Why do headphones play quietly on the phone? What to do if the headphones play quietly. Quiet sound on the computer - Possible causes and solutions to problems

All the best to everyone!

From my own experience, I can say that users most often encounter the problem of quiet sound when reinstalling Windows OS (less often when replacing equipment with new ones).

In general, there is a quiet difference: if you turn up the volume to 100%, and the sound is barely audible, then the problem is obvious, but if you expect the volume from a budget laptop to be like music. center - no comments here, my article is unlikely to help you.

In this article I would like to give several reasons why the sound may deteriorate (crackling, grinding noises may appear) and the volume may decrease. In general, I will give tips on increasing the volume. So...

Causes of quiet sound. How to amplify the sound!

1) “Fine” sound tuning: loudness compensation and communication

Now about something more interesting - about communication...

There is such an option in Windows as “communication” - the point is that “smart” Windows reduces the volume when using the computer for conversations (i.e., as if it does a plus for you - so that you can hear the interlocutor better). But it happens that this option works very poorly - and it always reduces the sound, and not just during conversations...

To check this: click on sound icon in the tray (next to the clock) and open the “Sounds” link (see screenshot below). Then open the tab "Connection" and set the slider "no action required" (see point 2-3 on the screen below). Save the settings and restart your computer ( last action Necessarily!). Then test what the volume is.

A few words about loudness compensation

There is another option in Windows that can significantly affect the volume. We're talking about subtleness - special option to eliminate loudness differences taking into account the peculiarities of human perception. If you have problems with quiet sound, I recommend this enable option .

To do this you need to go to settings "SOUND", open tab "Play" , then select your playback source (speakers, headphones) and go to them properties (see screenshot below, arrow 1-2).

Then open the "Improvements" tab and in the properties find the option "Loudness" - turn it on, save the settings and check the sound quality again (by the way, in Windows 8.1 this option is called a little differently - " Additional features/ volume equalization").

Loudness compensation

2) Checking connectors and wires

One of the most common reasons sound distortion, noise, crackling, volume reduction - there is poor contact between the speakers of the speakers (headphones) and sound card computer.

This occurs, most often, due to “broken” connectors and plugs, as well as damage to the wire insulation (an example of a torn headphone wire is shown in the photo below). If such defects appear, I recommend replacing the wire (or re-soldering it, if you have such experience...).

Broken headphone wire

In general, a wire tear may not be “visible” - i.e. the braid on top will be unharmed, while the copper core inside will be damaged. Try to twist the wire, and if the sound disappears or appears, there is distortion - the problem is obvious.

You can also check your headphones (speakers) by connecting them to another PC (tablet, music center, etc.). If the problem is related to the connectors on the sound card, then either repair it or use an external sound card. Now, for example, there are such “babies” the size of a regular flash drive, while many of them can produce sound quality no worse than built-in sound cards.

3) Checking and updating drivers

Drivers are to blame for every 3-4th sound problem! More precisely, their absence, or the wrong version for a given OS.

In general, most often, if there are problems with the sound driver, there is no sound at all (I apologize for the tautology). But it happens that there was (for example) Windows 7 - and then it was updated to Winodws 8/10. According to my observations, after such an update, there are problems with sound...

In Device Manager, open the tab "Sound, gaming and video devices" . This tab should display your sound card (for example, in the screenshot below - Realtek High Definition Audio).

If instead, the tab is empty, or you see the " Unknown device" with a question mark means there is no driver.

Important! If you have problems with audio drivers, I recommend reading the following article:

To update the driver on Windows - just right-click on the device (for which you are updating drivers), and context menu select "Update drivers" (arrow 1-2 on the screenshot below).

For example, the screenshot below shows the program (available at the link above) Driver Booster, with which to update sound driver you can do it in 1 click... Convenient? Comfortable!

Update audio driver in 1 click!

4) Setting up an audio driver: using Realtek as an example

The volume also depends on the settings of the audio driver (and on the version of the driver itself, but this was discussed a little higher. I suggest considering the settings based on one of the most popular drivers - Realtek...

