How do I turn the sound on on Kodi?

Kodi is an open-source media center software that allows users to play videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local storage or the internet (Kodi software – Wikipedia). It provides a user-friendly interface to manage and access your personal media library. Kodi is available on multiple platforms like Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Lack of sound is a common issue that many Kodi users face. The audio may randomly stop working or never work in the first place. This can be frustrating as you can’t enjoy your media content without sound.

In this guide, we will walk through various troubleshooting steps to help fix sound issues in Kodi. The goal is to identify the cause of the problem and resolve it to restore full audio capabilities.

Check Basic Audio Settings

The most common reason for no sound in Kodi is that the basic audio settings are incorrectly configured or connected. Here are some basic things to check:

  • Make sure the volume on your device or TV is turned up high enough to hear audio. It’s easy to accidentally have the volume muted or too low.
  • Check that all cables connecting your device to speakers, a sound system, or TV are securely plugged in. Loose HDMI or other audio cables can cause a loss of sound.
  • Try changing the Audio Output option in Kodi’s System Settings. Switching from HDMI to Analog or Optical may resolve sound issues if there are problems with a particular connection type. Source

Checking these basic audio settings and connections is often the quickest way to restore sound when troubleshooting no audio problems in Kodi.

Check Kodi Audio Settings

One of the first things to check is Kodi’s audio settings to make sure the correct audio device is selected. To access the audio settings in Kodi:

  1. Open Kodi and go to the Settings menu (the gear icon)
  2. Select “System Settings”
  3. Choose “Audio”

This will open the Audio Settings screen where you can configure options like the Audio Output Device and Digital Audio Output. Make sure the Audio Output Device is set to the correct speaker setup for your system (for example Stereo, 5.1 Surround, HDMI, etc.). If you’re not getting any audio, try switching the Audio Output Device to another option to see if that fixes the problem.

The Digital Audio Output allows you to enable audio pass-through for things like DTS, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Atmos. This is useful if you have a receiver that can decode advanced audio formats. Just enable “Pass-through” for the audio types your system supports.

Changing these audio settings in Kodi is often an easy solution if you suddenly stop getting audio or it is coming through the wrong speakers. Try toggling through the different Audio Output Device options while content is playing to see if one of them restores sound.

Check File Audio Codec

The audio codec of the media file being played in Kodi can affect whether sound works properly. Kodi supports common codecs like AAC, MP3, FLAC, DTS, Dolby Digital etc. However, certain codecs may require additional steps to get audio working.

For example, AC3 audio found in many Blu-ray rips may not play audio by default in Kodi. To enable AC3 and DTS pass-through audio, you need to go to Settings > Player > Audio and change Audio Output Device to “Optical” and AudioPassthrough device to “Optical” as well. This allows AC3 and DTS audio to pass through HDMI or optical output.

Another common codec like DTS-HD Master Audio also needs passthrough enabled. In some cases, you may need to install additional codecs to allow audio playback in files with certain audio codecs.

So checking the audio codec of your media file and whether Kodi can play it by default is an important troubleshooting step. Enabling passthrough, changing audio device, or installing missing codecs can resolve no sound issues stemming from incompatible or unsupported codecs.

Enable Passthrough Audio

Passthrough audio allows Kodi to send the raw digital audio signal to an external audio decoder, like an AV receiver or soundbar. This enables Kodi to play back more advanced audio codecs like DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD, which Kodi cannot decode internally. With passthrough enabled, the decoding happens externally after the audio passes through Kodi untouched.

To take advantage of passthrough audio, you need an audio system that can decode surround sound formats like Dolby Digital and DTS. Most modern AV receivers and many soundbars support passthrough audio and high definition codecs. If your speakers only accept stereo audio, then passthrough offers no benefit.

To enable passthrough audio in Kodi:

  1. Go to Settings > Player > Audio
  2. Set “Passthrough enabled” to ON

With passthrough enabled, Kodi will send the undecoded audio signal to your AV receiver or soundbar. This allows you to play media with DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, and other advanced codecs while leveraging your audio system’s decoding capacity. Just make sure your speakers can handle the surround sound format.

As explained on the Kodi wiki, passthrough bypasses Kodi’s internal audio processing and sends the raw audio data to your external decoder. This can unlock fuller audio quality, but requires compatible speakers.

