Applies to all audio interfaces on Windows.

There are many types and potential causes of glitchy audio on Windows. If you are experiencing clicks, crackles, pops, humming, loss of audio, disconnections, or any other glitchy audio, the steps in this article will help you to troubleshoot the issue. 

We recommend you complete every troubleshooting step, even if they don't appear relevant to any issues you are having.

Optimise Windows for Audio

We also strongly recommend you complete all possible steps in our Optimising Windows for Audio article before proceeding with the troubleshooting steps:

Optimising Windows for Audio

The troubleshooting instructions below assume that you have already completed the optimisation.

Buffer size

If you have not already done so, adjusting buffer size is one of the first things to try when experiencing audio issues. Try increasing it to 1024.

Here is how to increase the buffer size if you are experiencing glitchy audio:

1. Right-click on Focusrite Notifier on the taskbar and select your device's settings.

If you can’t see the Focusrite notifier on your taskbar, follow the steps in this article: The Focusrite Notifier icon isn't on the Windows taskbar – Focusrite

2. Increase the Buffer Size to 1024.
3. If the performance improves, you can try a lower setting.

If you are unsure what buffer size is and how it affects performance, please refer to this article: Sample Rate, Bit Depth & Buffer Size Explained.

USB connection

You can check all the following to ensure your USB connection is not causing the issue:

• Connect your interface directly to your computer; do not use a USB hub.
• Do not use a USB adapter unless it was supplied in the box with your interface.
• Test every USB port on your computer because performance can vary from port to port.
• Use the cable that was supplied with your interface or one that meets the spec for your interface in this article: Can I use any USB cable with my Focusrite USB interface?
• If connecting to a USB Type-C port, ensure you use a USB-C to C cable that meets the specification for your interface in this article: Can I use any USB cable with my Focusrite USB interface?
• Test the connection with another USB cable of the same specification — this will indicate if you may have a faulty or unsuitable cable.
• If your interface can power via the main USB port or a separate power supply port, test it with and without a separate power supply connected. You can check your interface's power requirements here:
  • What USB Charger Can I Use to Power My Scarlett 4th Gen?
  • Clarett 2Pre - Bus Power Update.
• Test with as few other USB devices connected to your computer as possible, including your mouse and keyboard if possible. If the glitching is resolved, try reconnecting devices one at a time to identify which causes the glitches. Moving devices to different ports, hubs, or adapters may resolve the issue.
• Check if the issue occurs when your interface is connected to another computer — this will indicate if the problem is specific to one system.

Reinstall drivers and control software

In case there is an issue with the current installation, reinstall your drivers or control software if you haven't already done so. You can find the latest version for your interface here: Focusrite Downloads.

If the issue persists, it is worth completely removing and reinstalling your Focusrite drivers and all Focusrite devices from your computer by following these steps:

1. Disconnect your interface.
2. Click Start, type ‘Add or remove programs’ and select Add or Remove Programs.
3. Uninstall any of the following apps if listed:
   • Focusrite Audio Drivers
   • Focusrite Control
   • Focusrite Control 2
   • Focusrite Thunderbolt, Focusrite USB
   • Saffire MixControl
   • Scarlett Mix Control
   • Vocaster Hub
4. Click Start, type ‘cmd’, right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as admin.
5. Type the following command into Command Prompt:

SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1

6. Press ↵ Enter.
7. Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
8. Select View → Show hidden devices on the menu bar at the top of the Device Manager window.
9. Click the > arrows next to the following categories to expand them:
   • Audio inputs and outputs
   • Focusrite Audio
   • Sound, video and game controllers
10. Right-click all Focusrite devices and devices related to your interface, and select Uninstall device.
11. After uninstalling the devices, reboot your computer.
12. Reconnect your interface.
13. Download and install the latest driver or control software for your operating system. This can be found by selecting your interface here: Focusrite Downloads.

Third-party antivirus and anti-malware

Third-party antivirus and anti-malware software (i.e., NOT Windows Security or Defender) can interfere with audio interface driver installation and operation. These programs may mistakenly flag parts of the driver as dangerous during installation or cause glitches afterwards by altering the timing of system processes.

If you believe your network situation is suitable, try temporarily disabling or ideally uninstalling your third-party antivirus software and switching to Windows Security: Stay protected with Windows Security - Microsoft Support.

Once the third-party software is disabled or removed, download and reinstall your Focusrite software or drivers. You can find the relevant Focusrite software or drivers by selecting your interface here: Focusrite Downloads.

Anti-cheat software

If you have any games installed that may include anti-cheat software, this could also be disrupting the audio stream, leading to glitching. Try removing or disabling this software to see if this reduces or stops the glitching. If it does, contact the game publisher or anti-cheat software developer for assistance.

Disable network cards

Sometimes, network card drivers can cause conflicts with audio drivers. If you are experiencing glitchy audio, then a good troubleshooting step is to try disabling your network adapters in Device Manager.

1. Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
2. Expand Network adapters.
3. Right-click each device and select Disable device.
4. If a box appears asking you to confirm that you want to disable it, click Yes.

You can then play back an audio file or some audio from your DAW to see if the glitches continue. If the glitches have stopped, re-enable one device at a time — right-click the device and select Enable device — and test the audio again. This way, you can determine if a particular network adapter is to blame.

All the adapters can be re-enabled at any time by right-clicking each device and selecting Enable device.

Troubleshooting with a ‘clean boot’

Next, you should try troubleshooting with a series of clean boots. Before you try a clean boot, make sure you have removed any bloatware and unwanted apps as described here: Remove bloatware and unwanted apps.

A ‘clean boot’ will enable you to start your computer with a minimal set of apps, drivers, and services running. This can help you to determine if any app, driver, or service is contributing to any issues you are experiencing. You should follow the steps at the link below:

Troubleshooting with a ‘clean boot’

DPC Latency

What is DPC latency?

Deferred procedure calls (DPCs) are how Windows prioritises important processes that may be running simultaneously. If non-audio processes demand too much processing time, this disrupts the timing of audio driver data, leading to glitchy audio, or even device disconnections.

A common cause of DPC latency is out-of-date device drivers and poorly optimised processes. Streaming audio involves many processes and drivers, while many others can interrupt this audio stream. 

Analysing DPC latency

To analyse whether DPC latency could be causing glitchy audio on your system, you can run the following software tool: LatencyMon.

In LatencyMon, click the ▶ Play button and then play audio from any application through your audio interface for at least fifteen minutes, with the glitches occurring at least once. If there aren't any DPC problems, you will see the following:

Conclusion: Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tweaks without dropouts.

If there are problems, you will see a message similar to the following instead:

Conclusion: Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks…

You can find the process or driver causing the highest DPC latency here:

Highest reported DPC routine execution time (µs) : 

To see all the drivers and processes that are causing high DPC latency, navigate to the Drivers tab in LatencyMon, and click Highest execution (ms) twice to sort the drivers so those causing the highest DPC latency are at the top — any drivers exceeding 0.500000ms could be causing issues with audio.

Troubleshooting DPC latency

If LatencyMon indicates there are problems with DPC latency on your system, please continue to the article below. Make sure you have run the DPC latency test for at least fifteen minutes, with the glitchy audio occurring at least once, as this will ensure the most accurate results.

Troubleshooting DPC latency

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