4.1 Device selection

When you connect any device to the input of a sound card, as a rule, a message pops up from Realtek drivers, asking you to indicate what kind of device you connected. The volume level also depends on the correct type of device.

In some cases, forced switching of the device type helps: from headphones to speakers (or vice versa). Try both options.

Note: to open the window for selecting the type of device to be connected, try removing the plug from the speakers (headphones) from the sound card and inserting it again.

4.2 Adjusting the playback volume level

In the Realtek sound card control panel there are several volume sliders (something like a mixer in Windows). For example, if your Front slider is set to 60% (and the speakers are connected to the front system unit) - then until you raise it to 100%, the sound will not become louder!

So a simple tip: open the mixer in Realtek and set all the volume sliders (that will be there) to 100%!

Addition! If you have headphones (speakers) connected to the front panel of the system unit, try connecting them to the back side.

If you have weak sound only when watching movies or listening to music, then most likely the problem is in the audio-video codecs (or players).

The advice here is simple: REMOVE completely all codecs from the system and try to install the set from K-Lite Codec Pack(detailed description here:). Moreover, when installing, be sure to turn on the mode "Lots of stuff", as in the screenshot below. This way you will get all the necessary and modern codecs for today).

How to install codecs correctly...

By the way, pay attention to the VLC player - it is not only good for playing network video, but also for watching video from hard drive. It has an option by increasing the sound volume up to 125%!

The best codecs (in my opinion) -

10 Free Players for Windows -

6) Programs to enhance volume

Programs to increase volume on a computer -

installed, configured once and it works (starts every time you turn on the computer);
increase the volume up to 500%!
supports everything popular programs, games, players, etc.: Skype, ICQ, Windows Media Player etc.

That's all for me. I hope at least one recommendation works!

Thanks in advance for any additions on the topic. Good luck!

Many people suddenly find that headphones that were just playing great stop working; the sound in them becomes quiet, dull, distant, as if coming from a pipe. Why is this happening? If you came home, took off your headphones, put them on the table, went to lunch, plugged in your headphones again, and they began to sound very bad, the answer is clear - physical damage.

The sound of headphones like a pipe in most cases occurs when there is poor or no contact. Let's look at all the possible problems:

The most common reason for the “pipe-like” sound in headphones is poor contact of the wire inside the jack.

In general, the jack is the weakest link in any headphones, especially those that you use on the go. Even at home, the jacks often break, and if you use headphones every day while traveling in public transport and while walking, this is the most probable cause breakdown and the appearance of a sound “like from a pipe”.

It happens that outwardly the jack looks absolutely fine, but inside the wire could have frayed from frequent bending or from excessive load if you carry the phone in your pockets and connect headphones to it. While walking, the jack constantly experiences serious stress and so does the wire inside it.

In the vast majority of cases, the jack is not dismountable; it is either cast or tightly glued from two plastic halves and it is impossible to disassemble it for repair. If you have soldering skills, you can simply buy a new jack at a radio store, cut off the old one and solder the wires again. This way the headphones will work again.

Or you can contact service center, there they will be able to change your jack, the operation is not complicated, but the price can be very high, because... repairmen understand perfectly well that you won’t be able to fix this breakdown yourself, and buying new headphones will be more expensive.

Broken contact inside the earphone - sound like a pipe

The second most common reason is a broken solder wire to the driver. Frankly, even expensive headphones do not always use strong and reliable soldering. This is due not so much to the manufacturer’s desire to earn more money from you when you go for a second pair of headphones after purchase, but to environmental standards in Europe and other countries. According to these standards, only soldering with certain components that are least toxic to the environment is possible. But they also keep contact worse and are more fragile, so when the cord inside your headphones breaks, you know that the environment is to blame, not the insidious manufacturer. Although, of course, no one has canceled production savings.

Again, if a “pipe-like” sound appears in your headphones, you have the same solutions as in the case of a broken contact inside the jack: send it for repair, do it yourself, or buy new headphones.

But, again, depending on the model, you may not be able to take the headphones apart without damaging them to make repairs. In any case, I recommend that you consult a service center about repairs, maybe you’ll be lucky and it won’t be difficult to repair your headphone model.

