If the sound from the left and right channels of your earphones or speakers is uneven, then it can be irritating to listen. While there can be many reasons why this is happening, there are a few things you can do on Windows to adjust the left and right volume. In this article, we will go through how to adjust left and right volume channels on Windows 10/11, what can be the reasons, and how to stop it from happening again. So let’s begin.
Table of Contents
Adjust Left and Right Volume Channels on Windows
Before moving forward, first, we need to find out if the problem is with the earphones or with your Windows PC. To check, connect your earphones to another PC or a phone. If it sounds fine, then the issue lies with the laptop or desktop. If the sound is bad on other devices too, then the problem is with your earphones themselves. Similarly, you can also try using other earphones with your PC.
For the most part, the problem should be with your earphones themselves. Anyhow, whether the problem is with earphones or with the PC, here’s how to fix left and right volume channels and fix it.
1. Make Sure the Earphones / Speakers Are Clean
First, make sure to clean the Speaker vent on earphones as they can also cause issues with sound. Some earphones also have vents outside to create a vacuum that helps improve acoustics, make sure that’s clean too.
2. Restart the Laptop / Desktop
There can be a bug or some occasional glitches in the OS. Restarting the PC solves it in most cases. Just click on the Windows icon at the bottom left corner, then select the power icon and then click on the Restart button.
3. Update OS to Latest Version
You can also check if you are running on the latest version of the Windows OS. To do that, open the Settings app > Windows Update > Check for updates. If there is an update available, download and install it.
4. Update Audio Drivers
Sometimes, your earphones/speakers and your PC may have some compatibility issues. You can solve them by updating the drivers of the specific device. Drivers help establish a connection between hardware and software. So updating the driver to the latest version can make them more compatible.
1. To update, click on the Windows icon and search for Device Manager and open it.
2. In the Device Manager, click on Sound, video, and game controllers to expand it.
3. Now, right-click on the earphone or speakers that you want to update the driver. In the pop-up menu, select the Update drive option.
4. It opens a window, here select Search automatically for the drivers option.
5. It will search for the drivers and provides the option to download and install if any update is available.
5. Disable Special Audio Enhancements
Sometimes the issue may not be with the earphones or the PC, but with a specific Windows feature. One such feature is Special Audio Enhancements. It is enabled by default for all the audio devices you connect to Windows. But you can disable it manually.
1. Click on the Windows icon and search for the Control Panel and open it.
2. In the Control panel, select the Hardware and Sound option.
3. On the next page, select the Sound option.
4. In the window that opens, select the device you are facing issues with. Then click on the Properties option.
5. It opens another window, here select the Enhancements tab and enable the toggle beside Disable all enhancements.
6. Once done, click on Apply and then OK.
If this does not make any difference to your problem, then disable the toggle and apply the changes. You can also do it from the Settings app > System > Sound > select the device and set the Audio Enhancements option to off.
6. Disable Spatial Audio
Another feature that can create issues is the Spatial Audio feature.
1. To disable, open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound, select the device and then click on Properties.
2. Then click on the Spatial sound tab. Here make sure the Spatial sound format is set to Off.
You can also do it from the Settings app > System > Sound > select the device and set the Spatial audio option to off.
7. Change the Format of the Earphones / Speakers Sound
You can also try changing the bit rate and frequency of your earphones. You can do that from both the control panel and the Settings app.
1. Open the Settings app > System > Sound > select the audio device. Here you can change the format under Output settings.
2. Change the format to lower bit rate and frequency if available.
Windows should be able to play fine at least in the lower settings. This can affect the sound quality a bit but may solve the imbalance in left and right volume channels on Windows.
8. Adjust Left and Right Volume Channels Manually
If none of the previous techniques worked, try to increase or decrease the sound of a single channel manually. So if your right channel volume is lower, you can increase the volume of just the right channel. So both the left and right channels will sound equal.
1. Open the Settings app > System > Sound > select the device.
2. Here, under the output section, click on your connected earphones or speakers.
3. Under the Output settings, you will find the Left channel and Right channel options. Increase or decrease the volume for one channel as per needed.
You can also do it from the Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound. Select the earphone/speaker you have the issue with and select Properties > Levels > Balance and you change the L (Left) and R (Right) channels in the pop-up window.
9. Disable Absolute Volume in Registry Editor
If you are not able the change the single channel volume, it might be because the accessory manufacturer blocked the functionality. Anyhow, you can do it by disabling the absolute volume in the Registry editor.
1. Click on the Windows icon and search for the Registry Editor and open it.
2. First, double-click on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE option in the sidebar. In the drop-down, double-click on the SYSTEM option.
3. Then double-click on ControlSet001 > Control > Bluetooth > Audio > AVRCP > CT. Alternatively, you can also paste this in the top search bar to open the page directly.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Bluetooth\Audio\AVRCP\CT4. Now double-click on the DisableAbsoluteVolume option.
5. In the popup windows, set the Value data to 1. Then click on OK and close the Registry Editor.
6. Finally restart the device, now you can change the volume of each channel as shown in the above step.
Balancing Volume
Though you can adjust the volume of each channel manually, it’s always better to try solving the issue first. Updating audio drivers and decreasing the bit rate has a good chance of fixing the left and right volume channels on Windows. If none of the solutions are working, then you can change the volume of each channel manually.
Also, learn how you can create custom shortcuts to control volume controls on Windows. That should make it easier.
