Whether you’re listening to music, streaming a show on Netflix, or video-chatting with your friends, we want to be able to hear everything clearly and at the desired volume. But what if the speakers on your Macbook or Windows machine just aren’t cutting it? No matter how high you turn up the volume?
MacBooks are incredibly powerful machines, consistently delivering high-quality performance. So when something as simple as your system volume is lacking, it’s natural to feel a bit confused and frustrated.
Meanwhile, Windows 10 PCs are yet another improvement from previous Windows software, and if you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 10 only to find that it’s not reaching the volumes you thought it would, that can also be pretty frustrating.
Below, I’ll take a look at why your MacBook and Windows speakers may be quiet, as well as solutions to this problem. Let’s get started!
Why Are My MacBook Speakers so Quiet?
Usually, MacBook speakers become quieter than normal due to improper volume settings, loose hardware connections, applications affecting your settings, your MacBook needing an update, or the sound driver may need to be restarted.
How To Make Your MacBook Speakers Louder?
There are a couple of ways to make your Mac speakers louder, depending on what the problem is.
Firstly, try restarting the sound controller. This may be all you need to do if the system hasn’t been restarted in a while. This is super simple to do. Go to ‘Applications’ on your Apple Menu, then ‘Utilities’ and select your Activity Monitor.
Enter ‘coreaudiod’ in the search field – this is your core sound driver, and your search should find this in no time. Then select coreaudiod and click ‘x’ to close it. The driver should then restart right away and you can then check if your sound is fully restored.
If it’s not a problem with the sound controller, the problem may be that your MacBook is running on an old Mac OS. To check what version you’re running, go into your Apple Menu and select ‘About This Mac.’
This will show you the version number for your operating system, and here you will also find the ‘Software Update’ option that will check for updates and install them. However, before installing updates, make sure your Mac OS is backed up with a ‘Time Machine’ program so you don’t lose precious files!
However, if the issue is not with the OS either, then you should try running maintenance scripts that will clean up your MacBook.
To keep your MacBook running smoothly, the operating system creates multiple temporary files that will need to be decluttered from time to time. MacBooks that run OS X run a Unix-based operating system that lets you run these scripts by yourself.
These scripts are made to clean your system and normally run by themselves daily – usually between 3:15 and 5:30 am. But your system needs to be on in order to do this. If it’s off or sleeping then the scripts won’t run and you will need to step in to do this manually.
However, apps like CleanMyMac X let you run these scripts without needing a long list of steps of how to do this manually.
Why Are my Windows 10 Speakers so Quiet?
Unfortunately, low PC volume is a pretty common problem with Windows 10. Thankfully however, there are a few simple fixes for software sound that doesn’t reflect the Windows bar level.
Restoro PC Repair Tool is a tool recommended by Windows to fix various problems with your PC, including the speakers being too quiet. This tool also protects you from losing files, hardware failure, and malware.
To use the Restore PC Repair Tool, download the application and click ‘Start Scan.’ It will scan your PC for any problems. All you need to do then is click ‘Repair All’ to fix issues affecting your PC’s performance and security.
How to Make Your Windows 10 Speakers Louder?
Firstly, check all the volume controls for your programs. There are often other volume controls that can overwhelm the Windows 10 speaker bar, and some programs have three volume controls that can affect its overall sound. Click the system tray speaker icon and check the volume controls on your speakers.
Make sure that the speaker volume control is as close as possible to the maximum. Your PC may have a rotary volume control on the side or front of your laptop, and some media player software tools have their own volume sliders.
If the third-party software control is significantly lower than the Windows volume slider, their video and music playback sound will also be lower than the program’s audio level.
The Windows Volume Mixer also has a volume control for third-party software. If the volume bar is low, then a program’s sound might be lower than the audio configuration for the default speakers on your PC.
On the system tray, right-click the speaker and select Open Volume Mixer. From here you can raise the audio slide for third-party software open on the taskbar.
You can also try using a third-party equalizer if the first solution does not solve the problem. Windows recommends a third-party equalizer called Boom 3D to do this.
Boom 3D is an audio enhancement app that lets you change your volume with ease by manipulating the frequencies from its equalizer. Boom 3D captures every detail of the audio, and you can also add special effects in order to enhance third-party sounds.
If all the volume controls have been increased and your speakers are still quiet, you can also run the Playing Audio troubleshooter. To do this, click the Cortana button to bring up the Windows 10 search box and enter ‘troubleshooter’ into the search box.
Then click ‘Troubleshoot’ to open the ‘Settings’ window and select the listed Playing Audio and then press ‘Run.’
The troubleshooter may detect and fix the issue with the audio. If it does, you may need to restart Windows in order for these changes to take effect.