How to turn off Windows 10 volume media controls
The function keys on a keyboard or the dedicated media keys on a keyboard can control, among other things, the volume of a system and the media playback. On Windows 10, when you use these keys to play or pause media, or to change the volume, you see an on-screen notification displaying the change.
The general consensus about the Windows 10 volume media controls is that they’re terrible; they take up too much space and they stay on the screen longer than most users like. There is no way to reduce its ‘time-out’ period.
Replace Windows 10 volume media controls
If you do not like the default visual you get when you change the volume or play/pause media via the keyboard, you can replace it. There are apps that come with skins for these controls but we recommend giving ModernFlyouts a try.
- Download ModernFlyouts from the Microsoft Store.
- Run the app.
- Change the volume and/or play/pause media to see the new, modern volume media controls.
Turn off Windows 10 volume media controls
We recommend ModernFlyouts for several reasons but one good reason to give the app a try is that you can use it to completely disable the volume media controls.
- Run ModernFlyouts.
- Double-click its icon in the system tray to open the app’s settings.
- Go to the General tab.
- Under Default Flyout, select the ‘None’ option.
- The Windows 10 volume media controls will be disabled
Note: You can still use the function keys or the media keys on the keyboard to play pause media and change the volume. They will work but you won’t see the on-screen notification for it anymore.
Reduce Windows 10 volume media controls time-out period
If you think the Windows 10 volume media controls stay on the screen a bit too long, you can reduce the time with ModernFlyouts.
- Run the app.
- Double-click the app’s icon in the system tray to access its settings.
- Go to the Personalization tab.
- At the bottom, in the Behavior section, set how long the controls should remain on the screen in milliseconds.
Note: we found the default 2750 ms to be suitable but you can increase or decrease it. This setting will not be applied to the stock Windows 10 volume media controls.
Move volume media controls
The volume media controls that ModernFlyouts adds appear in the top left corner but they can be moved to any other part of the screen. Simply click and drag the controls to their new position.
The new position applies only to ModernFlyouts’ controls and not to the stock Windows 10 controls.
Other controls
ModernFlyouts doesn’t just add modern volume media controls. It also adds controls for brightness, enabling/disabling brightness, and enabling/disabling caps etc. They are all enabled by default.