Cable break

A cable break is more difficult to notice because it can happen in any area, and even if you feel the entire wire with your hands, you may not find a break - that’s the tricky part. To fix this breakdown you need to change the entire wire.

At home use This often happens if you were sitting or lying down, listening to music, and then suddenly stood up and the headphones flew off your head because the wire got caught on something. I myself broke my headphones this way once. Or, if the headphones are used at the computer and they have a long wire, chair wheels often drive over it. This is a very significant load on the cable and very often causes it to break.

The solution is the same as in previous cases - contact the service center.

Water got inside the earphone - what should I do?

Water inside the earphone will do no good. I highly recommend not using the headphones until you dry them completely. Even if they appear completely dry on the outside, it does not mean that there is no water inside. If you come from a street where it was raining or snowing and notice that the headphones have become quiet and dim, immediately disconnect them from the sound source and start drying them.

What to do if water gets inside the earphone? There are different ways to dry your headphones from water. For example, you can put them next to the battery if it is warm. But you can’t put the headphones on the battery, because... It will be too hot for them and you risk damaging them. Or, if the headphones appear dry, you can put them in a bag of dry rice for a couple of days. Rice draws out moisture well and after a few days the headphones can be cleared of water.

Depending on the material and manufacturing technology of the driver, it may not be damaged by water, but the contacts are likely to oxidize even from short contact with water. At first you won’t notice this, but after a couple of months the oxidized contacts will make themselves felt, the sound will begin to “walk” and may become “quiet” or unintelligible. One day the headphones will simply stop working.

Therefore, I highly recommend that you do not listen to regular headphones in places where it is very humid or raining, it is very risky. Such a breakdown can only be repaired at a service center, because... special equipment is required, and only on the condition that oxidation does not affect too large an area. Sometimes the effects of water become irreversible and the headphones have to be thrown away.

Lost contact in the audio source jack

This breakdown occurs less frequently than others, but you also need to know about it. If the jack is poorly designed or you connect and disconnect headphones too often, the contacts in it may become damaged. The sound will become intermittent, there will be interference, clicking, or it will sound like it’s coming out of a pipe. You will notice that normal sound will only work if you hold the jack in a certain way, or if you apply constant pressure to it.

In this case, repairs will be more difficult, because you will need to resolder the entire socket from the board on which it was soldered. I highly recommend that you contact a service center with a similar breakdown, because... the cost of a mistake is very high, and the chance of doing everything yourself without the proper experience is low.

When making a call or listening to music, the sound played Apple headphones EarPods can be quiet or muted. Follow the steps in this article to resolve these issues.

Check the volume setting on your iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac.
Make sure that the screens in the openings of the headphones are free of lint and other debris.
If any of the earphone meshes appear clogged, use a small, clean, dry, soft-bristled brush to clean them. Use this brush to carefully clean all the holes.

If EarPods headphones still producing a low or muffled sound, or for service.

They allow you to easily increase or decrease volume with an intuitive vertical orientation. Headphones fall into the category of consumer products accordingly. consumer electronics. From the concept of consumer consumption, it is clear that these are goods to be consumed or worn out.

Depending on the type of product, wear is short, medium or long term. There is no doubt that if you spend time, money and money choosing a new propagation product, you will expect reciprocity in terms of quality and long-term functionality. Reproduction quality, insulating ability and comfort will directly affect correct search new headphones; However, long-term functionality is partially affected only before purchase.

Attention!

Listening to music at high volumes with headphones can cause permanent hearing loss. Over time you can get used to loud sound which may seem normal but actually harm your hearing. To avoid this, it is recommended to set the volume to a safe level. If you experience ringing in your ears or if speech sounds are muffled, lower the volume or stop using headphones and consult a doctor. The higher the sound volume, the faster negative hearing changes can occur. To prevent hearing loss, experts recommend following the following precautions:

After purchasing there was only one left. Therefore, in addition to valuable experience, I also have general overview the most common mistakes faced by headphone owners across different designs and brands. In-ear headphones and classic headphones. In general, the most common, perhaps more talked about, defect, regardless of design, is a defect known as the phone not playing. Several reasons have been suggested. On the one hand, it can damage the changing device as a result of material fatigue, manufacturing defects or unwanted hands playing with the volumetric wheels on a powerful amplifier.

