Sound stops working

[WCG 1]

I have a recurring problem where the sound in Arma III stops working. I have to close the game, then restart it and everything is fine. (I don't have a sound card, just what's built in to my motherboard.)

I was using Teamspeak once when this happened, and I could still hear everyone else, though they could no longer hear me. (I had to restart Teamspeak to fix that, in addition to restarting Arma III.) But that's the only time I've used Teamspeak, so I can't say much about that.

Losing all sound in Arma III doesn't happen every time I play, but often enough to be a real problem. Is this a known issue with the alpha version, does anyone know? I was just wondering if there was some other way to fix it, rather than ending my mission and exiting Arma III.

Thanks.

[EDcase 87]

The game will lose sound if I plug or unplug any audio cable while in the game. eg. headphones into the front panel.

It may be that you have a loose connection or that an audio device is changing state on/off.

Other than that, no idea.

[WCG 1]

The game will lose sound if I plug or unplug any audio cable while in the game. eg. headphones into the front panel.

It may be that you have a loose connection or that an audio device is changing state on/off.

Thanks. That sounds right, because the Windows sound I hear when this happens is the same one I hear when I turn my printer on or off ("device connect," or maybe "device disconnect").

Yet I never hear this any other time, except when I'm playing Arma III. I leave my headphones plugged in permanently, so if it were a loose connection, I should hear this other times, too, I'd think. I'm not using the headphones at other times, though, so only the microphone, not the earpiece, is still set as the default sound device when I'm not in Arma III. That might make a difference.

Thanks for the reply!

Bill

---------- Post added at 11:01 ---------- Previous post was at 09:53 ----------

I might have discovered the solution to this. At least, there's a hotfix at Microsoft which sounds like it might apply to my problem:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2721341

I'll try this, and if it doesn't work, I'll be back. :)

Thanks.

[EDcase 87]

Good luck ;)

[WCG 1]

I might have discovered the solution to this. At least, there's a hotfix at Microsoft which sounds like it might apply to my problem:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2721341

I'll try this, and if it doesn't work, I'll be back. :)

Thanks.

Nope. That didn't work. At least, it happened again just now.

[ozzbik 71]

Are you using Windows 8 or...? And does this happen when switching/alt-tabbing to another app (TS)?

Just guessing here, but it could be a crashing audio driver.

Does other audio playback (besides A3 and TS) work (for example mediaplayer)?

Perhaps updating motherboard drivers and/or audio chipset drivers fix the problem. Also update your DX to the latest version to be sure.

[WCG 1]

I'm using Windows 7 (64-bit). And no, I'm not alt-tabbing, or doing anything else but playing Arma III, when this happens. One time, Teamspeak was also running, but usually it's just Arma III.

And Windows sounds still work. Whatever is causing it, it's just momentary. It's just that I can't get the sound back in Arma III without exiting the game and starting it back up again. (Otherwise, this wouldn't be a problem at all.)

Maybe it's a driver, but I doubt it. This computer is less than six months old, so the drivers are generally up to date. Also, it never happens at any other time. It's only in Arma III. Admittedly, that's pretty much the only time I use my headphones, too, so maybe that has something to do with it.

When this happens, I hear the same Windows sound as when I turn on my printer (the "Device Connect" sound). As I say, I never hear it when I'm not in Arma III, but that might just be because I only use my headphones then. That Windows hotfix really sounded like it might be the right issue, but it hasn't eliminated the problem.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check out my drivers.

[WCG 1]

Note that this is still happening. In fact, it got far, far worse with the release of the beta version of Arma 3 (whether that's coincidence or not, I don't know).

It's also worse when I use TeamSpeak. But in TeamSpeak, I only lose the microphone. I can hear everyone else, but they can't hear me - not until I close and restart TeamSpeak, at least. Note that I lose all sound in Arma 3 when this happens, both the microphone and the speakers in my headset. And it's a real pain to keep needing to close Arma 3 and restart it again, especially when I'm in the middle of a mission!

When I first posted this, it just happened occasionally. I could play Arma 3 all evening most times without having a problem. After the beta version was released, it started happening four or five times a night - especially if I was using TeamSpeak. One evening, it happened four times in the first 20 minutes! Turning off TeamSpeak helps, but it's still likely to happen two or three times an evening. (It's hard to tell, because I either quit playing when this happens or keep playing without sound. Yeah, that's no fun.)

I've checked sound drivers. I've removed my headset driver software and reinstalled it. I've switched USB ports. I can Alt-Esc out of the game without causing this, and I'm sure it's not a loose connection causing this - certainly nothing to do with the headset connection or cable (which I can wiggle around without causing it). In fact, I can't identify anything that causes it, but it's never happened with any other game but Arma 3. (But note that I've never played Arma 2.)

As I say, this has gotten much worse since Arma 3 beta was released. In fact, it's making Arma 3 pretty much impossible to play - at least, in co-op games. I can always use my speakers when playing single-player, but I need the microphone in multiplayer games.

Bill

[pharoah 65]

dammit, I just started getting this about a week ago. Previously no problems at all. Ridiculous.

[dale0404 5]

@WCG,

Does this only happen with your headphones? If so, try another set of headphones.

[WCG 1]

Does this only happen with your headphones? If so, try another set of headphones.

That's the first thing I'd try if I had access to another set of headphones. Unfortunately, I don't.

However, I seem to have fixed the problem (when it comes to Arma 3, at least) with one or both of these fixes:

(1) I updated the BIOS on my ASUS P8h77-V motherboard. (This update was supposed to fix unspecified problems with "some" USB devices.)

(2) I plugged the headset into a USB 2.0 connector at the back of the computer, directly off the motherboard (which I'd tried before) and I removed the device plugged in next to it (leaving that USB port empty).

That solved my problems, certainly with Arma 3. For some reason, after working great for a couple of weeks, I've started losing my microphone in TeamSpeak again. But when TS doesn't completely crash, I can still hear the rest of the players, and I can always reply using the built-in Arma 3 communication system. It's certainly not ideal, but it's better than the situation I had previously.

Bill

[wiggum2 31]

Just had the same bug (in SP) for the first time !

I played 8h without any issues and today suddenly i lost all sounds. I exited arma3 and in widows i still had sounds working. damn.

Have you installed Realtek Audio drivers ?

[WCG 1]

... today suddenly i lost all sounds. I exited arma3 and in widows i still had sounds working. damn.

Sometimes, you can just alt-tab out of the game, then back in again, to fix Arma 3 sound problems. Try that if it happens again.

Otherwise, all I can tell you is that the above fix - one of them, at least - worked for me. I haven't lost sound in the game since then.

Good luck!

[maquez 141]

I have this problem since Alpha Release !!

I have a sounbblaster xifi titanium and newest driver is installed.

happens only when I switch from loudspeaker to headphones using the frontpanel

headphones jack.

[Bizz-Keryear 11]

My problem is only remotely related ... I do not have any sound at any time

[ratszo 17]

Was getting same --front & rear jacks gave no output --sound was defaulting thru the onboard case speaker.

Had 2 other playback devices in the control panel sound window enabled.

Disabled one of the extra devices and bingo, it worked. Getting normal output thru headphone jacks.

[Machinegun30 0]

I have an issue where while i'm playing on a laptop i plug in a mouse and keyboard the game is fine but when I plug the laptop in to a tv I lose all sound, i've checked and it is just Arma that loses sound youtube and everything else is just fine but Arma looses all sound and i cant get it back. And yes i plug the tv in BEFORE I start the game.