Low Volume on my Realtek Acer Laptop
Jan 18
Acer, Windows Vista 47 Comments
I’ve always thought the sound volume on my Acer TravelMate 5530G has been very low even if I turned everything up to 100%. It has been ok and only a little bit annoying, but a few days ago we moved to another house for a month (we’re currently travelling in Thailand) with no TV so now the family have to watch movies on the laptop…
Anyway, I found the solution thanks to this post by brielle128 at Notebookreview.com. It seems to be related to Realtek drivers on Windows Vista.
The solution:
- Have song playing so you can here the difference.
- Right click on the speaker icon in the task bar and select Playback Devices (or find it in the Windows Control Panel) The Sound dialog box opens up.
- From the Playback tab select the Playback device being used, in my case Speakers Realtek High Definition Audio (marked with a green checkbox) and click the Properties button. A new dialog box – Speaker Properties – opens up.
- On the Enhancements tab make sure Disable All Sound Effects and Immediate Mode are both unchecked. Check Loudness Equalization (on my setup all other unchecked) and hit Apply.
- Bingo! Sound volume is up a lot, maybe 50%!
I actually think my wife’s Acer Aspire One (also Realtek Sound card) running Windows XP has the same problem but unfortunately I could not find any similar settings there.
Feb 12, 2009 @ 08:35:00
Hi, I was just wondering if you ever got your wife’s Acer Aspire One fixed because I have the same problem. Also, funny coincidence, but I’m also traveling in Thailand.
Feb 13, 2009 @ 09:30:00
Hi Rose. Unfortunately I never did find that setting in Windows XP. If you find a solution please let me know!
Enjoy your time in Thailand! We just got back to a sub zero Sweden yesterday…
Apr 05, 2009 @ 04:26:19
I just bought a Lamborghini VX3, supplied with Realtek and I also thought the volume seemed quite low. Enabling the Loudness Equalization made all the difference, thanks v. much for posting this up mate!!!
May 24, 2009 @ 00:35:23
Hi guy’s try updating your audio driver’s from the site acerpanam.
I hopw that’ ll help…
May 24, 2009 @ 00:38:29
Oh nad her’s the link..
http://global-download.acer.com/Step5.aspx?Step1=Netbook&Step2=Aspire%20One&Step3=AOD150&SC=PA_7&LC=en
update the realtek one.
..Plzz lemme know if it works..
Aug 07, 2009 @ 17:31:29
Gr8….. Thanks a lot .. for this info
Aug 13, 2009 @ 07:33:20
Don’t know if it will help, but I recently bought an Acer 5535 laptop and had the same problem. The solution posted here works, but in my case the real problem was that on the “Speaker Properties” dialog box there was a tab before the “Enhancements Tab” (can’t remember the name, don’t have Vista anymore), there was an option called “Limited Output” which was checked, unchecking it solved the problem.
In XP, open the Realtek Audio Manager (double-click on the realtek icon, an orange speaker icon, on the taskbar), click on the “Mixer” tab and under the wheel for Playback volume there are two little icons, a wrench and a speaker. To the right of the little speaker icon there’s a really hard to see button with two dots. Clicking on it will open a dialog box with a checkbox called “Limited Output”, unchecking it will solve the problem.
Hope this solution will help you…
P.S. If you don’t want to see the realtek audio manager icon in the taskbar, open it, click on the “i” icon on the bottom left corner, and you’ll see a checkbox to remove the taskbar icon.
Nov 29, 2009 @ 17:25:45
This last solution appears to be something which could really work but i haven’t got that button! I only have the buttons with the two dots next to the Pink In and next to the Microphone Volume mute button, but there is no option for ‘Limited Output’ here. Got a Acer Aspire 5040. Do you have any clue how to get this button or how to solve it otherwise? I’ve already updated the newest Realtek driver but that does not change anything..
Thanks!
Jan 10, 2010 @ 23:25:15
Thanks guys that worked
Feb 01, 2010 @ 02:35:28
Thanks so much! I can FINALLY watch my netflix movies with sound instead of trying to read lips!
Feb 19, 2010 @ 08:31:09
My limited output button was already unchecked and I still found that the sound wasn’t loud enough on my Acer 6592G. I did find that upping everything on the equalizer made a big difference though. THANKS VERY MUCH!!!
