Many Windows 11 users are reporting that Dolby Atmos is not working on the latest Microsoft operating system. We have to identify the culprit in Windows 11, and it could be a custom Dolby program or audio drivers. Users have reported that Dolby audio is not working and the audio output is not immersive. None of the users have any idea why the audio system does not reproduce 3D sound. We need to go through a lot of devices, drivers and programs in order to solve the problem with Dolby Atos.
Why doesn’t Dolby Atmos work with Windows 11?
We do not want readers to go back to the search engine from time to time and look for new solutions. Take the time to find out about the Dolby Atmos not working error and it might alert you. You can prevent audio software from crashing again on your Windows computer and never have to worry about a problem that persists.
Unsupported drivers
Unfortunately, many Windows machines fall into the unsupported category. Microsoft has not promised further software support for unsupported hardware in the future. In short, existing Windows 10 drivers may not work properly. In-house developers are moving into the future and new build versions will have new features sometime in the future. New features require stable driver support from the manufacturer and your machine may not be available.
Corrupted/Unstable Drivers
Windows 11 is the latest version released a few months ago. It will take a long time for hardware manufacturers to release a stable driver to the masses. You may be using an unstable or corrupted driver and I have shown you a way to reinstall your audio driver.
Problems with Dolby
Dolby contains special programs to control supported hardware. You have Dolby Audio, Dolby Access, etc. The problem might be with the special program itself and you will have to reinstall the application.
Unstable software
Microsoft encourages users to install new software updates from time to time. New updates contain patches, fixes and security improvements. I have shared some interesting information about Windows Update, so be sure to read the solution below.
Windows Threats
There is one threat that interferes with the functions of Windows. Malware is notorious for interfering with system functions. You have to drop malware from the machine, and this is possible with the help of antivirus programs.
You cannot fix Dolby Atmos not working issues by following the official solution. I ask everyone to stop using third-party tools to fix sound problems in Windows, because you don’t need them.
Fix Dolby Atmos not working on Windows 11
Follow the Dolby Audio solutions in order and I have arranged them to solve a lot of problems along the way.
Reset Dolby Access
Reset Dolby Audio or Dolby Access on Windows PC and you can do it in the latest version. A special program will remove user settings from the dashboard and restore the default settings. You may need to reconfigure your devices because the connection data you added was deleted when you reset the program.
- Open Settings in Windows 11.
- Select Applications from the list.
- Click “Apps & features”from the list.
- Find Dolby Access, then click on the three-dot setting.
- Select “Advanced Options”from the menu that appears.
- Scroll down and click on the “Reset”option.
- Click on the “Reset”button.
- Let Windows reset the program.
- A check mark appears next to the Reset button.
A checkmark indicates success.
- Launch Dolby Access.
The audio program works flawlessly and you can check the audio output to confirm the resolution.
Reinstall Dolby Access
The Microsoft Store has taken the Store seriously and redesigned the app management structure. Now you can download, install and reinstall popular programs from the MS Store. Dolby Access is available in the store and you don’t need to download additional apps from the official website. Let me show you how to uninstall and reinstall Dolby Access on a Windows PC. I’m skipping the removal part since anyone can do it by following the traditional method.
- Open “Microsoft Store”from the search bar.
- Search for Dolby Access in the search bar and browse the list.
- Click on the “Install”button.
You don’t need to sign in to a Microsoft account because you connected your account during
Windows installation process.
- Allow the Microsoft Store to download packages from the server.
- Click on the “Open”button.
- Open the Dolby Access program from the search bar.
- The program has been successfully launched.
Test the sound booster and turn on the music to confirm the resolution.
Run Security Scanner
Your computer may have threats such as viruses, malware, spyware, or something much worse. We must get rid of them and destroy the threats from the system. I don’t know how malware entered your Windows PC, but I do know how to get rid of it. Choose a paid security solution and remove malware. I’ll show you how to remove malware on a Windows computer if you don’t have a paid security solution.
Microsoft bundles the operating system with the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. We will use MRT software to remove malware from the system.
- Open the RUN application by pressing the Windows + R keys.
- Enter “MRT”and click the “OK”button.
- A new pop-up window will appear on the screen, and click the “Next”button.
