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I have a problem with the Windows volume mixer where some applications run at a lower volume than others.

I know that this is because Windows volume mixer allows individual apps to run at different volumes, but adjusting the volume seems to be relative:

Volume Mixer Animation

Is there a way to force all applications (current and ones opened in the future) to run at 100% of device volume?

I know that I re-sync each application separately by setting the value to the same as the device volume, but I can't do this for applications I open in future that already de-synchronised. Is there a way to achieve this without opening each app individually and re-setting the volume?

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    This happens to me EVERY DAY. There is a simple fix: manually drag all of them to 100% and the drag the master all the way to 0. Drag the master up again. You'll notice they're all in sync now. This happens if you modiy the volumes for programs individually to different levels and you attempt to modify them all use the master slider.
    – InterLinked
    Apr 22, 2017 at 22:35

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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I recently found an option in Windows 10 that seems superior to manually modifying the registry.

Under Settings, there is an screen called Sound mixer options (which should also be accessible just typing in the taskbar). This opens a menu titled App volume and device preferences.

Screenshot of *App volume and device preferences* screen

In the lower left there appears to be volume bars for each app in the volume mixer; these numbers represent a percentage of the Master volume value at the top. To "reset" an app to the master volume value, simply drag it to 100. No longer do you have to eyeball where the master volume is using the mixer!

It also seems the Reset button at the bottom left will set all the apps values to 100 without changing the master volume. I suppose there might be some app that has a non-100 value for it's "Microsoft recommended default", but I haven't seen one yet.

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    Good find! You can get to it from the speaker icon in the notification area too! (1) Right-click speaker icon (2) Open Sound Settings (3) App Volume Device Preferences (bottom)
    – Karl Nicoll
    Mar 15, 2020 at 23:15
  • for win 10 this is the answer that you are looking for!
    – Daniel Nuss
    Sep 28, 2020 at 1:15
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You can reset the saved mixer settings for the application by following the registry key found on this answer and deleteing the stored data for your application.

For example, this batch script will reset all saved application volume mixer settings. It also backs up the key just in case.

Note that these commands are untested, I have only linux computers around me at the moment.

 @ECHO OFF
 reg export "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\Audio\PolicyConfig\PropertyStore" %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\MixerRegistryBackup.reg

 reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\Audio\PolicyConfig\PropertyStore"
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  • Excellent sleuthing. I found the registry key and deleted manually all the sub-keys in there and it seemed to do the trick!
    – Karl Nicoll
    Apr 22, 2017 at 22:44
  • Excellent! Glad to have helped.
    – Hydranix
    Apr 25, 2017 at 21:36

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