May 21, 2010 @ 17:53:25
Upping everything on the equalizer is what worked for me on my new Qosmio — thanks for the tip MO!
Jun 11, 2010 @ 03:02:06
Thanks for this – it basically worked for me on my Aspire 4920.
I followed the steps above, and got a decent initial boost. Time to experiment!
I had had Full-Range speakers box checked, which was apparently a bad thing – unchecking it also brought up the volume a bit. Then, I set my Equalizer to Live setting, which also brought it up some (and i like the overall quality of the Live eq setting for music, videos, etc.)
Next, Dolby – I had 5.1 sound checked/on, and tried turning it off.
At this point, running a SomaFM station at 100%, the sound was ‘too loud’ – to the point of bass feedback. So I put and have left Dolby on.
The last point I should make is that in Winamp, I turned on the Equalizer, switched it to Auto, and load & kept the Live preset, with the pre-amp set to about 75-80%. I find this makes a *huge* difference in both sound volume & quality. It is completely free, and easy to do. I haven’t really used other players in a long time, but I would think/hope others would offer the same features/abilities.
Cheers!
Aug 25, 2010 @ 14:09:30
Thanks a lot. I can use Skype again
Sep 12, 2010 @ 05:19:01
Thank you, now I am able to listen to movies before all I could hear was whisper. I was worried my laptop had a defective audio problem.
Oct 26, 2010 @ 08:11:50
acer laptops are some of the best brands of laptops that you can buy:~:
Nov 12, 2010 @ 19:04:06
acer laptops have much brighter lcd screens compared to other brands ;`,
Dec 12, 2010 @ 00:56:05
thans that fixed my sound, so much better now. i have windows 7
Dec 22, 2010 @ 18:58:06
Yes, agreeing with one of the other reviews, I agree that the speakers are monotone, but buying a laptop for sound quality is ill-advised. I usually use headphones while watching movies or listening to music anyways. This laptop is not for gaming purposes, so if that’s your intent…look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a value laptop, you cannot pass this up! A $500 laptop with an Intel I3 processor is too good to be true! This is my 3rd laptop and I now rarely ever use any of the others. Compare the processing power of the I3 processor against all of the other processors in this price range at [...] and then make your choice. Intel’s new line of processors is without comparison. My desktop has an Intel I7 and is unsurpassed by most anything on the market. If you’re looking for a laptop that will handle most people’s standard operations…look no further.See Here: Acer AS5742-7120 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black)
Jan 06, 2011 @ 09:50:10
Fantastic! My volume dropped significantly when I updated my Win7 drivers on my aspire 6930z. I’d say volume now up more like 100% after following your advice.
Jan 06, 2011 @ 09:52:48
Da Cosmonaut- I have a similar setting on my Win7 laptop. It is under the ‘Custom’ tab.
Jan 13, 2011 @ 18:56:17
Hello!
Thanks for the tip, I have a Acer 3820TG and I had very low sound.
I just edited the option “Limited Output” and I got like 50% increase of sound level.
The Limited Output box was in that same properties box you wrote about.
Jan 31, 2011 @ 23:36:24
Thanks to the Jan 18th post above!!! I’ve been living with poor volume on my Aspire laptop for 1 year and the solution above worked!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Feb 19, 2011 @ 17:12:09
The loudness equalization helped tremendously,,,, GOOD call
Mar 03, 2011 @ 13:02:18
Thank you SO much for this information! I’ve had my Acer Laptop for two and a half years, and it seemed nuts that they include all sorts of fancy volume controllers and home audio stuff yet the volume was barely audible when using the speakers.
I could *kiss* you. Checking Loudness Equalization certainly brought the sound into the audible range!
Fee
Apr 09, 2011 @ 23:57:22
Wow, thanks for this tip… Worked on my Acer Aspire 5920.
Still not where I believe it should be but BOY did this help… Great tip.
May 22, 2011 @ 05:55:30
Bought an Acer Aspire 4253 April 2011. Runs great. Speakers SUCK! Very low. I read all the threads. I checked the loudness box too to get a LITTLE increase of volume. But, everything is at 100% and it’s still low. Very annoying. I don’t see anything anywhere that says Realtec. Speakers device listed is: Conexant High Definition Audio. Can anyone help me? I love music and this is really bugging me. Thank you!