Many people use headphones to listen to music and play games without disturbing others. However, it often happens that a headset that initially has excellent volume loses it over time. Listening to music brings discomfort: you have to strain your ears. What should you do if your favorite headphones, which we almost never part with, start playing quietly, and why does this happen?

On the one hand, this can damage the path along which the sound should be heard. beep from the sound source - break the “active” part of the power cable. With the described defect, partially related to the defect, one phone plays weaker. The trouble in the form of a decrease in the intensity of the sound created by one transducer refers to the negative characteristics of the intraural structure. The cause is clogging protective grille hollow sound conductor, most often earwax.

Defects can occur in both regular and in-layer headphones. Again, a number of reasons may be given for the inverter to be defective due to various reasons and for example the membrane may be damaged. However, the agent is often simpler - the hair passing through the protective layer, to the changing device, vibrates as the diaphragm moves and makes sounds.

Main reasons

Why the headphones began transmitting sound quietly is not as easy to find out as it seems at first glance. There are several reasons.

If one earphone works a little worse - quiet sound, extraneous rustles, then perhaps it the contact closes to the body. You need to check the plug for breakdown.
One of the speakers is demagnetized, so the sound became much quieter. For high-quality products, the likelihood of such a defect is reduced to zero, but devices from China sometimes suffer from this - repair is impossible, you can only buy a new product.
During long-term use, headphones may accumulate foreign debris, which screens sound and does not allow the product to pass through, must be disassembled and cleaned with a brush.
When the sound is different - one of the headphones has a quieter sound, then try check balance.
If there is a volume disturbance towards the left or right device, then you need to check them on another product, for example, connect it to a laptop - everything is fine, which means the settings in the phone are to blame.
High humidity, drop or mechanical damage cord may cause temporary silence in one or the other earphone.

Other defects are not directly related to reproductive activity. This is structural damage - destruction or complete destruction of the bridge, cracks in plastic parts, “damage” to joints. The original colors are lost, the matte splashes are shiny. Proceed according to your experience.

At the same time, he has read the tests and therefore knows which products to avoid completely or which model to look for and buy a quality product. Proper care may extend the time you collect and enjoy the fruits of modern technology, but it is never guaranteed to extend indefinitely. Access to headphone care will differ in design more or less. Otherwise the listener will behave towards ear plugs, otherwise classic types. And completely different types with killer purchase prices.

Having certain skills in working with electronic devices, you can dismantle the product yourself and find out the condition of the sound card, otherwise you need to contact a service technician.

Human factor

Young people have a tendency to listen to their favorite tracks on headphones, turning the volume on full power. With this habit, even small “pills” inserted into the ears can cause damage to your eardrums over time. After a long time of such vigorous listening, your hearing becomes dull, and it seems to you that the sound from the headphones becomes quiet or that one earphone is louder than the other. Rest for a few days and your hearing will return to normal. If not, then immediately contact an otolaryngologist.

Do not affect manufacturing defect and fatigue in inverters. However, you can greatly reduce the additional cause of power cable damage, which is also a problem for most users regardless of design. The most annoying are the cable entries into the headphone body and immediately behind the connector. First of all, the second one suffers from using a portable player. If you have no choice but to carry your player in your pocket, always hold it with the plug and power cord parallel to the edge of the player.

The yellow-brown lubricant protects our hearing organs. But when she hits the headphones for internal use, it can clog the metal mesh and it seems that the product now has a quiet sound or does not work at all.

Do not insert it in an unnatural position. If the connector is straight, place the player in your pocket so that the connector is on the top side, and not vice versa - there would be an unpleasant interruption. Remove the earlobes from their bodies, classic headphones, catching the bridge or shell; Don't try to pull the cable out - it won't last forever.

