What is NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device and How to Update/Uninstall It

Recently, many users have asked questions about the NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device, which was present on their PC by default. NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device generally comes pre-installed on a PC with NVIDIA graphics driver. If you are wondering what NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device is, whether it is malware, then this article is for you. We will discuss everything about NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM) and how to update and uninstall it.

What Is NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device?

NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM) is used when you want to use speakers on your PC or when you want to connect your PC to the NVIDIA SHIELD module. This software is required to connect your PC to a projector or monitor with audio output with an HDMI cable. Without NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device support, you won’t hear audio from the device connected to your PC through an HDMI cable. Said NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device can be used to transfer audio to video cards through HDMI.

How To Update NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device Software

Updating the NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device to the latest version possible for best performance is essential. NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device gets automatically updated, but if you want to manually update it, then you can do it by following the steps given below-

• Press Windows + X key combo to open the Quick Menu.
• From the Quick Menu, click on Device Manager.
• Double-click on Sound, video, and game controllers to expand the list.
• Right-click on NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM) from the list of devices, then click Update Driver.
• On the pop-up window, click on Search automatically for the drivers option.
• This will install the latest NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device version on your PC.

Note- Your PC must be connected to a Wi-Fi network to update the NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device to the latest version.

How To Uninstall NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device?

NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device will be utilized when your PC is connected to a device with an HDMI cable supporting audio output. You can uninstall NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device if you don’t want it on your PC. Given below are the steps to do so-

• Click on the Start icon to open the Start Menu.
• In the Start Menu, search for Device Manager. Click on Device Manager from the search result.
• Expand the Sound, video, and game controllers list; you can do it by double-clicking on it.
• Right-click on the NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM), and then click on Uninstall Device.
• In the confirmation prompt, click on Uninstall to uninstall the driver.
• Press Windows + R key combo to open Run Dialog Box.
• In the Run Dialog box, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter. This will open the Uninstall page on the Control Panel.
• From the list of software, search for the software related to NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device.
• Right-click on the software, and then click on Uninstall. Click Uninstall again to confirm uninstalling the software.
• Similarly, uninstall all the software related to NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device from the Control Panel.
• Restart your PC to remove all the residual files after the uninstallation.

How To Disable NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device?

Disabling NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device will not permanently delete the software, unlike uninstalling the software. You can disable the software if you don’t want to uninstall it permanently but want to temporarily stop it from using your PC resources. Here’s how you can disable NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device-

• Right-click on the Sound icon on the taskbar and then click on Sound Settings.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the Sound Settings screen.
• Here, under the Advanced section, click on More Sound Settings.
• A Sound window will open up.
• Under the Playback tab, right-click on NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM) and then click Disable.
• Once done, click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Conclusion | Nvidia Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM)

We hope you are familiar with the NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device and how to uninstall or update it. If you found this article helpful or have any questions about the topic, please feel free to share them in the comment section below.

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