Chrome Sound Issue on VMware Horizon

One of the major new features of Chrome version 79 and beyond is the Audio Sandbox. As a result of the audio sandbox being included and automatically enabled by default, there are users utilizing VMware Horizon that are no longer able to hear sound from within Google Chrome.

No Sound within Chrome on VMware Horizon Registry Fix

If you're experiencing the 'Chrome Sound Issue on VMware Horizon' issue, the instructions below will help you rectify that issue.

Fix for No Chrome Sound in VMware Horizon:

Open the registry and navigate to the following registry location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\

Create a new Folder (Key) under the Google folder called Chrome

Create a new DWORD under the newly created Chrome folder

The DWORD should be called AudioSandboxEnabled and remain set to 0

Once the DWORD has been created, people on the machine should start hearing sound as soon as their browser has been restarted. This fix applies to all users on the machine.

Fixing No Sound Issue via Group Policy

If chrome sound is not working and you'd like to resolve it without making registry changes, the same can be accomplished via Google Chrome's ADMX templates.

You can download Google Chrome ADMX templates HERE.

Once the ADMX templates have been downloaded, extract them to the PolicyDefinitions folder and open the Group Policy Editor.

Adjust the option below to resolve sound issues within Google Chrome:

Google\Google Chrome\Allow the audio sandbox to run

Setting this option to ‘Disabled’ will allow audio to play again as soon as the group policy has been applied.

You can read more about this issue and the bug reports at the relevant links below:

https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/23003477?hl=en

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1007255

https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/986ceaa29203bd7e0ed6a7a32ee3ec4da4941c9c