Volume mixer keeps resetting

[ 01 ]

Work out which of the two you have

The two problems look similar in the moment and have nothing to do with each other underneath.

Problem A: it forgets between sessions

The level is right the whole time you are using the app. You close it, or you reboot, and the next launch is back at 100%. Nothing moves while you are sitting there. This is a saving problem, and it is steps 2 and 3.

Problem B: it moves while you are listening

You are in the middle of something and the volume changes on its own, with no restart involved. Something on your machine is actively reaching in and turning it. That is steps 4 and 5.

[ 02 ]

Rebuild the key that stores your volumes

Since Windows Vista, the volume you set for each app is saved in one place in the registry. If that key is missing or damaged, there is nowhere for Windows to write it down, so every launch is treated as a brand new app and starts at 100%. This is the single most common cause of problem A, and it is the one almost no guide mentions.

1. Press Windows key + R, type regedit and press Enter.
2. Paste this into the address bar at the top and press Enter:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\Audio\PolicyConfig\PropertyStore
3. If the path opens, the key exists and your problem is elsewhere. Jump to when the key is there and it still forgets.
4. If it does not open, work down the path and create whatever is missing. Right click the last folder that does exist, choose New, then Key, and name it for the next part of the path.
5. Restart your PC, then set your volumes again.

If you are on Windows 11 24H2

This trips people up, because the key moved and then moved back. Press Windows key + R, type winver and check your build number.

1. On 23H2 and earlier, and on builds after 26100.1, use the Internet Explorer path above. The name is a leftover, not a mistake.
2. On early 24H2 builds, the key lived here instead:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\Audio\PolicyConfig\PropertyStore

If you are not sure which applies to you, check both paths and create whichever one is missing. An unused key does no harm.

[ 03 ]

When the key is there and it still forgets

Each app gets its own entry under that key. The key can exist while one particular app never gets written into it, which is why people see one app resetting while everything else behaves.

NirSoft's AppAudioConfig reads those entries and shows you which apps actually have a saved volume and which do not. It is a small free utility and it does not run in the background. It will not repair the underlying problem, but it turns "Windows is being weird" into a specific answer about a specific app.

Be aware of what you are looking at here. This is a long standing Windows bug, reported across Windows 10 and Windows 11 since 22H2, on clean installs and across completely different hardware. The Microsoft support threads about it run to hundreds of replies, get locked, and have no official answer. Plenty of people report that the standard advice, reinstalling audio drivers and disabling exclusive mode, changed nothing for them.

That is worth saying plainly rather than pretending step 4 will definitely save you.

[ 04 ]

Stop apps taking exclusive control

When an app takes exclusive control of your output device, it can seize the device and push your saved levels aside. This is a real cause of problem B, and it is worth turning off either way.

On Windows 11

1. Open Settings, then System, then Sound.
2. Click your output device.
3. Open Advanced, then the Advanced tab.
4. Untick everything under Exclusive Mode.

On Windows 10

1. Press Windows key + R, type mmsys.cpl and press Enter.
2. Select your playback device and click Properties.
3. Open the Advanced tab.
4. Untick "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device".

Set expectations honestly: this fixes the case where an app is grabbing the device, and it does nothing at all for the saving problem in step 2. A lot of people try this first, see no change, and conclude their PC is broken. It is not, it is just the wrong fix for that half of the problem.

[ 05 ]

Rule out ducking, enhancements and drivers

If your volume moves while everything is running, three things cause it far more often than the mixer itself.

1. Windows ducking. Press Windows key + R, type mmsys.cpl, open the Communications tab and select "Do nothing".
2. Audio enhancements. Loudness Equalization pulls your level around constantly and feels exactly like a mixer that will not sit still. Turn enhancements off for your output device.
3. Driver software. Realtek Audio Console, Nahimic, Sonic Studio and Dolby Atmos ship with leveling and compression switched on, and they override what you set in Windows.

All three are covered properly, with the app side as well, in our guide on how to turn off audio ducking in Windows. If your volume drops when someone talks rather than resetting to 100%, start there instead of here.

[ 06 ]

When nothing sticks

If you have rebuilt the key, ruled out exclusive mode, and your levels still reset, you have hit the bug itself. There is no setting left to change. People generally land on one of two things.

The first is to give up on per app levels and run everything at 100%, mixing by ear with the master volume. It works, and it is miserable if you play with music on.

The second is to stop relying on Windows to remember, and use something that sets the level again for you. That is the only approach that survives a bug you cannot fix.