Manufacturers are trying to protect risk spots in a variety of ways - mainly by increasing efforts. In any case, do not allow the power cable to become severely damaged. Repeated detachments cause great stress and reduce the effectiveness of surface protection. Ideal storage should be placed on a desk with the cable lying as loosely as possible. Use transport sleeves for transport - you usually have to roll the cable. Be careful not to overtighten the ball or install the connector in its natural position.

There are cases when only one of the headphones is more clogged - this is due to the anatomical features of the user’s ear canals.

There is only one method to get rid of this problem - rinse and clean the mesh using improvised means using a simple method.

Visually check the quality of the flushing and connect the device to the phone - the headphones begin to work, the sound is the same, which means that all actions were performed correctly. Enjoy listening.

Instead, avoid unwanted cases and only use manual cable layout with minimal breaks. Route the cable under your clothing to prevent accidental jerks if you accidentally snag the cable. If you have multiple layers, not all over your body, but maybe between your shirt and sweater. Poaching increases in hot weather and sports. The pot may damage the surface of the power cord.

Quiet sound on a computer may be evidence of both hardware and software problems and malfunctions.

Let's try to describe in more detail all the possible causes of the problem and effective ways its elimination.

Problem #1. Possible hardware problems

Among the hardware reasons why the sound became quieter are the following:

Outdated speaker connectors. All connectors break periodically. Typically this problem occurs when personal computer installed old version sound card.
Also, the problem of non-working connectors is due to the fact that they were used too often, constantly turning devices on and off.
Due to such frequent use, contact with the plug is lost, so sound device may work quietly or not at all. The solution to this problem is to replace the connector;

Advice! Make sure that, other than a broken jack, your audio device is working properly and producing sound at the correct level. To do this, connect it to another computer.

Failure at the sound card level. In this case, you need to contact a service center to repair or replace the sound card of your computer or laptop.

Problem #2. The need to update drivers

Almost all problems with displaying connected devices to a computer boil down to the need to update the driver software.

First of all, if the sound is quiet, you need to check the relevance installed drivers for the device's sound or video card.

IN modern computers Video cards contain the functions of sound cards, which saves space inside the computer case.

It is also necessary to check the drivers of individual audio devices connected to the computer.

Follow the instructions below:

Go to the system device manager;

Then select the Audio Input and Audio Output Devices tab as shown in the image below;

Right-click on any of the devices and select driver update, then in the installation wizard that opens, select automatic search for updates and wait for them to install.
The entire process of updating the device driver will happen automatically within one minute; the computer must have an Internet connection. Do the same for all other devices in the audio tab in Device Manager.

Problem #3. The sound in the headphones is too quiet

Why do headphones play sound too quietly:

The headphones may be broken or damaged. To eliminate the possibility of headphones breaking, try testing them on your smartphone, tablet or any other device. If they work fine, the problem is with the computer.
If you are using operating system Windows xp, then the problem of quiet sound playback is quite standard. The reason for the problem is that Microsoft has not released new updates for the sound card for several years and does not support the outdated operating system at all.
This is why many modern headphones and other audio devices may be incompatible with the OS and, accordingly, will not work correctly.
Make sure all drivers are installed and working correctly. To do this, find the connected headphones in the device manager, right-click on them and enable the device properties, as shown in the figure below.

IN in this case, the system shows that the headphones are working normally.

If the status of the connected headphones is determined to be erroneous or critical, you should update the hardware configuration, after which you should be sure to disconnect the headphones and restart your computer or laptop, then connect the headphones again and test the sound.

Everything should work fine. An example of updating the configuration of connected headphones is shown in the figure below.

Problem #4. Quiet sound when playing movies

Often, some film distributors deliberately reduce the sound level in order to protect themselves from possible claims from copyright holders.

After all automatic programs to identify pirated content, they cannot distinguish between two identical audio tracks if they are played at different frequencies.

Thus, the movie you downloaded may play sound quietly not because of a problem in the system.

If your player plays all audio and video quite quietly, you need to install new codecs - unique drivers for recognizing video and audio tracks, without delay and in the correct encoding.

You can download codecs from the official website of the developer of your player.

Test the sound of the same video in different players, in most cases, only one of the players does not play correctly audio tracks.

