How to Hide or Show Unplugged Sound Devices in Settings on Windows 11
- 12 steps
- Includes a restart or sign-out
Hiding or showing unplugged sound devices in Windows 11 controls whether your audio list includes speakers, microphones and headphones that are not connected right now. The Settings toggle for this exists only on Windows Insider preview builds, starting with build 26340.9354 (Experimental 26H2). It sits on the All sound devices page in the Settings app.
Most readers run a stable release such as 24H2 or 25H2, and those builds do not show the toggle. If that is you, skip ahead to the Registry method near the end of this post. If you are on a qualifying Insider build, the Settings steps below apply to you.
Old entries pile up after you swap headsets, docks or USB speakers. Hiding disconnected gear keeps the list short and makes the working device easier to find. Nothing is uninstalled or deleted either way, and you can switch the setting back at any time.
To hide unplugged sound devices in Windows 11, open Settings System Sound All sound devices, expand Show devices for flow under System defaults, then switch off Show unplugged audio devices. This toggle exists only on Insider build 26340.9354 (Experimental 26H2) or later. On stable 24H2 or 25H2, use the ShowDisconnectedDevices value in the Registry Editor instead.
Option One
Hide or Show Unplugged Sound Devices in Settings
- Press Win+I to open Settings. You should see the Settings window with a list of categories on the left.
- Click System on the left side, then click Sound on the right side. You should now see your output and input devices, the volume sliders and the other sound options.
If your build is older, or you are on stable 24H2 or 25H2, you will not find the option in the steps below. Use the Registry method further down instead.
- Scroll down to the Advanced section on the Sound page and click All sound devices. You should now see a page that lists all your sound devices, split into output and input.
Open “All sound devices” Settings
- Under System defaults, click Show devices for flow on this page to expand it. The toggle for unplugged devices should now be visible.
- Turn Show unplugged audio devices on this page on or off, depending on what you want:
- On (show, the default): disconnected devices stay in the list.
- Off (hide): only devices that are currently connected are listed.
With the toggle on, unplugged audio devices appear grayed out at the bottom of the page. That makes them easy to tell apart from the working ones. With the toggle off, they disappear from the list.
If you plug the device back in, it shows up again as a normal, active device. The hidden entry was never removed, so Windows keeps its earlier settings for it.
- Close the Settings app. The change is saved as soon as you flip the toggle, and no restart is needed.
That’s it. Your sound device list now shows or hides unplugged devices, depending on the toggle. To undo the change, go back to the same page and flip the toggle the other way.
Option Two
Hide or Show Unplugged Sound Devices in Settings using Registry
Advanced users can control the same behavior in the Registry by changing the ShowDisconnectedDevices value in the Registry Editor. The value lives under 🗝️HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Be aware of what this method does on stable builds. The new Settings toggle, and the way Settings reads this value, is documented only for Insider build 26340.9354 (Experimental 26H2) or later. On stable 24H2 or 25H2, the All sound devices page has no such toggle, so changing the value may not alter what the Settings app shows. Microsoft has not documented an effect on those builds.
The value may also be missing on your PC. If you do not see ShowDisconnectedDevices in the right pane, right-click an empty area there and choose New DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it ShowDisconnectedDevices, then set its data as shown below.
If the new setting does not take effect straight away, close and reopen Settings, or sign out and back in.
Show Unplugged Sound Devices in Settings
This is the default setting. Disconnected devices are shown.
- Double-click ShowDisconnectedDevices. The Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window should open.
- Set the value data for “ShowDisconnectedDevices” to 1, then click OK.
You should now have the value set to show disconnected devices. To reverse it, set the value data back to 0.
Hide Unplugged Sound Devices in Settings
This hides disconnected devices.
- Double-click ShowDisconnectedDevices. The Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window should open.
- Set the value data for “ShowDisconnectedDevices” to 0, then click OK.
That’s it. The value is now set to hide disconnected devices for your account. On a build that supports it, you should see only connected devices after you reopen Settings.
Summary
This guide showed you how to control the visibility of unplugged sound devices on Windows 11. You can switch between showing and hiding these disconnected audio items using either the Settings app or the Windows Registry Editor. The Settings toggle is the easier route, but only if you run an Insider build that has it. To reverse either method, turn the toggle back on, or set the “ShowDisconnectedDevices” value back to 1.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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