Easy Steps to Fix Realtek Audio Console ‘Cannot Connect to RPC Service’

Are you facing an issue with Realtek Audio Console not opening and displaying the ‘Can not connect to RPC service‘ error? It can be frustrating, but don’t worry; there are potential solutions to resolve this error.

To fix this error, you can try these methods.

Method 1: Ensure the Realtek HD Audio Universal Service is running
Method 2: Enable the audio card device
Method 3: Uninstall and reinstall the audio driver

Method 1: Ensure the Realtek HD Audio Universal Service is running

If the “Realtek HD Audio Universal Service” is disabled (it can be disabled by accident), the Realtek Audio Console cannot be opening and encounter the “Cannot Connect to RPC Service” error. So check and ensue the Realtek HD Universal Service is running.

Here’s how:

1) Press Win+R keys to open the Run box.

2) Type ‘taskmgr’ into the box and click OK to open the Task Manager.

3) Select the Startup tab and scroll down to locate the Realtek HD Audio Universal Service.

In the Status column, check if it’s Disabled. If it’s Disabled, select it and click the Enable button. If it’s already enabled, skip this method and then try Method 2.

ensure the realtek hd audio universal service is enabled

4) Close the Task Manager and check to see if you can start the Realtek Audio Console without the error.

Method 2: Enable the audio card device

The Realtek Audio Console “Can not connect to RPC service” error can occur due to the disabled audio device. If that’s the case, enabling the audio device can help fix the error.

Check if the audio device is enabled in Device Manager. Enable it if it’s disabled. Here’s how:

1) Press Win+R keys to open the Run box.

2) Type ‘devmgmt.msc’ into the Run box and click OK to open the Device Manager window.

open device manager

3) Expand the category ‘Sound, video and game controllers’ and check if the audio card device is disabled.

If it’s disabled, you’ll see a black arrow next to the device (shown as the below screenshot).

check if the audio card device is disabled

Then right-click on the device and select Enable device. If it’s already Enabled, try Method 3.

enable the audio card device

4) Restart your computer and check to see if you can open the Realtek Audio Console.

Method 3: Uninstall and reinstall the audio driver

Realtek Audio Console only works with Realtek HD Audio (UAD) driver. If you have incompatible Realtek Audio driver installed, the Realtek audio console cannot be opening and causes errors like the “Can Not Connect to RPC Service” error.

Info: There are two types of Realtek audio drivers. The most common is Realtek HD Audio driver. In Device Manager, it's probably displayed as "Realtek High Definition Audio Driver". The less common is Realtek HD Audio (UAD) driver. In Device Manager, it's probably displayed as "Realtek(R) audio".

To fix the problem, you can try uninstalling and reinstalling the audio driver. Here’s how:

First, uninstall the audio driver.

1) Press Win+R keys to open the Run box.

2) Type ‘devmgmt.msc’ into the box and click OK. Then the Device Manager will open.

3) Expand the category ‘Sound, video and game controllers’. Right-click on the audio device and select Uninstall device.

uninstall the audio card device

4) On the Confirm Device Removal dialogue, you’ll see a warning message that says “You are about to uninstall this device from your system”. Just check the box Delete the driver software for this device then click Uninstall to confirm the changes.

5) Restart your computer.

Second, reinstall the audio driver.

To fix the problem, you need to install the Realtek HD Audio (UAD) driver.

The best place to download the Realtek HD Audio (UAD) driver is from your computer manufacturer (Dell, Lenovo, Asus, HP, etc.) or motherboard manufacturer (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Asrock, etc.). Go to their official website and navigate to the Support page or Download page. Then download the latest Realtek audio driver there.

After updating the audio driver, check to see if you can open the Realtek Audio Console.

Hopefully you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

26 thoughts on “Easy Steps to Fix Realtek Audio Console ‘Cannot Connect to RPC Service’”

  1. Camilla, thank you. I had to go through all three steps but it solved my problem. I appreciate you and what you do for folks like me in need of help.

    Reply
  2. What happens if the realtek files aren’t anywhere to be found and when I try to install it but it never appears?

    Reply
  3. Hi Camilla,

    I have followed all three steps, but it hasn’t fixed the issue. The issue seemed to arise initially when I tried to reinstall drivers, as I’ve been having an audio replication issue. Do you have any further suggestions? The driver I used was the one from the Dell website specifically for my device.

