XPS 8930, MaxxAudio update causing problems, how do I prevent it?

There has to be more to it than just MaxxAudio update.   Not seeing anyone else post this problem.

MaxxAudio will only work, or work properly with the Dell hardware specific (in this case 8930) Realtek driver.  

Make sure you have the 8930 Realtek driver direct from Dell.

Support for XPS 8930 | Drivers & Downloads | Dell US

I have this setting in place already, but the driver updated itself anyways.

The drivers and downloads link you provided doesn't work for me.

@16bitpancake I am not sure how you can stop a specific driver update, but you can disable all driver updates in Windows 10 by doing the following:

The problem is definitely Realtek updating MaxxAudio automatically somehow, because whenever the audio becomes broken, MaxxAudio's UI layout changes from 4 icons to 3 and the info box changes the copyright date. Like I said in the original post, I tried going into Device Manager and rolling back the Realtek drivers that System Restore tells me it's going to replace, but it doesn't have any effect on the MaxxAudio version and the audio remains distorted.

Ideally it would be nice if I could back up MaxxAudio in its current state so that I could replace the new one should it update itself again without having to do a system restore to the old version. Is there a way I could do this?

I tried that link and it works for me.  ??  

Here is the link to the Dell (US) support site.  you can start there.

Support | Dell US

If you download the Realtek driver from the Dell site and have it on your drive, you can always install it (I think).

I wonder if its just some configuration that needs set in the new version?  As previously noted I don't recall seeing any other 8930 reports about this.   I don't have an 8930 so I can't get into it and see if there is a setting.

After the new version is installed, check the Sound setup. Output device should be "Speakers (Realtek(R)Audio)" and Input "Stereo Mix (Realtek(R)Audio)".   

If I use "Browse all devices" and choose XPS 8930 though, it works.

The only driver in the Drivers & Downloads section is the Realtek driver and it's actually an older version than the one mine keeps automatically updating to. So would this not effectively do the same as rolling back the driver in Device Manager?

@16bitpancake - I had similar problems on my XPS 8930 with the update for the Realtek driver and Waves Maxx Audio Pro. And there's at least one other public thread about this.

Part of the issue is Maxx comes bundled with the Realtek audio driver for the XPS 8930. If you look around in Windows Reliability Monitor, you'll probably see both the Realtek Media driver and Waves Maxx got quietly updated via Windows Update ~2 weeks ago when you weren't looking. Mine got hit on 2-14-21. Took me a couple of day afterwards to work things out...

You don't want to roll the Realtek driver back in Device Manager. You want to right-click Realtek Audio and uninstall it in Device Manager. When I did that, both the updated driver and the updated Maxx Audio were removed, according to the Reliability Monitor. I immediately installed the Realtek driver from here without rebooting that I'd downloaded in advance. This also reinstalled the previous version of Maxx.

Things still didn't work right. Maxx would only see my stand-alone external speakers (connected to gray Front L/R surround line-out port on rear of PC) as a "headset or headphones". They sounded horrible. So if your output doesn't sound right and/or Maxx doesn't recognize them correctly after you install the Dell driver, here's at least how I fixed that. (YRMV!)

Disconnect all audio output devices and then reboot. Look for the blue W icon in the notification area of the taskbar when you get back to the desktop. If the icon isn't there, right-click the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings. On that screen, scroll down to Notification Area and click Select which icons appear on taskbar and make sure Maxx is enabled.

Once you have that W icon on the taskbar, double-click it. When Maxx opens, click the big Playback box on the left and expand "Advanced" near bottom of that screen. Make sure the box "Show a popup..." is checked.

Reboot the PC.  When you're back at the desktop again. Plug in your speakers in. Maxx should pop up and ask what you plugged in. Select the correct option from the list for your specific output. Then close the Maxx window and reboot once more. Hopefully, audio is back to normal again.

FWIW, Reliability Monitor shows that I got quietly hit with the same Realtek+Maxx updates again yesterday (3-2-21). And -so far- after several reboots, audio seems to be working ok. Maxx still even loads my custom presets ...

BTW: You may want to turn on Revive on the Maxx Playback screen to add some high frequency to the sound. At least for my ears and small speakers that sounds better. So I saved that change as part of my custom presets.

Isn't this fun...? 

Thank you for the detailed response, I will try this solution next time my audio updates itself. 

I was thinking of getting Dolby Atmos for Headphones, and I was wondering if there was a way to disable MaxxAudio entirely so I can get the full effect of Atmos?

There is no prevention for microsoft updates.

They are no longer optional.

@16bitpancake - You're welcome, but why wait? 

I'd do it now and, hopefully, the next time Realtek and Maxx get updated automatically, they should work properly, as mine has done, even after the latest sneak attack by Microsoft.

Unfortunately, the XPS 8930 seems to need Maxx. I blocked it from launching at boot when I first got this PC and the sound from my external desktop speakers was totally awful and very faint, even with vol set at max in Win 10.  After re-enabling Maxx, the sound quality and vol improved.

If you're lucky, Maxx might offer those headphones as an option when you plug them in for the first time. I think the key is only to plug in a new output device after the PC has booted to desktop with already Maxx configured to show that popup. Took a while to realize that while troubleshooting and eventually fixing things.

It also helps to change the Eq Profile settings on the Maxx Playback screen to match the type of audio, eg movies, rock, classical, etc. being output.

Post back and let us know how it goes...

Looks like we have 2 spammers in this thread.

Don't click their links..! 

UPDATE: Looks like the 2 spam posts have been deleted.

I had this same issue recently, (June 2023) with MaxxAudio not working again. I followed the steps by RoHe to the letter, including unplugging/replugging the speakers. MaxAudio now works better than ever. I have to figure out if there is a way to select not to install certain driver updates from Dell. I found the Microsoft Store version to be useless and a total waste of time. Speakers are Klipsch with Sub. Sound awesome. Thank you RoHe for posting this workaround. 

@PuJa68  - Glad that helped...

What PC model and version of Windows? 

If you're getting these updates via Dell Update/SupportAssist, IMO you should disable/uninstall them to stop automatic updates completely. You can then go to the Support site from time to time and enter your Service Tag (don't post it here). When it recognizes your PC model, manually download any new drivers you want/need and install them yourself. 

For XPS 8930, Waves comes packaged with the Realtek audio driver. So every time there's a Realtek update for this model, it uninstalls and then re-installs Waves at same time, meaning Waves has to be reconfigured again.  Fortunately, there hasn't been any recent Reatek updates for XPS 8930, especially since the last one was pulled because of problems. Other Dell PC models typically have separate installations for Realtek drivers and Waves, so each one can be updated independently. 

If you're getting these updates via Windows Update, that's entirely a different issue. Unfortunately, there's no way to prevent Windows Update from installing specific driver updates.  It's all or none.  If you have a Windows Pro version, you can use Group Policy Editor (gpedit) to turn off all driver updates. If you have  Windows Home, there are registry hacks to do this because Home doesn't include gpedit.

The problem is definitely Realtek updating MaxxAudio automatically somehow, because whenever the audio becomes broken, MaxxAudio's UI layout changes from 4 icons to 3 and the info box changes the copyright date. Like I said in the original post, I tried going into Device Manager and rolling back the Realtek drivers that System Restore tells me it's going to replace, but it doesn't have any effect on the MaxxAudio version and the audio remains distorted

Ideally it would be nice if I could back up MaxxAudio in its current state so that I could replace the new one should it update itself again without having to do a system restore to the old version. Is there a way I could do this?