Surround (Legacy) crackling | Razer Insider

Surround (Legacy) crackling


Hey, recently I've updated Surround and it started to have a loud crackling noise to everything. Note that this is not static it just sounds like a really bad headset for example. If I turn off Surround everything is just fine. Any idea how to fix it? I couldn't really find anything useful on Google so far.

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91 Replies

It's a known issue with Win 2004. There's no tell when they're going to fix this.
Oh, thanks. Thought so... Windows is utter garbage nowadays.
Aminodextrous
It's a known issue with Win 2004. There's no tell when they're going to fix this.

Thank u so much for info, thought something wrong with my pc..
this is total garbage , not only am I a long time user of razer products / 5 mice / 4 keyboards , 3 head sets BUT I am a share holder in Razer and I find this lack of fix really detrimental to my investment , disgusting .
Either fix known issue or offer a discount for users to upgrade to known driver that doesn't have 2004 issues
From official support on another thread (now locked and unlisted):

As far as I know, the instability is caused by the KB4556799. Unfortunately, this isn't something you can uninstall, and the only workaround, for now, is to revert to the previous build until a patch fix is released. Our Devs have been working on this, but have not had any breakthroughs yet. We'd appreciate it if you guys can send your Synapse 2 logs by sending a feedback function on the app. You can also send them to me via PM. You can find the files in:

  • C:\\ProgramData\\Razer\\Synapse\\Logs
  • C:\\Windows\\System32\\MSInfo32.exe and export the information
  • C:\\Windows\\inf\\setupapi.app.log
  • C:\\Windows\\inf\\setupapi.dev.log

Any news? Thank you!
Any news regarding this?
razer support dead?
Quick reply here - not heard a thing about a fix for this issue which has me seriously bummed out.

Came across a reddit post that suggested that installing and running https://www.bluestacks.com/ in the background will fix the crackle.

Just tested it myself and for some odd reason it works again.Bluestacks is some mobile platform launcher - not sure what magic they're using, but it fixes the issue.

Finally able to use Surround again ! on the latest Windows update
CRE4MPIE
Quick reply here - not heard a thing about a fix for this issue which has me seriously bummed out.

Came across a reddit post that suggested that installing and running https://www.bluestacks.com/ in the background will fix the crackle.

Just tested it myself and for some odd reason it works again.Bluestacks is some mobile platform launcher - not sure what magic they're using, but it fixes the issue.

Finally able to use Surround again ! on the latest Windows update


Thank you sir! For today you are my hero!!!! ❤
L00n3y
Thank you sir! For today you are my hero!!!! ❤️

Wait, really?

@CRE4MPIE If this works, you'll be my hero forever, lol.
Bluestacks method works until i launch games. then the crackling is back lmao.
im a razer fan from the day one, i had several razer equipment from bottom to the top. deathadder, blackwidow, addaro dj, even mousepads with variable size.. because of this well knowing like an everlasting issues, i know it won't affect the company but i decided to considering my faith with razer product.
Razer Surround legacy is my favorite girl, you can't judge it but you can feel what the best to you.
Larcetosus
Bluestacks method works until i launch games. then the crackling is back lmao.


Works for me on all games - make sure Bluestacks is running. It's a stupid workaround, but works for me. The latest Windows updates have broken so many things.

On a side note - I believe this has something to do with the onboard Realtek audio device. Friend of mine has an ASUS Sound card running Razer Surround and no problems after the windows update.

Best of luck to all - waiting for a fix, until then I run Bluestacks 😞
CRE4MPIE
Works for me on all games - make sure Bluestacks is running. It's a stupid workaround, but works for me. The latest Windows updates have broken so many things.

On a side note - I believe this has something to do with the onboard Realtek audio device. Friend of mine has an ASUS Sound card running Razer Surround and no problems after the windows update.

Best of luck to all - waiting for a fix, until then I run Bluestacks :slightly_sad:


yeah bluestacks is running. i'll be more specific; it doesn't work when i'm playing Warframe. I did not try it with any other games cause I just assumed it doesn't work with the rest.
Larcetosus
yeah bluestacks is running. i'll be more specific; it doesn't work when i'm playing Warframe. I did not try it with any other games cause I just assumed it doesn't work with the rest.


Okay ! Lemme check my side - *installing Warframe quick*
Larcetosus
yeah bluestacks is running. i'll be more specific; it doesn't work when i'm playing Warframe. I did not try it with any other games cause I just assumed it doesn't work with the rest.

