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If crackling or popping starts only after your Windows PC wakes from sleep, work through Microsoft’s audio checks in a fixed order: confirm the output device, turn off audio enhancements, try a different default format, restart the Windows audio services, and then deal with the driver. Put the PC through a sleep and wake cycle after each change, because that is the only way to know whether the change held. These are Microsoft’s general crackling fixes rather than a guaranteed diagnosis for every machine, but they cover the causes most often behind this pattern.
Step 1: Confirm the output device you actually use
A PC can wake with a different playback device selected than the one you were using before sleep, for example a monitor’s speakers, a docking station, or a Bluetooth headset that has reconnected. Microsoft’s crackling audio guidance starts by making sure the correct speakers or headphones are selected. Choose the device you intend to use, play a sound, and then sleep and wake the PC to check whether the noise returns.
Step 2: Turn off audio enhancements
Sound enhancements are processing effects added by the driver or by Windows. Some of them interact badly with a device after it resumes from sleep. Microsoft’s guidance is to disable them and test again.
Windows 11
- Open Settings and go to System > Sound.
- Under Output, select the device you use.
- Turn off Audio enhancements.
- Sleep and wake the PC, then play audio again.
Windows 10
- Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sounds, then open the Playback tab.
- Right-click the device you use and select Properties.
- On the Enhancements tab, tick Disable all enhancements (or disable the individual effects if that option is not shown).
- Click OK, then sleep and wake the PC and test.
Step 3: Test a different default format
The default sample rate and bit depth of an output device can cause crackling when the device renegotiates its audio stream after waking. Open the device’s properties, switch to the Advanced tab (or the advanced format setting in your Settings page), choose a different format from the list, apply the change, and test after a sleep and wake cycle. There is no single format that is correct for every device, so try one option at a time and keep the one that stays quiet.
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Step 4: Restart the Windows audio services
If the audio stack has stalled after resume, restarting its services often clears it. Microsoft lists two services for this purpose: Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder.
- Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
- Find Windows Audio, right-click it, and select Restart.
- Find Windows Audio Endpoint Builder, right-click it, and select Restart.
- Play audio, then sleep and wake the PC to confirm the result.
A restart only clears the current state. If the crackle returns after the next sleep, the cause is still active and the driver steps below are the next place to look.
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Step 5: Update, reinstall, or roll back the audio driver
Driver problems are the most common reason a device handles wake transitions badly, so this is where most persistent cases end up. Microsoft’s guidance covers three actions in Device Manager:
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- Reinstall: If updating does not help, use Uninstall device from the same menu, restart, and let Windows reinstall the driver.
- Roll back: If the crackling began right after a driver update, use the device’s Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver option, if it is available, and test again.
For the most suitable driver, use the source your PC or audio device manufacturer publishes for your exact model. A generic driver from another model can run without error and still produce the noise. If the crackle persists, Microsoft’s broader guide also describes trying the generic Windows driver as a diagnostic step, which helps show whether the problem is in the manufacturer’s driver.
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Step 6: Run the audio troubleshooter
On Windows 11, Microsoft directs users to the audio troubleshooter in the Get Help app, which automates several of the checks above. Its general guide to fixing sound problems also provides automated troubleshooting for supported Windows versions. Run it after the manual steps, because it is most useful when you already know which change you have made and when the symptom returns.
Why the symptom follows sleep
The timing is a useful clue, but it does not prove the cause. On Modern Standby platforms, Microsoft’s documentation on audio subsystem power management describes audio components entering a low-power state, D3, when idle and returning to the active state, D0, when audio is needed. It also describes the responsibilities of the audio driver and the platform during those transitions. A device or driver that resumes incorrectly is therefore a plausible explanation, but the documentation does not diagnose an individual PC, and the way Modern Standby is implemented differs between platforms.
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For that reason, avoid the widely shared “universal” fixes that have no basis in official documentation: editing registry keys, disabling unrelated PCIe power features, or forcing the audio device to stay active. Sources reviewed for this article do not validate these as general remedies for this symptom.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 differ
| Task | Windows 11 | Windows 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Disable enhancements | Settings > System > Sound, select the output, turn off Audio enhancements | Sound > Playback tab, device Properties, Enhancements tab |
| Troubleshooter | Get Help audio troubleshooter | Automated troubleshooting in Microsoft’s general sound guide |
| Driver steps | Device Manager actions as described above | Device Manager actions as described above |
Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. The Windows 10 steps above remain useful for local troubleshooting on machines still running it, but Microsoft’s security and feature updates for that version are no longer provided, so a long-term fix on Windows 10 may require moving to a supported version.
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If the problem persists
If the crackle continues after all the steps above, and especially if it occurs with more than one output device, collect the following before contacting your PC or audio-device manufacturer:
- The PC model and the audio device, including whether it is built in, a USB device, or Bluetooth.
- The Windows version and build (run winver from the Run dialog).
- The audio driver version and date shown in Device Manager under the device’s Properties > Driver tab.
- Whether the symptom started after a Windows update or a driver change, and the date it began.
Is a USB audio adapter a fix?
A USB audio adapter can provide a different output path, which is useful for confirming whether the internal audio hardware or driver is the source of the problem. Microsoft’s USB audio troubleshooting material covers driver selection and device behavior, but it does not establish that an adapter cures sleep-wake crackling. Consider buying one only after the software and driver steps have failed. Check operating-system compatibility, connector type, and the seller’s return policy before you buy.
Note that the Microsoft USB guidance addresses USB audio devices not playing, so it applies to adapters rather than the built-in audio hardware.
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