How To Fix Missing Stereo Mix Or Wave Out Option On Windows
Your laptop or desktop has the ability to record the audio coming from its own speakers. For example, if you need to record the audio of a Skype call, you can do so but this requires your sound card to support the option in the first place. If you don’t have the Stereo Mix or Wave Out option in your Sounds window, it might be because of a driver problem or perhaps your sound card doesn’t support it. If it’s the former, you can fix the missing stereo mix or wave out option by fixing your drivers. If it’s the latter, you still have alternative options.
Fix Missing Stereo Mix Or Wave Out Option
There are two scenarios where this option may be missing from your system; one it was never there to begin with, and two it disappeared after a Windows update. To be on the safe side, you should first open the Sounds window by pasting the following in File Explorer, and selecting Sound.
Control Panel\Hardware and Sound
Go to the Recording tab, and right-click inside the listed devices. Select ‘Show disabled devices’ and ‘Show disconnected devices’. If Stereo Mix shows up, right-click it and select Enable.
Missing Stereo Mix Option
If the option was never there to begin with, it might be because you’ve always used the generic audio drivers that Windows installs. What you need to do is find audio drivers specifically for your sound card.
For Laptops
If you have a laptop, your laptop manufacturer will have made the sound drivers available for your model. Visit the manufacturer’s website and download all drivers available for your sound card, and install them. The Stereo Mix or Wave Out option should appear.
Custom Built PCs
If you built your own PC, you need to look for drivers that the manufacturer of your sound card has released. This might be a little tricky because you’re going to need the exact model of your sound card to find the drivers in order to look for the driver on the sound card manufacturer’s website.
If after installing the driver, the option still doesn’t appear, it means your sound card very likely doesn’t support this option at all. In this case, proceed to the next section.
Stereo Mix Option Missing After Update
If the Stereo Mix option disappeared after a Windows update, it’s because Windows uninstalled the dedicated sound card drivers and replaced it with the generic ones. The solution is simple; find the dedicated driver and install it again.
It’s also possible that sound card driver received an update itself and the update is what removed the option. In this case, you can roll back the driver to a previous version.
Stereo Mix Not Supported
Stereo Mix lets you record audio output from your own computer. It’s an easy way to do this but you can still record audio output even if the option isn’t supported on your system. All you need is a sound recording app that can record audio output without relying on this feature. You can use Audacity or Freecorder, both of which are free.
