# Plex for Windows / Plex HTPC — No Audio, Plex Web Works **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Players\ **Tags:** player-windows, plex-htpc\ **Created:** [September 4, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-for-windows-plex-htpc-no-audio-plex-web-works/942514 "2026-09-04T03:18:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JT1527](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JT1527](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JT1527)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-for-windows-plex-htpc-no-audio-plex-web-works/942514/1 "2026-09-04T03:18:40Z")
**System** - ASUS ROG Strix G531/GL531GT laptop - Windows 11 - Plex Media Server is hosted on a separate desktop PC - Laptop is accessing the server remotely - General Windows audio works normally **Problem** Neither **Plex for Windows** nor **Plex HTPC** produces any audio during playback. Video playback works normally. There are no buffering/playback failures; the native Plex clients simply produce no sound. However, **Plex Web in the browser works perfectly on the same laptop** , accessing the same server and playing the same media files with working audio. This strongly isolates the issue to Plex’s native Windows playback/audio path rather than the server, network connection, media files, speakers, or general Windows audio. **Confirmed behavior** - Plex for Windows: video works, **no audio** - Plex HTPC: video works, **no audio** - Plex Web (`app.plex.tv/desktop`) in Edge: **video and audio both work** - Other Windows applications/browser audio works normally - Plex Web can see and remotely access the Phoenix server normally - Plex for Windows can also remotely access Phoenix normally **Media tested** Tested multiple titles, including: - _Blue Eye Samurai_ - Video: 1080p HEVC Main - Audio: EAC3 5.1 + Atmos - Plex initially reports both as **Direct Play** - No audio - _Flow (2024)_ - Video: 1080p HEVC Main - Audio: EAC3 5.1 - Plex initially reports both as **Direct Play** - No audio This confirms the problem is not limited specifically to an Atmos track. **Forced-transcode test** To rule out EAC3 Direct Play/decoder problems, playback quality was manually reduced to force server transcoding. Plex Dashboard then showed: - Video: **HEVC 1080p → H.264 720p Transcode** - Audio: **EAC3 5.1 → OPUS Transcode** There was **still no audio**. This is particularly important because the problem survives conversion away from EAC3 entirely. Therefore, it does not appear to simply be an EAC3/Atmos decoding problem. **Plex audio settings tested** - Audio Device changed/explicitly selected - Audio Device Kind: **Basic** - Channels: **2.0** - Exclusive Audio: **Disabled** - Audio passthrough: **Disabled** - Various Plex audio configuration changes did not restore sound The Audio Stream selector has also appeared white/gray/unavailable during troubleshooting. **Windows troubleshooting performed** - Checked Windows Volume Mixer - Plex does not appear as an actively producing audio application while media is playing - Windows audio reset/troubleshooter performed - Other applications continue producing sound normally - Plex Web continues producing sound normally **Clean Plex reinstall performed** Performed more than a normal reinstall: 1. Fully closed Plex/background Plex processes 2. Uninstalled Plex for Windows 3. Deleted: `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex` 4. Rebooted 5. Reinstalled a fresh copy of Plex for Windows 6. Tested before modifying settings Result: **no change; still no audio.** Plex HTPC was also installed separately and tested. Result: **Plex HTPC also has no audio.** This is notable because both native Plex Windows applications fail while Plex Web succeeds. **Dolby codec test** Based on reports of Windows/Plex EAC3 problems, installed: `DolbyLaboratories.DolbyDigitalPlusDecoderOEM` from the Dolby AC-3/AC-4 package commonly suggested for Plex Windows audio problems. Result: **no change.** This also aligns with the earlier test where Plex transcoded EAC3 to Opus and still produced no sound. AC-4 does not appear relevant to the media being tested. **Browser control test** Opened the hosted Plex Web application in Edge, signed into the same Plex account, and connected to Phoenix. Played _Flow_, the same title that has no audio in Plex for Windows. Result: **Audio worked immediately.** No server-side changes were required. ### Current working theory There appears to be a problem specifically with the **native Plex Windows playback engine/audio-output initialization** on this machine. The strongest evidence is: **Plex for Windows → silent** **Plex HTPC → silent** **Plex Web → working audio** **EAC3 Direct Play → silent** **EAC3 transcoded to OPUS → still silent** **Other Windows applications → working audio** One additional troubleshooting step from research is creating an `mpv.conf` under: `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex` with: ```auto ao=directsound audio-exclusive=no ``` ```auto ao=wasapi audio-exclusive=no ``` to explicitly force the underlying player toward WASAPI/Direct Sound/non-exclusive audio output. ### What I’m asking Plex Support to help determine I’d like assistance identifying why the native Plex Windows clients are apparently failing to initialize/output an audio stream while the hosted Plex Web client works normally on the exact same hardware, server, account, network connection, and media. I can provide Plex client logs captured immediately after reproducing the issue if needed. ---
**Author:** ![JT1527](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JT1527](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JT1527)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-for-windows-plex-htpc-no-audio-plex-web-works/942514/3 "2026-09-06T18:18:57Z")
Plezy worked slightly. more or less the same as Plex browser. Still would like help. ---
**Author:** ![Taps7734](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/taps7734/32/125225_2.png) [@Taps7734](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Taps7734)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-for-windows-plex-htpc-no-audio-plex-web-works/942514/4 "2026-09-08T19:57:59Z")
I came here looking for answers to a similar issue. But on a Dell Pro 16 Plus PB16250. Brought it with me on vacation to watch some stuff. Had to use the web client. Ended up finding out that EAC3 support was removed after the 24H2 Update to Windows 11. [https://github.com/Victor-Freeze/AC-3-for-Windows-11/tree/main](https://github.com/Victor-Freeze/AC-3-for-Windows-11/tree/main) fixes this. Its 3 commands to add it back to windows. The third app looks to be unavailable for me. But the 1st 2 fixed my EAC3 issue. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:06am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-for-windows-plex-htpc-no-audio-plex-web-works/942514/5 "2026-09-09T06:06:44Z")
I’m not sure why you would need the scripts from that project. Just go to the app store yourself: [https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nvjqjbdkn97?hl=en-US&gl=US](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nvjqjbdkn97?hl=en-US&gl=US)