The video looks right, but there is no sound: no dialogue, no music, no voiceover, just silence. Missing audio in Edits is frustrating because the cause can sit in the project, on the phone, or on the platform, and each one needs a different fix. The good news is that the checks are quick, and most silent videos are fixed in a few minutes.
Start by pinning down where the sound disappears. Is it silent in the preview, silent in the exported file, or silent only after upload? That one answer cuts the list of suspects in half, because a preview problem lives in the project, while an upload-only problem lives on the platform.
By Alex Carter, Editor · Published October 24, 2026 · Updated October 24, 2026
30-second answer: Check the clip volume in the timeline first, then the phone volume and silent switch, then Bluetooth headphones that may be stealing the sound. If those are fine, check whether the voiceover track is muted or the music was removed for rights reasons. Only then look at the app itself.
In this guide
- What you are seeing
- Likely causes, ranked
- Fixes, quickest first
- When it is a rollout or server problem
- Prevent it next time
- Still stuck?
- Frequently asked questions
What you are seeing
Missing audio comes in three shapes, and each points somewhere different. If the preview itself is silent, the problem is inside the project: a muted clip, a muted track, or a clip that never had audio to begin with. If the preview has sound but the exported file is silent, the export step dropped the audio, or the file is being played back through a device that is not producing sound.
If the exported file plays fine in your photos but goes silent after upload, the platform did something to it: a rights check on the music, a processing fault, or a muted playback setting on the viewer side. That third shape is the one people misdiagnose most, because they keep re-exporting a file that was never broken.
Likely causes, ranked
- A clip muted in the timeline. A clip can be muted by accident while trimming, and a muted clip looks identical to a normal one at a glance. This is the single most common cause.
- Phone silent mode or low media volume. The silent switch and the media volume are separate from the ringer, and a phone can play notifications while staying silent for video.
- Bluetooth or headphone routing. Sound can be playing perfectly, just not through the speaker you are listening to: paired headphones in a bag, a car stereo, or a connected speaker.
- A voiceover track muted or too low. Voiceovers live on their own track, and that track can be muted, turned down, or left empty after a failed recording.
- Music removed for rights reasons. Licensed tracks can be muted, replaced, or stripped on upload, and the result looks exactly like a missing-audio bug.
- A damaged clip or an app fault. A clip whose audio stream the app cannot read, or a bad app state after an update, can drop audio from the preview or the export.
Fixes, quickest first
- Unmute the clips. Tap each clip in the timeline and check its volume control. A clip muted during trimming stays muted until you turn it back up, and it is easy to miss when the video itself looks fine.
- Check phone volume and the silent switch. Turn the media volume up while the video is playing, and flip the silent switch off. Media volume and ringer volume are separate, so a phone that rings happily can still play video silently.
- Disconnect Bluetooth and headphones. Turn Bluetooth off for a moment and unplug any headphones, then play the video again. If the sound returns, it was routing, not a missing track.
- Check the voiceover track. If dialogue is missing but music plays, the voiceover track is the suspect. Make sure it is not muted or turned down, and check that the recording actually captured audio. Our voiceover guide covers recording cleanly.
- Re-add the music from the in-app library. If a licensed track was muted on upload, swap it for an in-app track or your own recording. Our music and audio guide explains the choices that stay safe across platforms.
- Export a test clip. Export ten seconds with sound and play the file in your photos app. If the test has sound, the problem is in the full project, not the app or the phone.
- Restart, update, and only then reinstall. Restart the app and the phone, check for an app update, and treat reinstalling as the last step, after exporting any finished work, since uninstalling can risk drafts.
When it is a rollout or server problem
Audio is one of the places a platform-side change shows up first. A music licensing change can mute a track overnight, a new audio processing rollout can strip a voiceover track on some accounts, and a server fault can leave uploads silent for a few hours. The tell is that the exported file in your photos still has sound while every upload goes silent, or that the same track fails on every project at once.
In that case waiting is the genuine fix, not another export. Check our updates page, wait a day, and re-upload the same good file. If a licensed track is the problem, though, waiting will not restore it: swap the track, as the fixes above describe, because a rights decision does not reverse itself.
Prevent it next time
Make the sound check part of the export routine: play the preview with sound on, export, then play the exported file in your photos before uploading. That two-minute habit catches a muted clip before it costs you a post, and it tells you immediately whether a problem is in the project or on the platform.
For audio you control, prefer your own recordings and in-app music over licensed tracks pulled from elsewhere. Licensed audio is the one part of a Reel that someone else can change after you publish, and the safest soundtrack is one nobody can take away. Our advanced audio tools guide covers mixing levels so dialogue stays audible under music.
Still stuck?
If the video is still silent after the fixes above, run the three-point test. Play the preview with sound on: if the preview is silent, the project is the problem, and the fix is in the timeline. Export a test clip: if the test has sound, the full project is the problem, and a damaged clip or a muted track is hiding in it. Play the exported file in your photos: if the file has sound but the upload does not, the platform is the problem, and no amount of re-exporting will change that.
One more check that people skip: play the same file on a second device. If it has sound there, your first device is routing or muting playback, and the video was fine all along. That single test has saved more re-exports than any other step in this guide.
Get the official app
Edits is free to download, edit with, and export from, with no watermark and no paid tier. Get it from the official stores below, and test your next export with the sound on before you upload.
Back to: Edits Help →
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no sound in my Edits video?
Usually the clip is muted in the timeline, or the phone is on silent or low media volume. Check both before anything deeper.
Why does my exported video have no sound but the preview does?
The export step or the upload step dropped the audio track, often after a rights check on the music. Re-export from the original project and test the file in your photos.
Why is my voiceover missing but the music plays?
The voiceover track is muted, too low, or was recorded on a track that did not export. Check the voiceover track volume and re-record if the track is empty.
Can music rights mute my Edits audio?
Yes. Licensed music can be muted or removed on some platforms, and the result looks like a missing-audio bug. Use in-app music or your own recordings for audio you control.
Why does sound play on my phone but not on my computer?
Playback routing: Bluetooth headphones, a connected speaker, or a muted browser tab can send the sound elsewhere. Disconnect accessories and check the playback device volume.
Should I reinstall Edits when audio is missing?
Only after the quicker checks. Reinstalling is slow, risks drafts, and rarely fixes an audio problem on its own.
Edits for PC is an independent, unofficial guide. It is not affiliated with Meta Platforms, Inc. or Instagram.
Audio levels that stay audible
Even when nothing is muted, audio can be effectively missing because the levels are wrong: dialogue buried under music, a voiceover recorded too quietly, or a clip whose original audio is faint. Check the mix, not just the mute buttons. Play the project at normal phone volume and listen for whether each layer is actually audible, instead of assuming that a track with a waveform is a track you can hear.
The fix is balance, not volume. Bring the music down under the dialogue instead of pushing everything up. A voiceover at full volume over music at a third sounds clear; everything at full volume sounds loud and still unintelligible. Our advanced audio tools guide walks through the balance that keeps speech in front.
Also check the recording itself. A voiceover recorded in a noisy room or far from the microphone will sound missing even at full volume, and the fix is a re-record in a quiet room, close to the phone. If the original clip audio is faint because the subject was far away, no app setting recovers it. That is a re-shoot, not a settings fix, and knowing the difference saves the afternoon.
One habit ties all of this together: before you export anything important, play the whole project once, out loud, on the phone speaker, from start to finish. Headphones hide balance problems, and a muted preview hides everything. Sixty seconds of listening catches a muted clip, a buried voiceover, and a missing track before any of them reach an audience.