn’t offer them as an option for input or output. If I have them in, get Audacity to recognize them, use them and then disconnect them, Audacity will crash if I try playing back or recording. Most other software seems to recognize automatically when I connect wired or wireless headphones and switches to/from them seamlessly. I would really love for Audacity to have that ability.