Adjust Audio Sync Settings

One common issue that can cause Kodi to have no audio is the audio going out of sync with the video. This desync between audio and video streams is a frustrating problem that makes content unwatchable.

To fix sync issues and align the audio with video playback in Kodi, you can adjust the audio delay offset. This synchronizes the timing of the audio to match the video.

Here are the steps to adjust the audio sync in Kodi:

  1. Play a video that has sync issues in Kodi.
  2. Bring up the on-screen display by clicking the center button on your keyboard or remote.
  3. Go to the Audio sync offset option.
  4. Use the left/right keys to increase or decrease the offset value until the audio matches the video.
  5. Setting a negative value will delay the audio while a positive value speeds up the audio.
  6. Once the audio and video are perfectly in sync, click OK to save the new offset value.

Adjusting the sync offset will resolve timing mismatches between audio and video streams. This ensures you can enjoy properly synchronized content playback in Kodi.

For more details, see this Kodi audio sync guide: https://aboutdevice.com/kodi-fix-audio-and-video-out-of-sync/

Check Add-on or Skin Settings

3rd party add-ons and skins can sometimes affect Kodi’s audio output. If you have installed any add-ons or are using a custom skin, check their audio settings for potential issues.

Go to the Add-ons section in Kodi’s settings and open the settings for any video or audio add-ons you have installed. Look for audio options and try tweaking or disabling any that could conflict with Kodi’s core audio. For example, some add-ons have separate volume controls that could be muted or set too low.

If you are using a custom skin, open its settings and look for any audio options. Some skins have their own audio configurations that could override Kodi’s default output. Try resetting the skin’s audio settings to default.

As a test, you can always switch back to Kodi’s default Confluence skin and audio add-ons. If that restores sound, it points to a custom add-on or skin issue. Re-enable them one by one until you isolate the problem.

For more help troubleshooting add-on issues, refer to the Kodi wiki guide on Add-on Debug Logging.

Reset Kodi Audio Configuration

One way to troubleshoot no sound issues in Kodi is to reset the audio configuration settings to default. This can resolve audio issues caused by incorrect or corrupted settings. To reset the audio settings in Kodi:

1. In Kodi, go to Settings > System > Audio.

2. Select the Audio Output item you want to reset.

3. Click the cog icon next to the selected item and choose Reset to Default.

4. Return to the Audio menu and repeat for any other Audio Output items you want to reset.

Resetting the audio configuration will overwrite any customized settings and restore the defaults. This often resolves audio issues caused by incorrect configurations. As noted in the Kodi forums, resetting audio settings to default can fix problems like no sound from a controller.

Downgrade Kodi Version

New Kodi versions can introduce bugs or audio issues that weren’t present in previous releases. If you started experiencing sound problems after upgrading to a newer Kodi version, downgrading to a prior stable release may resolve the issue.

To downgrade Kodi, you will need to completely uninstall your current Kodi version first. Be sure to back up your library database and addons before uninstalling. Once Kodi is removed from your device, you can install an older version such as Kodi 18 or 17 from the official Kodi website https://kodi.tv/download. Select the appropriate installer for your device.

After installing the older Kodi release, restore your library database and addons. Test if audio is now working as expected in the downgraded version. If the audio problems persist on the older Kodi release, the issue is likely unrelated to a buggy Kodi version.

Summary

To recap, the main troubleshooting steps for fixing sound issues in Kodi are checking your basic audio settings, adjusting Kodi audio settings, enabling passthrough audio if needed, checking audio sync, and troubleshooting any add-on or skin specific audio issues. If those steps don’t resolve the problem, try resetting Kodi audio configuration or downgrading your Kodi version.

To help prevent audio problems in the future, be sure to always update Kodi and any add-ons to the latest version. Use a high quality HDMI cable, avoid cheap HDMI splitters, and make sure your audio receiver or TV supports modern audio formats like Dolby Digital Plus. Finally, stick to recommended Kodi skins and add-ons from the official repository.

For further help troubleshooting Kodi audio issues, check out the Kodi wiki audio troubleshooting guide at https://kodi.wiki/view/Audio_troubleshooting or search the Kodi forums at https://forum.kodi.tv/. The Kodi community is very active and helpful for resolving problems.

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