Two monitors, both with speakers, and only one makes a sound. That’s expected: Windows treats each monitor as a separate audio device and plays to one at a time. Monitor speakers also get audio from a different place than your PC’s headphone jack, which is why the usual Stereo Mix trick doesn’t work. Here’s what does, depending on what you want.

How monitor audio works

HDMI and DisplayPort carry sound along with the picture. Your graphics card provides an audio device for each connected screen, named something like “NVIDIA High Definition Audio”, “AMD High Definition Audio Device” or “Intel Display Audio”. Each one appears in Settings → System → Sound → Output, often with the monitor’s model name.

The monitor then plays that sound through its own small speakers or its headphone jack. Monitor speakers usually have their own volume in the monitor’s on-screen menu, so check it’s not at zero.

Step 1: Check both monitors appear as outputs

  1. Open Settings → System → Sound.
  2. Under Output, open the list of devices. You should see one entry per monitor with speakers.
  3. If one is missing, check it’s connected by HDMI or DisplayPort. VGA and most DVI cables don’t carry sound.
  4. Still missing? Update your graphics driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, and check the device isn’t disabled under More sound settings → Playback (right-click → Show Disabled Devices).

Different sound on each monitor (built in)

Perfect for a game on one screen and a video on the other.

  1. Start the apps you want to split.
  2. Open Settings → System → Sound → Volume mixer (Windows 10: Sound → App volume and device preferences).
  3. Set each app’s Output device to the monitor you want.

Two videos in the same browser can’t be split. Windows treats the whole browser as one app. Use two different browsers, or a browser plus a desktop app.

The same sound on both monitors

For a bigger, wider sound, or so people at both screens can hear, you need a tool that copies sound from one output to another.

Why Stereo Mix won’t work here

Stereo Mix is the usual free trick, but it only captures your motherboard’s audio chip. Monitor audio comes from the graphics card, so Stereo Mix stays silent while your monitors play. (It does work if one of the outputs is your PC’s own speakers or headphone jack. See Stereo Mix on Windows 11.)

What works: a multi-output tool

Voicemeeter (free) can send its output to both monitor devices. Or use a one-click app:

Monitor speakers plus headphones

Want the room to hear through the monitors while someone else uses headphones? That’s the same problem: two outputs at once. The headphones can be on the PC’s jack, USB or Bluetooth. See multiple audio outputs in Windows for every option.

Using a monitor’s headphone jack

Most monitors with speakers also have a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It plays the same sound as that monitor’s audio device. That gives you a handy extra headphone output on a desk where the PC is out of reach: plug headphones into the monitor, and treat that monitor as a separate output for the methods above.

Monitors on a dock or USB-C

Monitors connected through a USB-C or Thunderbolt dock still carry audio over DisplayPort, and still appear as separate outputs, sometimes named after the dock. If a monitor’s audio disappears after unplugging and replugging the dock, open Settings → System → Sound and choose it again, or update the dock’s firmware and your graphics driver.

Troubleshooting

Monitor sound is very quiet

Turn up the monitor’s own volume in its on-screen menu as well as in Windows. Most monitor speakers are small, so an external speaker on the monitor’s headphone jack is a big upgrade.

Sound disappears when a monitor sleeps

When a monitor turns off, its audio device disappears from Windows and comes back when it wakes. Apps may not switch back automatically. Re-select the output, or keep a non-monitor device as your default.

Sound crackles on one monitor

Set it to 48000 Hz in More sound settings → Playback → device → Properties → Advanced, and update the graphics driver.