Sound mixer volume changes audio randomly when calling on discord

Question

So I call my friends on discord and the games I play during or music I listen to always goes down to 42% with sound mixer. I have changing the audio in comunications to do nothing on my control panel and stream attenuation off. nothing works and I'm getting really annoyed. updating my sound drivers does nothing too and there is no windows update. help please

Answer 1

Hi,

Since you’ve already set Windows to do nothing when detecting communication activities in Sound Properties, the issue may be caused by a setting within the app itself. In the app, go to Settings > Voice and Video > Show Advanced Voice settings > Global Attenuation. Turn off When I speak and When others speak, then move the slider to the minimum to effectively disable the feature and see if that resolves the issue. I’ve experienced the same issue previously and this is the only thing that resolves it for me.

Answer 2

Since Communications = Do nothing, Discord attenuation = off, audio drivers updated, and Windows is up to date were already tried, focus on the remaining Windows audio settings that commonly force app volume changes during calls:

1. Check per-app volume in Volume mixer while Discord is active
   • Right-click the Volume icon on the taskbar.
   • Select Open Volume mixer.
   • While Discord and the affected game or music app are both open, verify the app sliders are not muted and are turned up.
   • If the game or music app drops to 42%, raise it there and test again during a call.
2. Make sure the correct playback device is the default device
   • Right-click the Volume icon and select Sounds.
   • Open the Playback tab.
   • Select the device actually being used for audio, then choose Set as Default Device.
   • Select OK.
   • This matters if Discord or another app is switching output to a different device.
3. Restart Windows audio services
   • Select Start, type services or services.msc, and open it.
   • Restart these services:
     • Windows Audio
     • Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
     • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
   • Test Discord again after the restarts.
4. Turn off audio enhancements
   • Right-click the Volume icon and select Sounds.
   • Open the Playback tab.
   • Select the active audio device, then select Properties.
   • Open the Enhancements tab.
   • Check Disable all enhancements, then select OK.
5. Try a different audio format
   • In Sounds > Playback, select the active device > Properties.
   • Open the Advanced tab.
   • Under Default format, choose a different format and test audio during a Discord call.
6. If the issue only happens when the microphone is in use, reinstall the audio driver
   • Open Device Manager.
   • Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   • Right-click the main audio device and select Uninstall device.
   • If available, select the option to delete the driver software.
   • Warning: this temporarily removes the audio driver until restart.
   • Restart the PC so Windows reinstalls the driver automatically.
7. If the device shows as IDT High Definition Audio CODEC, switch it manually
   • In Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers, look for IDT High Definition Audio CODEC.
   • Select Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
   • Select High Definition Audio Device and continue.

The most relevant path for this case is: Volume mixer check during the Discord call, confirm the correct default playback device, then restart Windows Audio services. If the volume still snaps to 42% only when voice chat starts, the next best step is reinstalling the audio driver.

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References:

• Fix app audio not working while system sounds work in Windows
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Fix low or quiet sound in Windows
• MIXER VOLUME ERROR IN WINDOWS 11 24H2 - Microsoft Q&A
• anytime my mic is being used volume is stuck at 100% - Microsoft Q&A