Your HTC Vive or Valve Index VR's Audio is not working whether it's Wired or Wireless. It's completely blocked.

I'm hoping that you've tried all the basic troubleshooting like updating the Audio input and output driver(from Device Manager), reinstalling the Vive console/Steam VR, and reconnecting the VR Device.

This guide is an extension to that. We'll see more ways to fix the Audio & Sound related issues in HTC Vive or Index devices.


FIX: HTC Vive Audio/Mic not working!

Potential fixes for HTC Vive are as follows:

1. Disable all Non VR Playback devices

Your HTC or Valve VR device audio may not be working just because of this reason. You've enabled your VR device audio with other playback devices like your PC Speaker, Bluetooth speaker, 3rd party communication software, etc.

In this case, you'll need to disable all the except your primary audio device which is HTC Vive or Valve Index.

Steps to disable Playback device audio in Windows devices:

I. Right-click on the Sound icon at the right bottom of the Taskbar

II. Navigate to the Playback tab

Windows sounds - Disable Playback device

III. Disable all unnecessary Playback devices except HTC Vive/Valve Index device

Now, Windows will set a VR Device as the default playback device for SteamVR. It may fix the VR Audio issue.


2. Delete hidden Vive or Index VR Sound drivers

If you've tried updating the speaker driver from the Device Manager, just try to reinstall the HTC Vive Speaker driver.

Those drivers will not be visible directly in the device manager.

I. Go to Device Manager & Open a Sound, video, and game controllers option

II. Now select View from Menu bar

Hidden HTC Vive speakers drivers in Device manager

III. Look for HTC Vive or Valve Index Driver from the list

IV. Simply Uninstall it & Reboot your PC

V. Just plug in the VR device again

It will reinstall the drivers. It will fix all the Mic & Sound related issues. The reason here is HTC Vive driver is creating conflicts in audio.


3. Replug a Mini DisplayPort to PC

It's a simple yet working trick. You just have to unplug the Mini DisplayPort cable from both ends(PC USB & Vive Connector Link box).

Restart the PC & wait for some time. After Windows is completely booted up, just re-plug the Mini DisplayPort cable.

Start SteamVR & try to check whether it fixed the Audio issue or not? Also, try to change the port and check if you see any changes.

4. Update GeForce Game Ready HD Audio Driver Manually(Only for NVidia people)

If you've got an NVidia graphics card and after the latest driver update, you've started facing audio-related issues like partially or completely the Sound is blocked in HTC Vive or Index VR.

There are 2 different ways to update those drivers - Through the NVidia GeForce Game Ready & Manual download method.

Here, we'll see the Manual download method.

I. Visit the NVidia driver page & Search for your product model

II. Download it & open the driver(.exe) file

III. Choose Custom(Advanced) as Installation type

IV. During Custom installation, check the HD Audio driver option

After installation, You'll see another option under Sound output settings called <Your_VR_Device_name>(High Definition Audio).


5. Reset HTC Vive/Valve Index HMD sample rate

If the previous solutions are not helping you, we can try resetting the HTC Vive/Valve Index HMD sound sampling rate.

I. Open the Sound settings from the control panel as shown previously in Fix 1

II. Switch to the Payback tab & choose HTC Vive/Valve Index(your VR Device)

III. Open its properties

IV. Switch to Advanced tab & You'll find a sample rate default format

change sampling rate of HTC Vive sound audio

V. Try to change to a different format & then click the Restore defaults option

If your issue was occurring due to this, then it will reset the sampling rate & audio-related conflict. Your SteamVR will detect your VR Audio device.


6. Reconfigure SteamVR Audio Settings

Either a SteamVR is fetching incorrect device as Default or maybe you have selected the other options by mistake.

I. Open SteamVR and click on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner

II. Navigate to Settings > Audio

III. Under Set Playback Device, select HTC-Vive or Valve-Index (depending on your headset)

If you want to mirror audio to another device (like a external speaker), ensure that Mirror Audio to Device(e.g. Realtek Digital output) is set correctly.


7. Hardware damage

Possibly there is Hardware damage in your device. It could be Cable, USB port, Headphone earpiece Speaker, or anything else.

Check if the connection ports(PC & Connector link box) are damaged. Get a consultation from HTC Vive support for Hardware damage.


Conclusion

These are some of the solutions that could possibly fix audio related issue in most of the cases.

See, without knowing the actual issue, we can't confidently predict anything which will guaranteed to fix that issue.

So, we'll need to try out all the potential troubleshooting fixes which was helped for other people in past.