Enable or Disable Audio Enhancements in Windows 11

This post describes the steps to turn audio enhancements in Windows 11 on or off.

Audio enhancement feature in Windows improves specific audio hardware performance and sound quality. Therefore, depending on your device’s hardware, you might get one device’s audio enhancement features.

Even though device audio enhancements (APOs) help improve sound quality, they may also cause poor sound quality with some devices.

If you don’t see a signal when you test your device’s microphone or audio, you may have a problem with your device’s audio enhancements (APOs). In that case, you may have to disable audio enhancements.

If audio enhancements are disabled on your device, and you wish to enable and use them, then the steps below should also help you turn them on.

How to turn on or off audio enhancements in Windows 11

As described above, the audio enhancement feature in Windows improves specific audio hardware performance and sound quality.

Below is how to turn Windows 11 on or off.

Windows 11 has a centralized location for the majority of its settings. As a result, everything can be done, from system configurations to creating new users and updating Windows from its System Settings pane.

To get to System Settings, you can use the Windows key + I shortcut or click on Start ==> Settings, as shown in the image below:

Alternatively, you can use the search box on the taskbar and search for Settings. Then select to open it.

Windows Settings pane should look similar to the image below. On the Windows Settings app, click the System on the left, then select the Sound tile on the right pane, as highlighted in the image below.

On the System -> Sound settings pane, under Advanced, select the All sound devices tile to expand.

On the System -> Sound -> All sound devices settings pane, under Output or Input devices, select the audio device you want to work with to expand.

If you have more than one audio output or input device, repeat these steps for each device and test your speakers or microphone.

On the Sound device Properties settings pane, select the Audio Enhancements tile. Then, keep Device Default Effects (default – On) or choose Off to disable.

That should do it! You can now close the Windows Settings app.

Conclusion:

• Windows 11 provides a centralized location for adjusting audio settings, including the option to enable or disable audio enhancements.
• Users can choose specific audio devices and configure their audio enhancements by accessing the System Settings and navigating to the Sound section.
• Users can enable or disable audio enhancements based on their preferences and device compatibility.