Monitors come in two different types – with and without built-in speakers. Many modern monitors, such as laptops, smartphones and tablets, have built-in speakers, which help produce audible sound.
If your monitor has an audio/headphone jack at the back, it has a built-in speaker. Opting for external speakers is an option for users whose monitors have no built-in speakers.
Moreover, monitors with speakers are not that effective; they produce low-quality sound outputs and are inaudible in some cases. If you’re not impressed with your speakers, you can connect high-quality external speakers to get the best sound.
The advantage of external speakers is that they have better sound output with increased volume than monitor speakers. However, connecting these speakers to your computer monitor can be a hassle.
Understanding Connection Between Monitor and External Speakers
Not everyone can easily connect their external speakers to a computer monitor; this is often confusing because almost all Smart TV screens have a combined computer and TV monitor functionality.
The way to connect an external speaker to a computer monitor depends entirely on the type of speaker and your monitor’s output ports.
Bluetooth speakers are connected using Bluetooth connectivity, and some speakers require an internal or external interface to connect while USB speakers are connected using a USB cable.
The output ports also determine which external speakers you can connect. Usually, there are three different ports: The display port (DP-IN), the HDMI port, and the headphones port (H/P).
Although connecting external speakers directly to the monitor is possible, not all computer monitors or Smart TVs have audio ports compatible with external speakers.
You can plug your external speakers into monitors using different steps. For clarity sake, you do not plug external speakers into your monitor directly but through an audio cable at the back of your monitor. This article will explain the different ways you can connect speakers to your monitors with or without an audio port.
However, before you begin the process of connecting external speakers to your monitor, we recommend you consider disabling the built-in monitor speakers (if applicable to your monitor). You can disable your monitor speakers with the following steps:
How To Disable Monitor Speakers
- Click start on your menu, then click on the control panel.
- Select the sound and audio devices option.
- Search for monitor speakers from the list of available sound options.
- Click on the device usage option.
- Click the properties option, and select don’t use this device or disable.
- Select Ok.
After disabling the built-in monitor speakers, you can connect the external speakers to your monitor. Below are methods you can use and the steps to take for each method:
Connecting Speakers To Your Monitor Using An HDMI Cable
HDMI is one of the common ways to experience quality audio and video playback. It is a better choice for the analogue form because of audio transmission enhancement across HDMI-enabled devices.
If you want to use this method to connect an external speaker to your monitor, the speaker must have a jack that is 3.5mm long. You will need an HDMI audio extractor that connects to the audio source for sound.
The HDMI ports enhance audio and video signals; you can use a splitter to complete the connection between the monitor and the speaker.
With this method, you will get improved audio; HDMI produces excellent sound suitable for streaming and gaming.
Before you begin this process, the essential tool to have is the HDMI splitter connector. You can follow the steps below for easy connection:
- Search for the volume icon at the Windows taskbar and Right-click on it.
- Select the playback devices option.
- Search for the external speakers and right-click on it.
- Choose the speakers as the default option in the popup menu.
- Check to see if the connection works; you should be getting audio from your speakers.
Connecting Speakers To Your Monitor Using The Audio Cable
Some monitors have audio jacks at the back; the jacks connect external speakers like headphones or home theaters to the monitor. These audio jacks are standard on popular computer brands like HP, Dell, and Lenovo.
If your monitor has an audio jack at the back, this is your method. It would be best to buy a stereo audio auxiliary cable (aux cable) to get excellent sound from your monitor to your external speaker.
Kindly follow the steps below to connect your monitor to speakers using the audio jack:
- Connect one end of the aux cable to the monitor.
- Connect the other end to the speakers.
- Follow your monitor’s settings to select the proper output source.
Check to see if the connection works, and you should be receiving audio from your speakers.
Connecting Speakers To Your Monitor Using Wireless Speaker
You can also connect your monitor to a speaker if the speaker has wireless functionality like Bluetooth.
If your monitor or computer has no Bluetooth connectivity, you can buy a USB to Bluetooth cable. This cable will help create a Bluetooth connection between your computer and your wireless speaker.
It would help if you connected the wireless speaker to the monitor through Bluetooth connectivity and followed its settings to activate the external speakers.
How Do I Enable Built-in Speakers?
If you want to enable the built-in speakers in your computer or monitor, you must have a sound card installed on it. You can then follow the steps below to get it enabled:
- Please search for the volume icon at the system tray and right-click on it.
- Select the playback devices option.
- Search and navigate to speakers and right-click
- A popup menu will appear. Set the monitor speakers as the default option.
To check whether the setting works, click on configure and select test.
How Do I Turn On Monitor Speakers?
Monitors have a variety of sound ports; you need to confirm the port configuration of your monitor speakers before use. Depending on the type of port it possesses, you can turn on your monitor speakers by following the process below:
- Right-click on the volume or audio icon in the system tray area; the system tray is usually at the Windows taskbar.
- Choose the playback devices option if your monitor is connected via HDMI or DisplayPort.
- Search for your monitor’s name in the list of devices and connect.
- Select speakers and connect if you connected your monitor through a 3.5 mm audio, DVI or VGA.
Why Does My Monitor Not Have Sound?
There could be different reasons your monitor has no sound. Check your system connection to ensure it’s well done, or check if your monitor is on mute or low volume via the volume icon on the Windows taskbar.
Furthermore, if you connect the speaker via a VGA cable, ensure the audio cable is connected to the Audio OUTPUT port of the headphone/speaker and plugged into the Audio INPUT port of the monitor.
Do Monitors Have Microphones?
Yes, internal microphones are built-in accessories of a computer monitor or a laptop. You can find it by examining the hardware component of your computer (small holes that are close to one another) or through a software check.
