If the sound volume on your Windows computer has become too low, here are some possible solutions that you can use to fix the problem. The issue may be caused due to software, or it could be hardware-related. Windows comes with some essential settings that need to be perfect to get good sound quality. If your computer volume is too low on Windows 11/10/8/7, follow these steps and see if anything helps you fix that issue.
Computer sound volume too low
Go through the list and then decide which of the suggestions you’d like to try first.
- Update the Audio driver
- Clean speakers physically
- Check with another device
- Check Communications settings
- Check Loudness Equalization
- Increase Media Player sound
- Run Audio Troubleshooter.
Some of the steps may need admin permission. Before you begin, you might want to check if the Low Volume feature that automatically lowers the volume is enabled or not.
1] Update the Audio driver
It is probably the first thing that comes to our mind. Whichever sound system you are using, you must have the latest device drivers installed on your computer. So update your drivers. You may use a third-party driver updater software, or better still, you may use the tool for your brand of PC like, say, Dell Update Utility, HP Support Assistant, etc. You will probably see these utilities pre-installed on your system.
Related: Computer volume too loud on the lowest setting.
2] Clean speakers physically
If you have been using the same speaker for a long time, there might be dust on it, which often blocks the sound from playing smoothly. Check if your speakers are clean from the inside as well as outside. If not, make it clean and test whether it is giving a better performance or not.
Related: Computer volume increases or decreases automatically.
3] Check with another device
If you are having this problem with a Bluetooth speaker or a wired speaker that comes with a woofer, you should connect that device to another device to see if the problem lies in your computer or the speakers themselves.
4] Communications settings
It is an inbuilt Low Volume feature that helps users get better audio when using your computer to place or receive phone calls. It can reduce your sound by up to 100%. Open the “Sound” settings window. You can search for that in the taskbar search box if you are using Windows 11 or Windows 10. Otherwise, right-click on the volume icon in your system tray and select Sounds. After that, switch to the Communications tab. Here, make sure Do nothing is selected. If not, select that option and save your change.
5] Loudness Equalization
That’s another setting that you need to check. If this option is not activated, you will hear a comparatively lower volume. Again open the “Sound” settings. In the Playback tab, select the playback device and hit the Properties button. After that, go to the Enhancements tab. Select Loudness Equalization and save your changes.
6] Increase Media Player sound
Sometimes, even if you increase the volume using the volume icon in your system tray, you will end up getting a very low sound. That’s because two different volume levels work when you play an audio track, i.e., Speaker’s volume and the Media Player’s volume. Even if you increase the speaker’s volume, the media player uses the same volume level.
There are two ways to increase that media player’s volume. First, you can open the media player you are using and check if the volume level is set to 100% or not. Second, you can open the Volume Mixer from the system tray and do the needful.
In Windows 11, you need to go to System > Sound > Volume Mixer, and then change the volume of the specific app after checking the master volume.
7] Audio Troubleshooter
In Windows 11
Go to Settings (Win + I) > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooter. Locate Playing Audio troubleshooter and click on the Run button next to it. Let the wizard complete and job and check if the issue has been resolved.
In Windows 10
Press Win+I keys to open Windows Settings and go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot. On the right-hand side, you should find Playing Audio. Select it and click on the Run the troubleshooter button and follow the on-screen instructions.
I hope these suggestions will be helpful to you to fix your problem.
Is it possible to improve sound quality using software?
Yes, it is possible. For example, Asus motherboard offers Sonic Studio, which improves the onboard hardware’s sound, which Windows cannot. Then you have Boom 3D sound software we have tested and works well.
Read: How to increase Maximum Volume beyond 100%
How to Normalize Sound in Windows?
To make sure there are no extreme highs and lows in the output volume, follow this method to normalize sound:
- Open Control Panel land go to Sound
- Highlight the speaker, right-click and select properties
- Switch to the Enhancements tab and check the box next to Loudness Equalization
- Save the changes.
- Restart the PC or the music player.
How to stop Windows from reducing the sound automatically?
We talked about the Communications settings in the above suggestion. Windows can automatically reduce the sound of other things when you are on call or video call, or voice call. It comes in handy, but if the sound from various applications does not resume back, then it’s better to set it to do nothing.
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