How to Configure Whether Windows Uses Speakers or Headphones for Each Application
For many of you, one pair of speakers or headphones is all you need for your desktop or laptop. For others, rocking, playing, and listening to movies is a constant battle with Windows over which connected audio device the operating system should use to suppress noise.
I mostly listen to everything in a 5.1 surround system except when it’s late (sorry roommates) or when said roommates are AF loudly in the living room and I want to drown out their movies with my noise canceling headphones (sorry , Room neighbours).
Nowadays, switching audio device in Windows 10 is much easier – just left click on the icon in the taskbar and select your new playback device from the (dropdown?) Menu. But you can now have even more control over your audio devices thanks to a new feature found in Microsoft Windows 10 April 2018 Update .
Windows 10 sound setting is great when it works
Right-click the sound icon in the taskbar and select Open Sound Settings. In the window that appears, scroll down until you see “Other sound options” and then tap on “App volume and device settings.”
The App Volume & Device Settings screen is a new feature in Windows 10 that lets you customize sound and speaker settings for each app. For example, you can start by assigning a default speaker for Windows – say, your 5.1 system. Also set its default volume, which will increase and decrease when you adjust the volume on your keyboard or from the operating system.
At the bottom of the screen is a list of all your running applications. Now you can set a specific volume for each, which is actually a percentage of your system’s default volume. (So setting an app to “100” will not poke your ears; it will just make the volume 100 percent of your normal system volume. Set it to 50 and this app will be twice as loud as your normal system volume, etc. .d.)
One note: when you set the volume for each app, you don’t get a handy little “rattling” noise to tell you how loud the app can be, so you have to guess a bit.
Are you getting audio detail: headphones or speakers?
The real cool part of Windows 10 “App Volume & Device Settings” is the drop-down output menu. Right. Not only can you set a specific volume for each application, but you can also tell Windows how you want to listen to it.
For example, if you always play Fortnite on your headset (so you can taunt everyone else when you get the Infinity Gauntlet), let the game sounds go there and not the other speakers. If you prefer to fill your room with sound whenever you turn on Spotify, make sure you opt for the crazy Dolby Atmos setup over nifty monitor speakers.
Once you’ve made your choice, you may need to restart the app or game for it to take effect. In some cases, this parameter may have no effect at all. Regardless of what I tried, I was unable to get Windows to stream audio to my headphones instead of the default speakers for my Steam or Battle.net games, but prioritization worked great for watching videos in the Chrome, Spotify, and Netflix apps for Windows 10. , and Fortnite (via the Epic Games launcher) to name a few apps and games.
In other words, the Windows implementation isn’t perfect – it’s or some third-party apps just fuss with it – but it’s a useful little trick to play with if you’re tired of constantly switching speakers manually.