Make sure all audio drivers on your computer or laptop are installed and working correctly. Use the instructions given above in the article.

Problem #5. Quiet sound from speakers

Quiet sound from the speakers may indicate more than just incorrectly installed driver software. The speakers may be dirty with dust or broken.

Check if the speakers are dirty from the inside, because too much dust accumulation can be a direct reason that the sound is not reproduced correctly:

Open back cover speaker housings, an example of open speakers is shown in the figure;

Check the condition of all wires; perhaps some of them may have been damaged during a fall or other mechanical damage to the device. This may cause sound to be intermittent or too quiet;
Thoroughly clean the contents of the case from dust and cobwebs. This can be done using a cosmetic or artistic brush. Never use a damp cloth. Avoid getting moisture inside the device.

The reason that the sound on the laptop has become quieter may be both software and hardware problems. Most often, updating the sound card drivers helps, but in severe cases you have to change the sound card.

Volume settings

If the sound on your laptop becomes very quiet, the first thing you need to do is check the volume. Left-click on the speaker icon in the system tray. Make sure the slider is at the very top, meaning the volume is set to maximum.

If the sound becomes quieter in specific application(for example, in a browser), right-click the speaker icon and open the volume mixer. Set the sliders to the maximum level.

You should also check the playback device properties. Right-click on the speaker and go to the section of the same name. Select the hardware used to play audio and click Properties.

Go to the "Levels" section and make sure the slider is set to maximum value. There is also a “Balance” button here, which allows you to distribute the sound between several speakers if you use external speakers on your laptop.

To improve the sound, it is recommended to go to the “Advanced Features” tab and enable some effects. When setting up effects, you should rely on your own perception of the sound, so to select optimal parameters you'll have to experiment a little.

Checking and updating drivers

If adjusting the volume on the laptop does not solve the problem, and the playback device is still very quiet, then check the sound card drivers. Microsoft Support recommends removing and reinstalling the sound card software or simply updating it. Drivers should be downloaded from the official website of the laptop manufacturer for specific model. It is important to correctly specify the version and bitness of the system, otherwise there may be compatibility problems after installation.

If you downloaded the drivers from the manufacturer’s website, you can easily determine which device you need to select in the manager. If you decide to update your drivers from automatic search, then you will have to do this for all presented devices if you do not know the sound card model.

How to update drivers on a laptop:

You can try installing software sound card with using DriverPack Solution. It will be installed from the driver pack universal driver, but even in some cases it helps solve the problem with sound on a laptop.

Working with programs

If you have sound Realtek card, then a separate program must be installed on the laptop to manage the audio driver. You can find it in the “Hardware and Sound” section of the control panel under the name “Realtek HD Manager”. The manager combines all Realtek audio drivers, so if the sound becomes quiet, you can increase its volume through this utility.

To make sure the sound is Realtek manager configured normally, look at parameters such as main volume, surround sound, wideband loudspeakers. Try changing the settings, finding out why it becomes quieter or louder.

Try installing Sound Booster sound management software. According to the developers, the program increases the volume by 500% in browsers, media players and communication applications like Skype. Essentially, Sound Booster copies the functions of the built-in Windows tool, but for some users this utility really helped increase the volume while maintaining sound quality.

If the sound becomes quieter when playing a movie or music, you need to check the volume settings in your media player. Keep in mind that the sound in an audio or video recording may be initially quiet, so the laptop's sound card may not have anything to do with it. What to do in such a situation? Download a movie or song in normal quality or try to improve the sound using the media player's equalizer.

If we are talking about the sound of a film, then you need to make sure that the laptop has codecs that allow you to correctly reproduce this video format. If with AVI playback There are no problems even when using the built-in Windows player, then for MKV format A special player or additional codecs are required, otherwise you may encounter some problems.

Hardware problems

Unfortunately, the reasons why the sound of a laptop becomes uncomfortably quiet are not exhaustive. software problems. In some cases, the user cannot fix anything on his own, because the origins of the failure are in the computer’s hardware. This could be damage to the speakers or sound card, which can only be fixed by replacing the equipment.