Sims Voice Audio Lagging & Repeating

SeaRose01​  Did you try with the laptop's built-in speakers, and with no other audio devices connected (and with a restart after you disconnected the devices)?  If not, please do so now.

Please test immediately after restarting your computer, with nothing else running in the background.

puzzlezaddict​ (Sorry for the late reply!) I just tried the test you said in a new save. I'm still having the same issue. It feels like it's happening less often now though.

I'm experiencing the same issue!! Please let me know when you fix it

Skyra_03​ The latest update (November 4th) fixed this for me! :D

SeaRose01​  Since you've said this has reappeared, please let me know whether a different sound device works this time around.  Test with no other sound devices connected, e.g. if you're testing your speakers, unplug your headphones and restart the computer.

If all the devices have the same issue, please provide a dxdiag.  Click Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop.  From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons.

puzzlezaddict​ 

I did 4 tests (each for a couple minutes):

1. I tested it with no audio devices (the audio was playing through the speakers), after I had just restarted the computer, with nothing in the background. The audio worked normally.
2. I tested it with no audio devices (the audio was playing through the speakers), with Firefox in the background. The audio was stuttering and lagging.
3. I tested it using my headphones, after I had just restarted the computer, with nothing in the background. The audio worked normally.
4. I tested it using my headphones, with Firefox in the background. The audio was stuttering and lagging.

(For context, I normally play Sims 4 with Firefox (and sometimes other stuff) in the background. Between the November 4th and December 2nd updates, I never had an issue with the audio when doing this.)

I'm attaching the dxdiag.

SeaRose01​  Your dxdiag lists a number of crashes of the graphics driver.  While that might not cause sound issues directly, it could mess with the system in general, for example it could cause the lag which in turn could cause the stuttering.  And this kind of crash should be addressed regardless.  So please do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the driver.  Here's how:

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/02/clean-re-install-of-graphics-drivers-with-display-driver-uninstaller-ddu.html

Use the driver HP provides for your laptop.  Go here:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops

Enter your serial number, choose your OS (just Windows 11 is fine) if prompted, click All Drivers, expand Driver-Graphics, and download the newest Intel drier by version number.  The first number matters most, e.g. 32 is newer than 31; after that, the last four numbers matter.

While you're there, download the newest Realtek sound driver.  While your computer is offline, click Windows key-X, select the Device Manager, expand the Audio and Sound categories (not sure where it'll show up, or if it's listed in both), and uninstall any Realtek entry you see.  Install the downloaded driver and restart your computer.

If none of this helps, I'm curious as to whether it matters what you have open in Firefox, or just having it open at all is the issue.

puzzlezaddict​ 

I did what you said and it fixed it! Thank you so much! :D

SeaRose01​  I just saw your newest edit.  Try playing in a clean boot:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-da2f9573-6eec-00ad-2f8a-a97a1807f3dd

The one service to leave enabled is the EABackgroundService, which the EA App needs in order to run.  Disable the rest as described.

When you reboot your computer, go through the Task Manager's background processes list shutting down any service that doesn't absolutely need to be running, for example anything from MSI Afterburner to RGB software might still be enabled.  If you accidentally kill a critical process and it doesn't restart on its own, just reboot your computer again.

Don't open anything other than Sims 4 and the EA App while testing, not even a browser window.

If this helps, you can selectively reenable services until you find the culprit, then either leave that disabled or (if it belongs to an app you want to keep using) let me know what it is so we can try to fix the underlying issue.  It's possible that there's only one conflicting service, not the browser but something else that interacts with it or the game.