How to Change the Default Sound Output Device When Multiple Speakers Are Connected

Quick Way to Switch Output Devices from the Taskbar

This is the fastest option and skips Settings entirely. Use it when you’re just bouncing between two devices you switch often — desk speakers and a headset, for example.

1. Click the speaker icon in the system tray 🔔 (the notification area on the far right of the taskbar 🖥️, near the clock). A flyout opens showing volume, Wi-Fi 📶, and Bluetooth 🔷 quick settings.

   

2. Click the name of the current output device, listed just under the volume slider (something like “Speakers” or “Headphones”). Every connected playback device appears in a list above it.

   

3. Select the device you want. Windows switches to it right away — no confirmation prompt, no restart. Whatever’s playing keeps going, just through the new device.

Change the Default Output Device in Settings

Use this method when you want to see every connected device at once, rename them, or adjust their individual volumes alongside the default.

1. Open Settings ⚙️. Press Win+I, or right-click the Start button ⊞ and choose Settings.

   

2. Go to System, then Sound. The Output section sits at the top of the page, with a volume slider and a dropdown listing every device Windows currently sees.

   

3. Open the “Choose where to play sound” dropdown and select the speaker, headset, or monitor you want as default. Windows applies the change immediately, and you’ll see the device name reflected at the top of the Output section.
4. Scroll down to “Output devices” to confirm the switch. Every connected device appears separately here, each with its own volume slider. You can also rename devices in this section — useful if you’ve got two speakers both labeled “Speakers (Realtek Audio).”

   

Set a Different Default Device for Calls and Notifications

Windows can treat “default device” as two separate roles: one for regular playback, and one just for calls and communication apps like Teams or Discord. That’s useful if you want music and video through your desk speakers but want calls always going to a headset with a microphone. The current Settings app ⚙️ doesn’t offer this option directly — you’ll need the older Sound control panel 🎛️.

1. Open the Sound control panel. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar, choose Sound settings, then scroll down and click More sound settings. Or press Windows key + R, type mmsys.cpl, and press Enter.
2. Click the Playback tab. You'll see every playback device Windows knows about, with a green checkmark beside the current default.
3. Right-click the device you want for calls and notifications, then choose Set as Default Communication Device. Now that device handles only calls and communication-app alerts, while your main default keeps handling everything else.
4. Click OK to save the change.

Set the Default Output Per App

This is the setting most guides overlook, and it's often what actually fixes the "multiple speakers" headache: instead of one system-wide default, you can lock a specific app's audio to a specific device — permanently, no matter what the system default is. Keep Spotify running through your good speakers, for instance, while Chrome's audio plays through a Bluetooth speaker in another room.

1. Open Settings, then System, then Sound.

   

2. Scroll to the "Advanced" section and click "Volume mixer." You'll see every app that's currently playing sound, or has recently played sound, each with its own volume slider.

   

3. Click the dropdown under an app's name — it shows the device that app is currently using — and choose a different output device. That app now sticks to your choice even if you change the system default later.

Apps only show up in the Volume mixer after they've made sound at least once since you signed in. If an app is missing, open it, let it make some noise, then check the mixer again.

What to Do If a Speaker Isn't Listed

If a plugged-in, powered-on device doesn't appear in the Output dropdown or Playback tab, it's usually one of three things.

1. Check for hidden or disabled devices. In the Sound control panel's Playback tab, right-click any empty space and check both "Show Disabled Devices" and "Show Disconnected Devices." Windows hides devices it thinks you're not using — but that's often wrong. An HDMI speaker or a Bluetooth device that's been paired but never connected during this session might be hidden.
2. Re-enable a disabled device. If a device appears greyed out with "Disabled" underneath, right-click it and choose Enable. It should move into the active list right away.
3. Check the driver in Device Manager. This step needs administrator access. Right-click the Start button, choose Device Manager (a Windows tool that lists all hardware on your computer), expand "Sound, video and game controllers," right-click your audio device, and choose "Update driver." If Windows reports the driver is already up to date but the device still won't appear, try Uninstall device from the same menu, then restart your computer — Windows will usually reinstall a working driver on its own during boot.

Bluetooth speakers have their own quirk: if a speaker is paired but hasn't actively connected this session, it won't show up as a playback option at all, even with hidden devices visible. Go to Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, and confirm the speaker shows as Connected rather than just Paired. Reconnect it if it isn't, and it should then appear as an audio output.

Switching Back or Undoing the Change

This change is safe to reverse. Setting a default output device doesn't affect drivers or system files. To revert, go back through the same dropdown in Settings, System, Sound, or use the taskbar speaker icon, and select your original device again. If you can't remember which device was default before, check the Playback tab in the Sound control panel — Windows usually leaves the previous default enabled and connected, just without the checkmark.

One thing to watch for: Windows sometimes switches your default device automatically when you plug in something new, especially USB headsets and newly connected HDMI displays. There's no dedicated toggle in Settings to stop this, so if you run several devices at once and notice your default changing on its own, check the Output dropdown after plugging anything in rather than assuming it held steady.

What to Do Next

If you're using a headset, check your microphone's default the same way on the same Sound settings page. Sometimes the microphone setting drifts out of sync with your speaker choice. If audio still doesn't come through after switching devices, try a driver reinstall through Device Manager next, rather than adjusting Settings again.