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Laptop Audio volume very low
Hi Experts,
I bought my Inspiron laptop in January and was hoping for good sound quality based on the advertised Waves MaxxAudio. However I find the laptop volume is very low and end up holding the speakers close to my ears when doing a skype call.
Is this an issue I need to take up with warranty support or are the speaker volumes expected to be this low?
Jim Coates
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March 20th, 2015 06:00
Hello. Some of the models do have adequate volume and some have low volume, but it is a subjective thing and I don't know if anyone can say that your volume is normal or not without hearing it. Even then they would need to compare it with others of the same model. If you post your model name then maybe someone with that model will express an opinion.
If the volume is low only in Skype but okay when playing an audio file from the hard drive, then probably a Skype setting. Right click on the volume icon on the taskbar and click on "Open volume mixer" to see individual volume sliders for each device.
Also you could test by switching from the vendor's audio driver (varies by model but probably Realtek) to the Windows native audio driver. If the volume seems too low (when playing audio files) with both drivers then there could be a hardware problem.
1. Open the Device Manager (type devmgmt.msc in the Windows search box).
2. Expand the "Sound, video & game controllers" and right click on "Realtek High Definition Audio".
3. Select to "Update Driver Software".
4. Click on "Browse my computer for driver software".
5. Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
6. Put a check in the box "Show compatible hardware" if not already checked.
7. In the list of devices, click "High Definition Audio" (the native driver).
8. Click "Next".
9. On the Update Driver Warning box, click "Yes" (install the driver).
10. Restart the laptop if prompted. If not prompted, then no need to restart.
[To get back to the Realtek driver, do it again but reverse the names in steps 1 and 6.]
Note that the above instructions are for models with a Realtek audio driver. If yours uses IDT or Conexant, look for those names in the Device Manager.
jitheshr
3 Posts
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March 21st, 2015 20:00
Hi Jimco,
Thank you so much for your reply. I have a dell laptop i purchased in 2008, and it still has higher volume output compared to this new one i purchased in Jan this year.
Also note this is not an issue with skype. the system volume is significantly lower than normally expected.
My Model is Inspiron 15 (3542, Early 2014)
Thanks for the suggestions about the driver update. I get three compatible drivers, not sure which one I should select. Please see screenshot below:
Jim Coates
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13.6K Posts
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March 21st, 2015 20:00
In the list of devices, click "High Definition Audio" (the native driver).
jitheshr
3 Posts
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March 21st, 2015 20:00
Thanks Jim,
You mean the " High Definition Audio Device" and not "RealTek High Definition Audio"
thanks for clarifying.
cheers!
Jithesh
anijon1316
5 Posts
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April 8th, 2015 01:00
This same problem for my device I use your instructions and correctly work my device
So really thank you for your advice
ldoff
7 Posts
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April 8th, 2015 11:00
Hello,
I have the precise same problem: very low sound volume, even at 100 percent.
I have no solution, I am just commenting here so that I can receive added comments that might provide a solution to the issue