Logged in on Warframe and seemed to work fine for me - odd 😕
CRE4MPIE
Resposta rápida aqui - não ouvi nada sobre uma solução para este problema que me deixou seriamente chateado.

Encontrei um post do reddit que sugeria que instalar e executar https://www.bluestacks.com/ em segundo plano consertará o estalo.

Acabei de testá-lo sozinho e, por algum motivo estranho, ele funciona novamente. O Fluestacks é um iniciador de plataforma móvel - não tenho certeza de que mágica eles estão usando, mas corrige o problema.

Finalmente capaz de usar o Surround novamente! na última atualização do Windows

The bluestacks solved my problem with the audio, I hope they will soon solve this on their own.
CRE4MPIE
Quick reply here - not heard a thing about a fix for this issue which has me seriously bummed out.

Came across a reddit post that suggested that installing and running https://www.bluestacks.com/ in the background will fix the crackle.

Just tested it myself and for some odd reason it works again.Bluestacks is some mobile platform launcher - not sure what magic they're using, but it fixes the issue.

Finally able to use Surround again ! on the latest Windows update

Thanks, It's working for me.
CRE4MPIE
Logged in on Warframe and seemed to work fine for me - odd :/

noticed something new. i still get crackling in warframe with bluestacks running. however, after closing warframe, the crackling persists even when bluestacks is still running. restarting bluestacks fixes it. So i tried running bluestacks after warframe ran. it doesnt fix it completely, there is still residue crackling only in warframe. Closing warframe after this method brings the crackling back to the audio everywhere, even with bluestacks running.
This is completely stupid, but BlueStacks running indeed resolves the issue with a crackling sound. I hope there will be a patch or better workaround because it's not comfortable at all.
I have same problem after windows update. I sent feedback through synapse. Waiting for solution.
CRE4MPIE
Quick reply here - not heard a thing about a fix for this issue which has me seriously bummed out.

Came across a reddit post that suggested that installing and running https://www.bluestacks.com/ in the background will fix the crackle.

Just tested it myself and for some odd reason it works again.Bluestacks is some mobile platform launcher - not sure what magic they're using, but it fixes the issue.

Finally able to use Surround again ! on the latest Windows update


This seens at least odd, i just run BlueStacks and the crackling sound stops. I sure that it begins it the win update, i'm really tilted.
CRE4MPIE
Quick reply here - not heard a thing about a fix for this issue which has me seriously bummed out.

Came across a reddit post that suggested that installing and running https://www.bluestacks.com/ in the background will fix the crackle.

Just tested it myself and for some odd reason it works again.Bluestacks is some mobile platform launcher - not sure what magic they're using, but it fixes the issue.

Finally able to use Surround again ! on the latest Windows update



This actually works! I was ready to give up on being able to use this software. Pity that Razer doesn't support customers who have this product. I bought Razer products because they offered this software and then they just dumped me a short time later.
A possible solution that I have yet to test (I'm still using 1909 for the time being, hoping for an "official" fix).


Fixed mine by reinstalling the driver and restarting the service. Working on a fully patched version of Windows 10 2004 and after multiple restarts. My guess is Windows isn't installing the driver properly when it's doing the upgrade to 2004.

If someone else wants to give this a go and report back...?:

1) Right click your start menu and select Device Manager.
2) Drop the arrow down on the "Sound, video and game controllers" option. Right click "Razer Surround Audio Controller" then Uninstall device. Click the option to uninstall.
4a) Normally at this point you can click the "Scan for hardware changes" button but that didn't seem to help for me. I had to manually select the driver using the following method:
4b) Click Action at the top then "Add legacy hardware". Click Next then select the (Advanced) option. Find and highlight "Sound, video and game controllers" in the list and click Next. Find "Razer Inc" in the left-hand list then you should see Razer Surround Audio Controller on the right. Highlight it and click Next. Click Next again to install it. (If the Razer Synapse window pops open at this point, just close it. I seem to remember mine did.) You can now close Device Manager.
5) Do a search on the start menu for "Services" (it's the one with two cogs), and open it.
6) Find "Razer Surround Audio Service" in the list, right click it and select Restart.
7) Open the Synapse app and try configuring it to use the right audio device then hit the button to turn it on, or toggle it off and back on.