Dolby Atmos replicates seemingly expensive pieces of speaker channels that are usually mounted on the ceiling. It is perhaps more effective than a traditional surround sound and does improve one’s audio listening experience. However, some Windows 11 users have reported that the sound from Dolby Atmos on your PC isn’t working or it keeps crashing. There are a few ways you can fix the issue and here’s an account of them all.

Method #1: Run the audio troubleshooter

Windows OS is equipped with troubleshooters that take care of most issues if not all. This is the fastest way to get rid of no sound or crashing of sound on Dolby Atmos and works pretty efficiently if there’s just a minor software glitch. Here’s how you can do it.

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Method #2: Update Sound Driver

As I mentioned above, outdated sound drivers can cause issues with Dolby Atmos and your Windows 11 PC’s ability to blast sound when you play some audio or video file. Here’s how you can do it.

  • First up, press Windows key plus X and proceed to “Power Options”.
  • Next, go to System » Sound.
  • Scroll to find “All Sound Devices”.
  • Open all the devices listed here one by one and tap on “Check for driver updates” in the top-right corner.
  • Download the update and install it.

OR

  • You can search for “Device Manager” on your Windows 11 PC and go to “Sound, video and game controllers”.
  • Right-click on each device listed here and select “Update Driver”.

I would recommend restarting the PC once to allow it to fully assimilate the changes made and then check if Dolby Atmos is working properly or not. If your answer is no, proceed to the next method.

Method #3: Reinstall the sound driver

If the previous method of updating the sound driver didn’t work, it’s time to reinstall the sound driver and check if this method works or not. Here’s how you can do it.

  • Firstly, search for “Device Manager” on your PC. Use the Windows key and search the keyword.
  • Next, scroll to find the “Sound, video, and game controllers” tab.
  • Tap on each peripheral listed here and select “Uninstall Driver”.
  • Restart the PC.
  • Next, follow the initiated procedure to find the peripheral and select “Update Driver”.

Method #4: Rollback Sound Driver

Another method that deals with sound on Dolby Atmos not working on Windows 11 or crashing issues is with rolling back sound drivers to a previous update. This works if you recently upgraded to a new driver or downloaded a new driver and the problem commenced. Here’s how you can roll back to a previous sound driver assuming that it is perfectly working.

  • First up, go to Device Manager on your Windows 11 PC. You can use the Windows key and search for the “Device Manager”.
  • Next up, go to the “Sound, video, and game controllers” tab the way you did in previous methods.
  • Next, right-click on the peripherals listed and go to its Properties » Driver.
  • If you recently downloaded or upgraded to a new driver, you will see a button “Roll Back Driver” so tap on it.

This will install the previous version of the driver and hopefully, it will fix the Dolby Atmos crashing or sound not working issue on Windows 11.

Method #5: Update Dolby Access app

The Dolby Access app lets you enjoy Dolby Atmos on your Windows 11. However, some users have reported that incompatibility issues with the app can cause the Dolby Atmos to stop working or crash. This is why updating Dolby Access can help you and here’s how you can do it.

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  • Firstly, search for Dolby Access on the search console i.e. press the Windows key and search for it.
  • Next, proceed to the Info section.
  • Navigate through Dolby Access Support » Still Need Help » Contact Us » Submit.
  • Follow the instructions after receiving the same in your email.
  • Check if updating the Dolby Access app did make any difference or not.

Method #6: Enable Exclusive Mode Options

This is another method that you can use to fix Dolby Atmos crashing or sound not working problems on Windows 11 and hopefully, it will work. Here’s how you can do it.

  • First up, right-click on the Sound icon on the notification tray on your PC.
  • Next, go to Sound Settings » Dolby Atmos and proceed to its Properties.
  • Next up, you need to go to Spatial Sound » tap on “Dolby Atmos for Headphones” to enable it.
  • Next up, go to the Advanced tab and navigate towards the “Exclusive Mode”.
  • Here, you need to enable two options i.e. “Give exclusive application priority” and “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device”.
  • Save the changes.
  • Try firing audio and see if Dolby Atmos has started working properly or not.

Method #7: Reconfigure Dolby Atmos app

Dolby Atmos on your PC is not working. You actually tried everything but to no avail. Here’s how you can reconfigure the Dolby Atmos app on your PC and see if that makes any difference. You can always skip this method and proceed to the next one assuming that it does the trick.

  • First up, connect your headphones/earphones to the PC.
  • On the bottom-right corner, go to the speaker icon and proceed to “Sound Settings”.
  • Next up, navigate yourself through by right-clicking on Dolby Atmos, going through Properties » Spatial Sound, and selecting “Dolby Atmos” from the drop-down menu.
  • Now proceed to the Microsoft Store or you will be redirected to the store automatically.
  • Next, install “Dolby Atmos” on your PC and launch it.
  • Next, follow the steps mentioned on the screen to install it.
  • Pair the headphones with Dolby Atmos and then save all the settings.
  • Finally, restart the PC and check if this has resolved the Dolby Atmos crashing or sound not working issue.

Method #8: Pull off a system restore

If you are still facing issues with Dolby Atmos even after updating, uninstalling, and reinstalling, or rolling back the sound drivers as well as updating the Dolby Access app, it is possible that there’s something wrong with the PC. You can use the system restore to an earlier point on your Windows 11 that should restore the PC to an earlier point. Record the time when you remember Dolby Atmos was working properly before doing this.

Closing Statement

Dolby Atmos is a highly-acclaimed feature on Windows 11 as it enhances the audio listening experience by the tonne. However, we have encountered reports on Dolby Atmos crashing or sound not working issues far too many times and that is why this guide will help you fix the issue on your Windows 11 PC. Note that you can still use it on Windows 10 although certain functions and options or the method to reach them may differ. In any case, user discretion is advisable.