No audio in game

[Tharpadarp]

Hello, whenever I launch the game starting today, there is no audio for my default device, yet if I change the audio source to my speakers, audio plays through them fine.

I've tried:
- Reinstalling audio drivers
- Restoring game data via the launcher
- Resetting Windows' volume mixer to defaults
- Re-setting up my headphones
- Changing audio resolution to 44100hz and 48000hz
- Changing game between borderless/windowed/fullscreen, I normally use borderless
- Closing supposed software conflicts such as Logitech G-HUB
- Restarting game, as well as PC
- Using a different USB port for my headphones

I've checked and double checked:
- Audio levels in game
- Volume mixer levels
- Headphone volume
- Nothing in game or in windows is muted


Seems to only be an issue with my headphones, which are Sennheiser HD560s, plugged into a Beyerdynamic U-Phoria UM2 via USB. My speakers work perfectly fine.

Not sure if this is the cause, but I only noticed that my volume was not working properly after this morning when I was running some dungeons with my game muted, when my graphics drivers crashed. So I restarted my PC, where after a while I went to unmute my game, only for it to still have no audio.


A "workaround" I found was to unplug my headphones from my audio interface and use my PC's aux ports, which is why I think this is some sort of driver issue. Yet after reinstalling my audio drivers twice I've seen, or rather heard, no improvement.

This method is less than ideal since I use my audio interface for EQ reasons, I would prefer to figure out how to solve this, rather than result to a workaround.

It's only an issue with FF, no other game nor program has had this issue, I would appreciate some help since I'm losing my mind over this.

[Votraftur]

Good morning! Thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

There are a few situations that may be causing the error you are describing. Please try the following troubleshooting methods in order to resolve the issue:

- Check if your audio is playing to the audio device(s) connected and playing to the audio device(s) that you prefer such as speakers or headphones.
- Check to make sure that your audio devices are not muted or disabled.
- Run the audio troubleshooter, in the search box on the taskbar please search and run the audio troubleshooter.
- Update your Windows Operating System using Windows Update. Make sure to install any optional updates as these aren't installed automatically.
- Update the device drivers (including graphics and sound), if the drivers are up to date please uninstall and reinstall the drivers instead.
- If possible, please try using different earphones, headphones, and/or speakers
- You may want to try plugging the audio output into different ports (both front and back) to see if one of them recognizes the speaker/headphones/earphones and allows you to use it within the game.
- Disable all programs/overlays running in the background (including Discord).
- Change the Equalizer Mode to Standard rather than custom.
- Try running FINAL FANTASY XIV as an administrator, if you use Steam this would mean running Steam as admin.
- Change 'Listening Position' to 100. Navigate to the 'System Configuration' in-game, select 'Sound Settings', towards the top select the previously mentioned setting.
- Disable all other device drivers, leaving the mouse, keyboard, and audio device as the only devices active.
- Reset System Settings, also in the config section of the FINAL FANTASY XIV launcher, there should be an option for 'Reset System Settings', please try resetting the settings.
- Also if possible, please try using a different console and/or device (this will let you know if it is specifically a settings/hardware issue or just the FINAL FANTASY XIV program issue)
- Remove any mods or injectors from the game or system (Reshade, Nvidia Freestyle, etc.). Also, remove any custom configurations made using driver-level programs (Nvidia Control Panel, Radeon Crimson).
- Perform a clean boot by doing the following: Open the Task Manager and select the 'Start Up' Tab. disable everything here and restart the PC.

Please double check the in-game sound settings once more to see if the sound is enabled or muted.
Please double check to see if the preferred or used device for output is the correct one.

Should the issue still persist after attempting all the listed troubleshooting, we advise that you reinstall the game (make sure to remove or rename the 'Final Fantasy XIV' folder in the 'My Documents' > 'My Games' folder).

We recommend that the game be installed on the C: drive, as installing it on any drive that is not the default may cause more problems.

Thank you once again for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!