How to change volume increment levels on Windows 10
The volume buttons on a keyboard work with Windows 10 and can increase or decrease the volume by 2 levels. You get a visual on the screen that shows you how many levels the volume increased or decreased by. This isn’t a lot. It may increase by a bit more for other users but there’s no way to change how much the level goes up or down from the GUI. If the default change in volume levels doesn’t work for you, you’re going to need a script to change it. Specifically, an AutoHotKey script.
Change volume increment levels
Open a new Notepad file and enter the following. This script, as it is, will increase and decrease the volume by one but you can customize it to whatever you like. You can set a different level for increasing the volume, and for decreasing it.
; Fix Windows Volume:
$Volume_Up::
SoundGet, volume
Send {Volume_Up}
SoundSet, volume + 1
Return
$Volume_Down::
SoundGet, volume
Send {Volume_Down}
SoundSet, volume - 1
Return
To change the volume increase level, go to the following line and change the numerical value from +1 to whatever you like.
SoundSet, volume + 1
To change the volume decrease level, go to the following line in the script and change the numerical value at the end to whatever you like.
SoundSet, volume - 1
Save the script with the AHK file extension. Once you’ve saved it, you can test it out by running it. Tap the volume up/down keys on your keyboard and they should change the volume by the new level that you set with the script. If you like the new way the keys work, it’s a good idea to move the script to the startup folder so that it will run automatically when you boot to your desktop.
Use the Win+R keyboard shortcut to open the run box and enter the following. Tap enter. Move the script to the folder that opens.
shell:startup
You can change the volume level any time you want by editing the script. It doesn’t need to be moved out of the Startup folder. You can edit it there directly and reload the script.
The volume keys on the keyboard aren’t the only way to change the volume. You can also change it from the volume button in the system tray which means that whatever volume level you set, the volume keys will increase/decrease the volume relative to it after you start using the script. This means that if the volume is set to increase by 5, and the current volume is set to 23, tapping the volume up button will change the volume to 28.
Thank you, very clear instructions. This has been annoying me forever, either too loud or too quiet. This was so easy and works perfectly.
My preference to solve this is Volume2! Info on the app can be found on AlternativeTo. Volume2 (volume squared) has a lot of customizability, for example allows you to change the volume with the scroll wheel and change the size of the audio volume increment, down to 1 in my case. You can also support them on the Microsoft Store.
I use Windows 11 and the AHK scripts gave me issues where it would suddenly mute at different intervals because it would recognize both changes — system and AHK — and when I changed the volume fast it would mute every time. The explanation is confusing but that’s the jist.
This did the trick. I was already using AHK but the additional instructions fixed the increment. Much appreciated, thank you.
It took me some time to figure out that the AutoHotKey application must be installed for this to work – see autohotkey.com – it would be super helpful to include this in the article! Once I got AutoHotKey installed, the script worked perfectly, and I’m very happy with it – thank you!
This has been a life saver! I have a really sensitive headphones and the option to adjust the volume by 1 increment is life changing.
I compiled a .exe file with a custom icon for anyone who wants it 🙂
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlAe6_dXmvWylb9CcpliaYLO5xtF5Q
Sounds good, doesn’t work.