- Select “Full Scan”and click the “Next”button.
You should not select any other option and let MRT scan the entire drive.
- Have MRT scan the entire drive.
We have to wait patiently and not interrupt the scanning process.
Leave your Windows PC alone until the scanning process is complete.
- Click on the “Finish”process.
There is nothing wrong with running in the background, but I do not recommend that you do so. Let the MRT complete the disk scan and leave the machine idle.
Run the Sound Troubleshooter
Windows 10/11 has a built-in troubleshooter that scans the audio devices installed on the system. You can identify the problem in the audio system and let Windows take care of it. Let me show you what to choose and how to run the Sound Troubleshooter on Windows PC.
- Open Windows Settings from the search bar.
- Select Troubleshoot under System.
- Click Other Troubleshooters.
- Find “Audio Playback”in the list.
- Click “Run”to start the scanning process.
- A new window will appear and scanning will begin.
- Select an audio device and click Next.
- Choose one solution.
I don’t have problems with Dolby Audio or Dolby Access, so I got a different result on the screen.
- Solve the problem of.
In the past, the troubleshooter solved many network and audio problems. You can rely on the sound testing algorithm built into Windows and it can solve the problem.
Rollback audio drivers
The latest audio drivers may not be compatible with Dolby technology. Windows 11 is a new version and the audio driver may have issues in the operating system. You have the option to roll back your drivers to an earlier version and that might fix the issue. Let me show you how to revert to an earlier audio driver in Windows.
- Open “Device Manager”from the Start menu.
- Find “Sound, video and game controllers”in the list of devices.
- Select an audio device and I chose Realtek (R) Audio as they are the supplier.
- Right-click and select “Properties”from the drop-down menu.
- A new window will pop up and click “Driver”in the top menu.
- Click on the Roll Back Driver button.
- Another window will pop up on the screen, select the actual cause, then click OK to restore the drivers.
Your Windows PC will restart and roll back the audio driver. However, on my Windows computer, the button was not available.
Reinstall audio drivers from scratch
I’ve dealt with many driver related issues in the past and have chosen this method every time. I encourage readers to reinstall their drivers if the Roll Back Driver button is greyed out. There is a risk of reinstalling audio drivers if you are new. You can let Microsoft automatically update your audio drivers, but I don’t recommend doing that.
Download audio drivers
You need to visit the laptop/motherboard vendor’s website and download the supported drivers. If you did not find information about hardware and drivers on the official website, abort the mission.
Download DDU
You need to download Display Driver Uninstaller from the official website. I’ve been using DDU for a long time, which solved problems with audio and GPU drivers. Extract the DDU ZIP file to your local storage and keep it ready. Turn off your Internet connection on your Windows PC and prevent Microsoft from updating your audio components.
Download safe mode
Windows doesn’t load audio drivers in safe mode and that’s how you remove leftover drivers from your PC.
- Open Windows Settings from the search bar.
- Go to “Recovery”from the system.
- Click “Restart Now”in the “Advanced Startup”menu.
- A pop-up window will appear, and click the “Restart now”button.
Don’t panic when the system goes into recovery mode because you are on the right track.
Remove audio drivers
However, Dolby Atmos does not work on Windows 11, try extracting the DDU package and you need to extract the 7-ZIP file to access the executable.
- Run DDU as administrator.
- Select your device type and select “Audio”from the drop-down menu.
- Select the name of the audio provider and I chose Realtek.
- Click on the “Clean up and restart”button.
- See how DDU removes sound drivers and reboots the system.
You don’t have to do anything to get out of safe mode because DDU boots the system back into normal mode.
Reinstall drivers manually
Extract the downloaded drivers from the manufacturer’s official website. Reinstall the audio drivers manually and I won’t cover that part as the installation instructions haven’t changed in years.
You can let Microsoft install a supported driver from the servers if you messed up somewhere. Restore the Wi-Fi or LAN connection on the machine so that Windows Update can do the job for you.
Conclusion
I have shown you several ways to fix audio issues when Dolby Atmos is not working on Windows 11. You need to understand the difference between Dolby Audio and Dolby Atmos. A software error can ruin the sound. You need to wait for some time so that Microsoft and the audio vendor can release an update to fix bugs/glitches/compatibility issues.