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 bouncing between two devices you switch often, such as desk speakers and a headset.

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 with volume, Wi-Fi 📶, and Bluetooth 🔷 quick settings.

   

2. Click the arrow (>) to the right of the volume slider. A list of all connected output devices opens.

   

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

If the device you want isn’t in the list, jump to the troubleshooting section below.

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 › Sound The Output section sits near the top of the page. It lists every playback device Windows currently sees.

   

3. In the Output section, select the speaker, headset, or monitor you want as the default. Windows applies the change immediately, and the selected device is marked as the active one in the Output section.
4. To check or adjust a device, select it in the Output list to open its properties page. There you can see its volume, rename it, and set it as the default. Renaming helps when you have two devices both labeled “Speakers (Realtek Audio).”

   

The exact layout of this page differs a little between Windows 11 builds. Older builds use a single dropdown, and newer ones show a list of devices. The steps above work either way.

Set a Different Default Device for Calls and Notifications

That’s useful if you want music and video through your desk speakers but calls always going to a headset with a microphone. The Settings ⚙️ app doesn’t offer this option directly for most devices, so you’ll need the classic Sound control panel 🎛️ (mmsys.cpl).

1. Open the Sound control panel 🎛️. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar 🖥️, choose Sound settings, scroll down, and click More sound settings. Or press Win+R, type mmsys.cpl, and press Enter. The Sound window opens.
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 choose Set as Default Communication Device. That device now handles only calls and communication-app alerts, while your main default keeps handling everything else. A green phone icon appears next to it.
4. Click OK to save the change.

To undo this, right-click the same device on the Playback tab and choose Set as Default Device, or pick a different communication device.

Set the Default Output Per App

Instead of relying on one system-wide default, you can lock a specific app’s audio to a specific device, no matter what the system default is. For example, you can keep Spotify on your good speakers while Chrome plays through a Bluetooth 🔷 speaker in another room.

1. Open Settings ⚙️, then go to System › Sound

   

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

   

3. Expand the app’s entry. The per-app device dropdowns live inside these expandable entries, not on the main list. The Output device dropdown shows the device that app is currently using.
4. Choose a different output device from the dropdown. That app now sticks to your choice even if you change the system default later.
5. If the app uses a microphone, use the input device dropdown in the same expanded entry. Volume mixer offers a per-app input device as well as an output device.

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. To undo a per-app choice, set that app’s dropdown back to the default option.

What to Do If a Speaker Isn’t Listed

If a plugged-in, powered-on device doesn’t appear in the Output list or on the Playback tab, it’s usually one of three things. Work through them in order.

Requirement: The driver step (step 3) needs administrator rights. If you’re signed in with a standard account, Windows will ask for an administrator’s credentials. Uninstalling a driver also requires a restart, and after the restart the 🔄 Windows reinstall may need the device to be reconnected. That means unplugging and replugging a USB device, or reconnecting a Bluetooth 🔷 one.

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, and it's often wrong. An HDMI speaker, or a Bluetooth device that's paired but hasn't connected 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, the Windows tool that lists all hardware on your computer. Right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager. 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, right-click the device again and choose Uninstall device. Then restart your computer. Windows will usually reinstall a working driver on its own during boot. If the device is still missing afterward, reconnect it.

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 › 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 to the Output section in Settings › System › Sound, or use the taskbar speaker icon, and select your original device again. If you can't remember which device was the default, 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. If you run several devices at once and your default changes on its own, check the Output list 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 on the same Sound settings page, in the Input section. 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. Remember that this needs administrator rights and a restart.