Increase the number of steps of an Android volume control
January 30, 2023 6:18 PM Subscribe
My current android phone (an LG Velvet) only has 15 volume settings between mute and maximum volume. Is there any way to either increase the number of steps or select a half way setting?
I seem to constantly be flopping back and forth between two setting as one is too faint and the next step is too loud. The volume control on the earbuds just changes the phone volume.
I seem to constantly be flopping back and forth between two setting as one is too faint and the next step is too loud. The volume control on the earbuds just changes the phone volume.
Best answer: The "15-step" volume is an Android system limitation.
Samsung phones can bypass it with an optional Samsung app called Sound Assistant that allows up to 150 sound steps.
LG V30, and V40, with its own special DAC for sound, can have 75 step volume control, bypassing the Android default.
However, for the rest of us, we're stuck with 16 steps, unless you have external audio device with its own volume controls, THEN you can turn off "Absolute Volume" in developer settings, so you get finer volume controls on the playback device.
posted by kschang at 9:21 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Samsung phones can bypass it with an optional Samsung app called Sound Assistant that allows up to 150 sound steps.
LG V30, and V40, with its own special DAC for sound, can have 75 step volume control, bypassing the Android default.
However, for the rest of us, we're stuck with 16 steps, unless you have external audio device with its own volume controls, THEN you can turn off "Absolute Volume" in developer settings, so you get finer volume controls on the playback device.
posted by kschang at 9:21 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Probably the two settings you're stuck between are at the low end of the scale?
In that case a solution is a cheap inline volume control, e.g.:
https://www.amazon.com/Koss-155954-VC20-Volume-Control/dp/B00001P4XH
Turn the volume down on that external volume control, so that you can turn the volume on your phone *up*. And hopefully that gives you more useful gradations.
posted by bfields at 7:38 PM on January 31, 2023
In that case a solution is a cheap inline volume control, e.g.:
https://www.amazon.com/Koss-155954-VC20-Volume-Control/dp/B00001P4XH
Turn the volume down on that external volume control, so that you can turn the volume on your phone *up*. And hopefully that gives you more useful gradations.
posted by bfields at 7:38 PM on January 31, 2023
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(I didn't need an app after all, so no specific suggestions there. I discovered that the Bluetooth loudspeaker I use has the fine-grained volume that I wanted.)
posted by intermod at 6:32 PM on January 30, 2023