    Many thanks.

    Reply
  4. I struggled with many other solutions from a number of websites until I stumbled on yours. The first solution using taskmgr worked for me. In my paranoia to keep boot up as fast as possible I had disabled it. Thankyou for such a simple solution.

    Reply
  5. Hi Camila,

    I have a question, where can I find the Realtek Hd Audio Universal Service to download and install it? I only can find Realtek HD Audio Manager and it’s not working for me, also I already have my divers updated, I would really appreciate if you can help with this.

    Reply
    • I also have to mention that I tried with the Realtek HD Audio Manager but it didn’t work. I don’t know what else to do and I need the console in order to use my headphones with microphone, help please.

      Reply
  6. Hi Camila,

    I wonder if you could please help me with this, I had to reinstall my drivers and since then, the audio console stopped working, one of the issues is that in my task manager doesn’t appears the “Realtek HD Audio Universal Service” and I can’t find it anywhere to download and install, the only thing I could find is “Realtek HD Audio Manager” but with that one installed the audio console still didn’t work, also my drivers are updated according to the device manager and driver booster, but i need the audio console because my laptop is not detecting correctly the headphones I plug in the 3,5mm jack so it doesn`t recognize the headphones microphone.

    I would really appreciate if you could help me with this, I’m desperate and don’t know what to do, I have tried so many things by now.

    Reply
    • Hi Juan Pablo,

      I’m sorry for the problem you’re having. What’s your PC model? I’m not sure if you did this. You can go to your pc’s manufacturer’s website to download the latest audio driver manually, then install it manually.

      If the latest version of the driver doesn’t work, try an older version.

      Reply
      • Yes, I had already tried that, in my case the solution was using the software driver easy in it’s pro version, it reinstalled the Realtek HD Audio Universal Service and other drivers that Driver booster wasn’t updating, after that everything is working as usual and I can open the Realtek Audio Console without any problem or error, so I would recommend Diver Easy Pro instead of Driver Booster, I’ve been using Driver Booster for a year now, but this time it disappointed me honestly.

        Thank you so much for your time and the artickle, best lucks.

        Reply
  7. Hi Camila,

    I have been facing this issue since a month ago and I have tried soo many solutions to fix it unfortunately nothing worked out. Have tried installing windows again it worked at first but somehow after using the PC for a half-day, the problem appears again. My PC is not detecting the headphones again have tried installing the Realtek Driver from the manufacturer’s website manually, have tried updating it too but nothing is working out. I’m using the (MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX) motherboard. Also, the Realtek driver isn’t showing up in Device Manager even though its installed.

    It would be so nice of you if you could help me to fix the issue.
    (What i

    Reply
    • Hi Sameer Zulfiqar,

      You can click View -> Show hidden devices in Device Manager, and then see if the Realtek driver shows up. Check to see if there are devices listed under the “Unknown device” category.
      If yes, uninstall and reinstall the device.

      If the problem persists, you can try to reset your BIOS.

      Reply
  8. Hello, I managed to fix the problem by activating realtek audio console in the task manager and now it works fine. Thank you very much!

    Reply
  9. Hi Camilla,

    Thanks for the steps- I have a question. I checked and ensured the Realtek HD Audio Universal Service was running automatically in Task manager startup settings, but when I checked the DevManager next, Realtek Audio is not listen under ‘Sound, game, and video controllers’ OR ‘Audio inputs and outputs’.

    (I recently purchased a msi gp66 leopard 11800h laptop and the speakers have never worked. Headphones and bluetooth headphones have no issue. When no headphones are connected, I get a msg when hovering my sound taskbar icon saying “No audio device is installed”)

    Any ideas or suggestions? MSI center says I have Realtek Audio Driver 6.0.9250.1 installed, but its not looking like it.

    Reply
    • If you don’t see the sound card device in Device Manager, you can do this: In Device Manager, click View -> Show hidden devices. Then you may need to enable the device manually.

      Reply
  10. hello, I tried step 3 and it worked but the problem is it only work for a short time after i tried it again the next day. The realtek Audio Console can not connect to the RPC service again. Do you have any solution on how to fix this problem for good, so it doesn’t have any problem again?

    Reply

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