Laptop speakers can be a great way to enjoy music or other audio, but there are times when you might want to disable them. Maybe you’re in a bustling space and don’t want to disrupt those around you, or maybe you just want to use headphones instead.
If so, you’re looking for a way to disable your laptop speakers while keeping your headphones on. Don’t worry – this task can be done in minutes—all without needing any extra software or hardware.
We’ll show you a few simple steps to get the job done and make sure that only audio goes through your headphones. So let’s dive right in and explore how to disable laptop speakers but not headphones.
What Are The Different Ways To Disable Laptop Speakers
Overall, there are multiple ways which can successfully disable laptop speakers. It depends upon how they are set up with different systems configurations and hardware versions –
Mute Option
The best way to disable laptop speakers is to select the ‘Mute’ option in the audio settings. You can typically find this option in your sound settings, or by right-clicking on the speaker icon at the bottom of your screen. This should help you turn off any audio coming from your laptop speakers.
Device Manager
Another way to disable laptop speakers is to go into Device Manager. To do this you’ll need to type it into the Windows search bar and then go through all of your system hardware until you reach “Sound, Video and Game Controllers.”
There should be an entry for speaker devices; right-click on them, then choose ‘disable’ or ‘uninstall’ – whichever one appears first. This will help permanently turn off the sound coming out of your device’s internal speakers.
Unplugging A Headphone Jack
If neither of these options works for disabling laptop speakers, consider unplugging a headphone jack when connected if they are powered via a combination jack — that is both audio and power.
As some laptops send their audio output through this connection rather than directly from within their own bodies. Unplugging it would force the computer back to its own built-in speaker settings instead of relying solely on headphones plugged in for sound output.
How to Disable Right Speaker / Left Speaker on Laptop
How To Disable Laptop Speakers But Not Headphones
Let us see how to do this very easily.
Disable In Windows
Disabling your laptop’s speakers while leaving your headphones intact is a relatively simple task. Below are the steps you need to follow in order to accomplish this:
- Right-click on the speaker symbol in the notification area at the bottom right of your screen and select ‘Sounds.’
- Once you are in Sounds, select the ‘Playback’ tab at top of the window that appears.
- Look for an icon that looks like a pair of small speakers with a red cross over it (this will be labeled “Speakers”). Click on it once and then click “Set Default.” This should automatically change all audio output from your laptop’s speakers to whatever other device you have plugged into it (such as headphones or external speakers).
- If there is no device connected, it will likely still be set as default so long as nothing else has been changed; if not, simply uncheck (disconnect) any devices connected to this setting by clicking them once so they show a green checkmark instead of white checkmark with black background next to them (i.e., disconnected).
- Lastly, double-check that everything worked by plugging in some headphones or an external speaker and ensuring that audio plays through them without issues.
Your laptop’s speakers should now be disabled when using other devices but still fully enabled when no other devices are present or connected.
Disable In macOS
If you’re trying to disable your laptop speakers but keep headphones enabled in macOS, then the following steps should help.
- Ensure that your headphones are properly connected and the audio output is being sent to them instead of your laptop’s speakers by clicking on the sound icon located at the top right corner of MacOS.
You can also adjust the volume with this button or use Spotlight (Command + Spacebar) and look for System Preferences > Sound > Output tab.
- Once verified, you’ll need to turn off any internal laptop speakers from System Preferences > Sound > Output tab by unchecking the “Internal Speakers” checkbox if present as it will override other speakers responding for audio when connected/active.
- Now, click on “Headphones” if available (this may be labeled differently depending on what type of headphones are plugged into your Mac). This should then make sure all sounds pass through external devices only like Headphones/Speakers and no more Internal Speakers give output sound.
- Lastly, to maximize battery life while using only headphone jack audio outputs in macOS long term-
Just go back to System Preferences > Energy Saver and select Power Adapter for optimized performance while playing music/video via the headphone jack.
Benefits Of Disabling Laptop Speakers But Not Headphones
Disabling your laptop speakers but not headphones can be a beneficial decision for many reasons. The main advantage of disabling the laptop speakers is that-
Hear The Sound More Clearly With Better Quality
You will be able to hear the sound more clearly and with better quality when using headphones. This is because audio from external devices, such as headphones, is usually of higher quality than built-in laptop speakers.
Less Interference In The Sound
When you disable your computer’s internal speakers, there will also be less interference in the sound coming through your headphones.
You may have noticed that while using internal laptop speakers, the sound coming in through your headphone jack may be distorted. Or cut off at times due to competing frequencies between both sources of audio output.
So having one source of audio (headphones) taking over as primary output definitely resolves this issue and prevents it from happening again.
Improved Power Efficiency
Another benefit to disabling desktop or laptop speakers but not headphones is improved power efficiency overall on your device.
Since the processor won’t need to use extra energy just to keep those bulky speaker components running all day long. This could even result in extended battery life if used frequently with headphones instead.
Disconnecting Built-in Soundcard Chipsets (Improved System Stability)
Finally, by disconnecting unused hardware like built-in Sound card chipsets become inactive. This improves system stability and reduces potential security vulnerabilities caused by malicious code. Exploiting active hardware components connected through software drivers installed onto Windows PCs & Macs alike.
Conclusion
Disabling your laptop speakers but not headphones is a great way to improve your productivity and focus. There are a few different ways to disable laptop speakers, depending on your operating system. Here’s how to do it on Windows and macOS. Once you’ve disabled your laptop speakers, you can still use headphones without any problems.
This is one of the main benefits of disabling laptop speakers – you can still enjoy audio even if your computer doesn’t have any external speakers connected. So if you’re looking for a way to disable your laptop speakers but not headphones, give one of these methods a try.