Immediately after installing the Windows 11 update on your PC, the sound may stop working.
The Windows 11 January 2025 update is really faulty, and Microsoft has officially acknowledged one of the problems. This is written by Windows Latest.
This is a bug that causes DAC sound to stop working after installing Windows 11 24H2 KB5050009 , 23H2 KB5050021 and Windows 10 KB5049981.
On January 14, 2025, Microsoft released the first round of security updates this year, which were supposed to be safer than previous updates because they did not contain new features. Usually, Windows Update causes problems when it adds too many new features.
Unfortunately, the Windows Update for January 2025 is a disaster. Immediately after installing the update on your PC, sound may stop working. The error is widespread.
The sound may stop working immediately after installing the patch, but this mostly only affects those using USB audio DACs.
Finally, after several days of radio silence, Microsoft has told Windows Latest that it is aware of audio issues in Windows 11 after the January 2025 patch. The company also acknowledged this in an update to its support document, which was first spotted by Windows Latest.
According to the company, if you are experiencing audio issues, there is nothing left to do but stop using DACs (digital-to-analog converters). That's right, there is no way to “fix” this. The only way to “fix” it is — stop using the audio device.
“Users can work around this issue by avoiding the use of an external DAC during the connection process and plugging the audio device directly into the PC,” Microsoft said. “We are working on a solution and will provide an update in the next release.”
For those who don't know, DACs (digital-to-analog converters) are small devices that allow us to play sound by connecting headphones or speakers that support the connection. A DAC is an external device that converts the audio data from your Windows installation into audio signals through the connected headphones.
But does this mean that DACs are only used on older PCs? ? Not really. DACs are still used because they offer high-quality sound, and people use them in their home audio systems, especially audiophiles who need exceptional sound quality. Professionals use DACs extensively for recording and music.
If your PC is affected by the KB5050009, KB5050021, or KB5049981 vulnerabilities, you may notice that your audio no longer works and you may see the following error message in Device Manager: “This device cannot start. (Code 10) Insufficient system resources are available to complete the API.”
This means that Windows 11 is having difficulty allocating device memory, which prevents DACs from playing audio or transmitting audio signals to your headphones, resulting in muted audio.
If you have DACs configured for audio devices and are using the USB 1.0 audio driver in your settings, you should skip the January 2025 update.
During our investigation, Windows Latest found the following audio devices to be affected:
- JDS Labs ODAC
- Fiio E17K USB DAC.
- FX-Audio DAC-X6 (various models).
- Hifime Sabre DAC.
- HyperX USB Headsets.
- Denon CEOL Carino.
Windows 11 KB5050009 (January 2025 Update) has other issues. But in short, Jan's update also has issues with Bluetooth audio devices where the device connects but doesn't play sound.
File Explorer is also now acting erratically and freezing more often, and there's also a bug that prevents the camera from working after the patch.
The workaround for all of these issues is to uninstall Windows 11 KB5050009, pause updates, and wait for the February 2025 patch to be released, which may fix some of the bugs.