May 29, 2011 @ 21:13:00
thank you for help
Jun 09, 2011 @ 04:17:55
Thanks alot babe. It worked like a Charm.
Jul 14, 2011 @ 03:19:42
Right click on the speaker icon and click playback devices. Click on speakers then properties then on the Dolby tab and uncheck audio enhancer and surround sound.
Tried everything else, this worked.
Jul 16, 2011 @ 07:56:15
hey, this is an old post but I figured I’d answer it anyway..
if you go into your ASUS bios and search around there is a volume adjuster strictly for the hardware
give that a nudge or two no more, don’t want to blow out the speaker
i think you gotta hit del or f2 or f8 or any f or bckspace or somethin to get into bios, but the option is there
asus usually has good built in speakers so u can crank the hardware a little
i have an asus, and im groovin, btw also do what is in the top of this post, it is an improvement, especially unchecking what he says to uncheck, and hit loudness equalization checkbox if u have ASUS like me or RealTek
peace peace peace….
Aug 09, 2011 @ 12:15:07
Did followed your tutorial for my acer.. it’s worked. awesome!!
Thanks bro.
Sep 04, 2011 @ 00:18:32
THANKS A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oct 05, 2011 @ 04:43:19
i tried all the above. None worked. The answer lay here: http://acer.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8928/related/1/~/why-is-the-audio-very-low-when-i%27m-playing-a-dvd-movie-and-using-headphones-on Worked liked a charm.
Nairobi, Kenya.
Feb 13, 2012 @ 03:05:34
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! For more than 6 months, (that’s when I bought my Acer Aspire 5552 laptop and I could hardly hear music, lot less speech. After reading your advise, I gain the lost sound. I even spoke with some IT techs which had no clue how to fix this problem.
Again, Thank you very much.
Mar 28, 2012 @ 13:53:42
thanks for your post. now i can hear my computer.
May 31, 2012 @ 18:27:16
My wife bought this and she lives close to sea so i think moisture has made her lap top not working properly. what should i do?
Jun 11, 2012 @ 07:24:36
Greatings from Lithuania. Finnaly, I fixed this bug, because it was very anoying me
thank you a lot!!!!
Aug 15, 2012 @ 07:41:54
Thank you so much for this! It worked on my boyfriend’s acer, I was wondering why the volume was absolutely awful.
It’s very appreciated, the volume shot up to something I could easily hear.
Aug 21, 2012 @ 19:21:52
Thank you! This worked on Acer Travelmate 4750. I also checked equalizer option and put that on Jazz option which also increased the volume a bit.
Aug 29, 2012 @ 02:22:55
This worked. Thank you
Sep 04, 2012 @ 11:43:45
I hate my Laptop ACER low Volume, I hate Windows Updates, in reality Updates are good for nothing. . . Update is stolen my Internet History and all the visited WebSites. . . MicroSoft is selling this Information to Home Depot, Walmart, and Airlines. . . The Fake Microsoft anti-virus are created by Microsoft. That’s the reason why the fake-anti-virus are still infecting computers, and has so many advertisers.
Oct 03, 2012 @ 11:30:52
hi in my acer laptop if i switch on speaker it makes the sound like beeeeeeeeeeeeeep like this continuously jst give me how to solve this.
Nov 07, 2012 @ 06:04:04
Finally. I have an Acer Aspire and it has been very quiet when I watch video clips. I couldn’t find the things under “Enhancement” as mentioned above, but when someone mentioned “Dolby”, I found a “power button” under the Dolby tab, which allowed me to turn it on and the “music symbol” light up. Then, the sound problem is fixed.
Nov 18, 2012 @ 22:54:02
Thank you!! Worked for us!!
Mar 17, 2013 @ 03:49:22
Hi,
This piece of information served me very good on an Acer Aspire One D255E as well. I’ve got a significant increase of volume. I don’t know why the output volume is so low anyway on this netbook.
Thank you very much.
Apr 10, 2013 @ 03:13:27
It took me an hour to figure this out surfing the web