How To Fix “The Device Is Being Used By Another Application” Error?

Many users are reporting that while connecting their devices to an external display using the HDMI jack, they found that the audio would not play on their system. Upon testing the connection, they found that a message was displayed showing “The device is being used by another application. Please close any application any devices that are playing audio to this device and then try again.”

More and more devices today come with an extension port for receiving or transmitting audio and video through a single slot. These ports make up the High Definition Multimedia Interface that facilitates high definition exchange from output sources like media devices, Blu-ray players, gaming consoles and AV Receivers to the input devices like high definition TV displays.

Why Am I Facing This Error?

HDMI can be very useful in streaming media on a big screen high definition TVs and other multimedia displays. However, the audio device being used by another application error can be annoying and can hamper the media consumption experience.

There are many reasons that you can face this error. Here I will discuss some of the reasons that you may be facing the “the device is being used by another application” error, and then some ways that you can solve it.

• The most common reason that you may be facing this error is that some other application has exclusive permission to use the device. This can lead to the audio output being not available to other applications, and hence you may be facing this error.
• There is also a possibility that the audio drivers required to play the music or audio part have mismatched with your device operating system. Rolling back the drivers, or updating them may fix the “speakers being used by another application” error.
• The audio service crashing can also lead to your speakers being shown busy, and then you can face this error.

Solve “The Device Is Being Used By Another Application” Error

Now that we have briefly discussed why you may be facing this error; we can take a step towards solving this. Here are some of the potential fixes that you can deploy to solve the sound device being used by another application error.

Solution 1: Restart Audio Service

Taking easy fixes first would be convenient in solving any errors, and this easy fix may just solve the error of another application using your device. Restarting your audio device service may help you solve this problem easily. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
2. Type services.msc to open the Windows Services window.

3. Locate and double click on Windows Audio to open its settings.
4. Click on the Stop button below ‘Service status’
5. Once the service has stopped, click on the Start.

6. Click OK once the service starts again.

Now check if your error is solved.

However, if this does not solve your error, here is another solution that you can follow to solve “the device is being used by another application” error.

Solution 2: Disable Allow Applications To Take Exclusive Control

An obvious solution to the error would be to revoke the permission where one application has exclusive control over the audio device. This should allow other applications to make use of the speakers as well, thereby solving your error. To remove this permission, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the speaker’s icon on your taskbar.
2. Select Open Volume Mixer from the context menu.
3. In the Volume Mixer dialog box, you will be able to see the applications that are using the audio devices. Make note of these applications.

4. Open task manager by pressing together Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
5. Here, under the processes tab, locate the applications that you noted in the Volume Mixer.
6. Terminate the applications that you located there.
7. Next, right-click on the speaker icon again to launch the context menu.
8. Here, click on Sounds.
9. Go to the Playback
10. Select your default audio device. Click on Properties.
11. Under the Advanced tab, uncheck the box next to the “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.”

12. Click OK.
13. Restart your PC.

Now check if the problem persists. If any other application was taking control of your speakers, you would be presented with the “speakers being used by another application” and this should solve your problem.

Solution 3: Update Or Roll Back Drivers

If you started seeing this error after a recent driver update, or you haven’t updated your drivers in recent time, a mismatch between your drivers and operating system may be the root of the problem.

To update or roll back your drivers, follow these steps:

1. Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
2. Type msc to open the Device Manager window.
3. Locate and click on the arrow next to Sound, Video and game controller.

4. Under the Driver tab, you will find various options that you can perform with your drivers.
Click on Update Driver to update in case you haven’t updated your drivers.
Click on Roll Back Driver if you started seeing this error after a recent driver update.

5. Restart your device to confirm your changes.

Since faulty drivers are a very common cause of this error, updating your drivers or rolling them back to an older version may fix this issue. If this does not solve your error, you can try installing the native drivers from your manufacturer’s website.

Solution 4: Uninstall Windows Update

Caution: Only follow this solution if you are sure a recent Windows update caused this error, or you started seeing this error immediately after installing an update. If not, skip this solution.

The charge of updating your device drivers is given to Windows Update. If a recent update broke your system and you are seeing this error, you can try uninstalling the recent update to solve this error. Then wait for the next update in which this error will probably be solved.

Tip: new updates are launched usually on the second Tuesday (also called Patch Tuesday) or occasionally the fourth Tuesday of a month as well.

1. Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
2. Type appwiz.cpl to launch Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
3. In the left menu, click on View installed updates.
4. Here locate the last update you installed, select it and click Uninstall.

Once you restart your device, you must have solved your error.

Wrapping Up

So, there you have it. Now you know how to solve the “the device is being used by another application” error using one or a combination of the fixes given above. Do comment below if you successfully solved this issue, and to discuss further the same.