[Fixed] Starfield Audio Cutting Out and Stuttering Issues

If you’re also experiencing audio cutting in and out problems with Starfield, don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone: many other PC gamers have reported this problem. Before Bethesda releases a hotfix, here are some effective methods that have helped other players with their audio issues on Starfield, and you may want to try them as well.

Try these fixes

You don’t have to try all of the following fixes; just work your way down the list until you find the one that fixes the Starfield audio cutting-out issue for you.

1. Check the minimum system requirements
2. Install Starfield on an SSD
3. Turn off VSync or VRS
4. Update audio and graphics drivers
5. Run Steam as an admin
6. Verify game files

1. Check the minimum system requirements

Starfield has rather high requirements for your computer, especially when compared to other games. So if your Starfield is experiencing audio issues, like it’s cutting in and out a lot, one of the first things you need to check is whether your computer meets the minimum system requirements for the game. If your machine is below or just at the requirements, you may need to upgrade your hardware for Starfield to run smoothly.

Here are the requirements for your reference:

If you’re not sure how to check your computer specs, you can refer to this post here for more detailed information: How to Check Your PC’s Specifications

When you’re sure that your machine meets the system requirements to run the game, but Starfield audio still cuts in and out, please move on to the other fixes below.

2. Install Starfield on an SSD

As mentioned above, Starfield has such high requirements for players’ computers that an SSD is required for Starfield to be installed. So if your Starfield is constantly having audio issues, like its sound cut in and out frequently, please make sure that it’s installed on an SSD instead of an HDD.

To tell which drive you have, please view the Task Manager:

1. Right-click the Windows taskbar and select Task Manager.
   
2. Click the second icon (Performance), then check the Type field.
   
3. To make sure that you have the best gaming experience with Starfield and are free from the pain of constant audio issues, it’s highly recommended that you install the game on your SSD.

If your Starfield audio still cuts out when you have it installed on the SSD, please move on to the other fixes below.

3. Turn off VSync or VRS

VSync (Vertical Sync) is designed to fix screen tearing and screen stuttering by syncing the refresh rate with the frame rate of your monitor. When the game’s frame rate is too high for your monitor to keep up, not only will you notice the eye-soring screen tearing, but also audio cutting in and out sometimes. To fix it, you can change the VSync settings for your display card.

• If you have an Nvidia display card
• If you have an AMD display card

To enable VSync in NVIDIA Control Panel:

1. On your desktop, right-click in an empty space and select NVIDIA Control Panel.
   
2. In the left pane, select Manage 3D Settings and choose Global Settings. Then find Vertical sync and click the drop-down menu on the right. Select On and click Apply.
   

Setting Vertical sync to Adaptive might also be efficient, according to some players.

If you have an AMD display card, modify the Wait for Vertical Refresh setting:

1. On your keyboard, hit the Windows key and type amd. Then click AMD Radeon Software.
   
2. On the top right corner of the menu, click the settings icon. Then select the Graphics tab and navigate to Wait for Vertical Refresh. Click the small arrow on its right to open the drop-down menu.
   
3. Click Always on.
   

NVIDIA and AMD settings will default to application settings. It means that they will respect in-game settings. If you select Always On for NVIDIA/AMD in-game, then VSYNC will remain On when appropriate.

Try Starfield again to see if its audio issue is fixed. If the problem still persists, please move on to the next fix.

4. Update audio and graphics drivers

Outdated or incorrect display card and sound card drivers could also be the culprit to your Starfield’s audio cutting in and out problem, so if the above two methods don’t help to restore your Starfield audio back to normal, it’s likely that you have a corrupted or outdated graphics and/or audio driver. So you should update your drivers to see if it helps.

There are mainly 2 ways you can update your graphics and audio driver: manually or automatically.

Option 1: Update your graphics driver manually

If you’re a tech-savvy gamer, you can spend some time updating your GPU driver manually.

To do so, first visit the website of your GPU manufacturer:

• NVIDIA
• AMD
• Intel

And the website of your audio manufacturer:

• Realtek
• Creative

Then search for your GPU and sound card models. Note that you should only download the latest driver installers that are compatible with your operating system. Once downloaded, open the installers and follow the on-screen instructions to update.

Option 2: Update your graphics and audio drivers automatically (Recommended)

If you don’t have the time, patience or skills to update the drivers manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 steps (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee):

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version – you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
   Note: You can do it for free if you like, but it’s partly manual.
4. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

Launch Starfield again and see if the latest graphics and audio drivers help to fix its audio issues. If this fix doesn’t work for you, try the next fix, below.

5. Run Steam as an admin

If Starfield lacks administrative privileges, which ensure that you have full rights to do anything it needs on your computer, it’ll fail to launch properly as well. To check if that’s your case, you can try running it as an administrator:

1. Right-click your Steam desktop icon and select Properties.
   
2. Select the Compatibility tab. Tick the box for Run this program as an administrator. Then click Apply > OK to save the changes.
   
3. You may also want to tick the box for Run this program in compatibility mode for: then select Windows 8 from the dropdown list.
   

Now openStarfield again (it should be opened with administrative permission), to see if its audio is back to normal again. If there are still issues with the Starfield audio, please move on to the next fix.

6. Verify game files

Corrupted or missing files will also cause audio problems for your Starfield. To see if this is the case, you can verify your game files on:

1. Launch the Steam app and navigate to the LIBRARY tab, then right-click Starfield and select Properties.
   
2. Click Installed Files, and click Verify Integrity of game files.
3. Then wait for the process to be done – it could take several minutes.

When the verification is done, launch Starfield again to see if its audio still cuts in and out.

Thanks for your patience in reading such a long post. If you have any other suggestions that help to stop the audio cutting-out issues with Starfield, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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