why is my audio cutting out?

Kitchn Witch · May 23, 2025

I've had my Xbox series x for a little over a year, and I have been having this issue the last 6 months or so that I've never had before with an Xbox and it's driving me insane.

every. single. time that I'm on YouTube, my audio cuts out and is staticky to the point where it's unwatchable. my controller also seems to disconnect much more often while watching YouTube while I'm using my headset. I've already done a lot to troubleshoot the issue:

1. I've power cycled both my Xbox and controller countless times over the last few months

2. I've gotten a new HDMI

3. I've gotten a new power supply

4. I've gotten a new contoller

5. I've switched Internet providers twice

6. I bought an Xbox cooling fan and keep my Xbox in a very well ventilated area and none of the vents are blocked at all. I also occasionally clean it out with canned air to blow out dust

7. I've switched where I have my Xbox plugged in

8. I've deleted and reinstalled YouTube many many times

9. tried all the audio settings on the Xbox

I'm not sure what else could be causing the issue, but it's getting incredibly frustrating. if anyone has any help they could offer me, it would be great. I was told maybe my Xbox needs to be cleaned out, but I'm not sure if that would affect YouTube and only YouTube

:)

SweetMonet

Hi, Kitchn! I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with the audio when playing YouTube on the Xbox Series X console. No worries, I'm happy to assist you with this today.

Kindly try to do these steps and check if it will fix the issue.

Press and hold the Power button on the front of your Xbox until the console turns off.

Unplug everything from the back of your Xbox.

Wait 3 minutes, and then plug the power cord and HDMI back in.

Then, please check if that fixes the issue.

If you get the same result, please try resetting the console using the following steps.

IMPORTANT: Make sure to remember the email and password for the account before taking these steps.

Press the Xbox button to open the guide.

Select Profile & system > Settings > System > Console info > Reset console.

Select "Reset and keep my games & apps

Let me know if that resolves the issue. Thank you!

cdwebb0

Why would factory resetting my console have anything to do with my headset audio cutting out after a recent headset update?! Im not resetting my console…

ManticCherry

Are you noticing the audio cutting out on all games, or just specific ones? Do you have the same problem if you try to play movies or CDs?

LemonTangent041

Have you tried setting the display settings manually?

superbrickie1

Mine is through the TV speakers and it only cuts or for a split second. It seems to be ok for a while but the more games you play and the more the cache gets loaded up the worse it gets. So I'm wondering if it's to do with that. Have you cleared your cache?

why is my audio cutting out?