Valve Index - No sound device in windows

[I'm a wizard mind you!]

I have the nvidia high definition audio driver installed, and it finds my monitor just fine, but I'm not getting the output device for the valve index, so I have no sound in VR. I've tried reinstalling, and made sure I have the latest version. Anyone have any ideas?

[shteeeb]

Same issue. No audio device shown.

[DoomSly82]

I used my index a few hours ago and there was no problems. But now i how no sound.. And I can´t find any valve device for sound anywhere.

[ntsarb]

Similar here. In my case, it was caused by the NVIDIA Sound Device being disabled. Once I re-enabled the Sound Device associated with the NVIDIA graphics card, it was fixed.

In Win10, type "manage sound devices" in the search field of the Start Menu (Win+S) and open the corresponding Control Panel page.

[I'm a wizard mind you!]

Unfortunately, that's not my issue. The only NVIDIA High Definition Audio device being shown is "LG ULTRAWIDE" (my monitor)

[ntsarb]

On my PC, audio goes to the Valve Index through the DisplayPort (video) cable. In "Manage sound devices" of Windows 10, I can see 4x "NVIDIA Output" devices ("NVIDIA High Definition Audio" as description), i.e. as many as the video outputs of the GPU. If you don't see the audio outputs, try to cleanly install your GPU drivers.

Then, launch the Steam VR utility, go to "Settings" (from the desktop, not from the HMD), select the "Audio" tab and check in "Set Playback device to", whether it contains the item "Index HMD" (for my GPU, that is "4-NVIDIA High Definition Audio)". If you don't see it,

I hope this helps.

[I'm a wizard mind you!]

I see those outputs, but 1 of them says "LG ULTRAWIDE" and the other 3 say "Not plugged in" even though the headset functions normally otherwise.

[Catskinz]

Got the same issue. A quick fix for me was mirroring audio in Steam VR settings to my monitor with no speakers. When I do that the Index pops up as an audio output in the drop down menu and the computer will then see the HMD as an audio output. Have to leave it to mirror audio to the monitor on an HDMI port or it will be lost on Steam VR restart. The pass thru cameras are very dark and hard to see anything not sure if something is wrong with them as well.

Edit:
I Have the latest NVIDIA drivers but will try a fresh clean install of them to see if that fixes the issues.


Edit2:
Well fresh Nvidia driver install did fix my camera issues. Or maybe it was just dark last night. Day time now and pass thru camera working well after driver reinstall and daylight outside. Still same issue with the audio as before system doesn't see it at all until Steam VR starts mirroring audio to my HDMI monitor. It then blinks the screens and audio on the HMD is detected by the computer everywhere is should be. It disappears when Steam VR exits though.

[4o7.dc | Gpig]

I don't know how you figured out that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ workaround Catskinz but thank you! Finally! Setting it to mirror to my monitor missing headphones suddenly causes Index HMD audio to be selectable. I'm glad there's a fix, but I don't get why this works.

[Catskinz]

You are welcome sir glad it helped at least one person!

[Bird]

In SteamVR I restart HMD for the index to appear as a sound device so the audio comes through. Otherwise every time i start steamvr, the index hmd audio doesn't appear as an option

[Volodesi]

Same issue here. I just unplug the break-away cable and reattach it to make it start working again.

It's quite annoying.

[Username]

I've had similar workarounds for sound, but they only ever work one time, and never again.

[kHAN]

I'd just like to weigh in that I was able to solve this issue by disconnecting one of my monitors.

I'm running an RTX 2060 and had DP1 hooked up to my main monitor, HDMI hooked up to a TV, DP2 hooked up to the index and the DVI hooked up to an aux monitor. By disconnecting the DVI monitor I was able to get it to show up again after reconnecting the tether.

[plicker_Poo]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thank you Catskinz your the best

[Skwerley]

Originally posted by Volodesi:

Same issue here. I just unplug the break-away cable and reattach it to make it start working again.

It's quite annoying.

This works, as does going into Device Manager (right click the Start menu button, select device manager)

Then right click the topmost item, it should be something like "This PC," and select "scan for hardware changes" in the context menu.

The Headset will (or should) kind of flicker like it's not detected, then bob's your uncle.

I have to do it every couple of times I boot the headset and if I've started a game already, sometimes I have to restart it.