# My 7.1 USB EXTERNAL sound card with SPDIF does not work **URL:** https://community.startech.com/t/my-7-1-usb-external-sound-card-with-spdif-does-not-work/1951 **Category:** General **Created:** [July 26, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://community.startech.com/t/my-7-1-usb-external-sound-card-with-spdif-does-not-work/1951 "2026-07-26T12:06:29Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 2
### Author: ![LukasT](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/community.startech.com/lukast/32/22_2.png) [@LukasT](https://community.startech.com/u/LukasT) #### Post date: [July 27, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://community.startech.com/t/my-7-1-usb-external-sound-card-with-spdif-does-not-work/1951/2 "2026-07-27T17:08:57Z")
Hello @00945041, Thank you for contacting [Startech.com](http://Startech.com). I apologize for the difficulty with our external sound card. By default, the ICUSBAUDIO7D will output through the front speaker ports. To change the output please try the following steps: - In the XEAR Software that is installed with the drivers for the ICUSBAUDIO7D, check if the Headphone or Speakers is selected and set as the default audio device. - Right-click on the “Speakers” on the left side menu to reveal the “Speaker Settings.” (If “Headphones” is currently the selected output then you can right click it to choose “Headphone Settings” instead) - Click on the “Speaker Settings”. then click the dropdown on the right side and try selecting ‘SPDIF’ there. - Test if the SPDIF is now working. We also have a guide for changing the output with screenshots available on our Community [here](https://community.startech.com/t/article-icusbaudio7d-change-output-options/1073). If you are still having trouble after following these steps, I would suggest reaching out to our tehcnical support team directly using the options at [https://www.startech.com/en-us/support](https://www.startech.com/en-us/support). Live interactions through phone or live chat can often have a quicker turnaround to a resolution and then we can update the community post with the resolution. Please let us know if these steps work for you! Lukas T --- _[View the full topic](https://community.startech.com/t/my-7-1-usb-external-sound-card-with-spdif-does-not-work/1951)._