Audio balance using earbuds on ASUS laptop with Windows 11 in Melbourne Australia. Can't move levels separately.

Question

In Melbourne, Australia, my friends and I can't seem to find the settings to fix audio problems such as audio balance on laptops like my ASUS Rog Strix, or on phones to get rid of background noise. Advice from AI or YouTube does not work on settings in Melbourne for some reason. It is all completely different. In this case I didn't find the balance settings in most places in AI advice. When I found it, the levels would not separate channels in the balance section. Left and right move together. I've had the same problem with other laptops and devices of different brands and on the speakers and on earbuds. Laptops eventually get skewed sound, and it seems almost impossible to find a solution as all advice seems wrong for Melbourne devices and for Windows in Melbourne.

Answer 1

Hello Jeremy Williams,

If the Left and Right sliders move together, the earbuds or audio driver may be exposing only one combined stereo volume control to Windows.

Please check the classic sound controls:

1. Press Win + R, enter mmsys.cpl, and press Enter.
2. On the Playback tab, select the earbuds.
3. Select Properties > Levels > Balance.
4. Try adjusting the Left and Right channels there.

If they still move together, please confirm whether the earbuds connect through Bluetooth, USB, or the 3.5 mm audio jack, and provide the exact ASUS laptop model.

For Bluetooth earbuds, also check Settings > System > Sound, select the earbuds, and confirm that the output format is set to 2 channels. Re-pairing the earbuds and installing the latest Bluetooth and audio drivers from ASUS may also help.

If the controls remain linked after that, the device or its driver may not expose separate channel adjustment to Windows. The earbud manufacturer’s companion app may offer its own balance or hearing-personalization control.

Answer 2

Windows settings are not different by city or country for this feature. On Windows 11, the supported checks for uneven left/right audio are:

1. Check left/right channel balance
   • Go to Start > Settings > System > Sound.
   • Under Output, select the earbuds or speakers being used.
   • Go to Output settings > Volume.
   • Check whether Left and Right are both set to the same value, typically 100.
2. Turn off Mono audio
   • Go to Start > Settings > System > Sound.
   • In Output, turn Mono audio Off.
   • If Mono audio is on, stereo behavior can be affected.
3. Make sure the correct output device is selected
   • Select the Speakers icon on the taskbar.
   • Select the arrow next to the volume slider.
   • Confirm audio is going to the intended earbuds, headphones, or speakers.
4. Check that the device is not muted or disabled
   • Right-click the Speakers icon on the taskbar.
   • Select the arrow next to the volume slider, then the settings icon for More mixer settings.
   • Make sure the device is not muted.
   • Then go to Start > Settings > System > Sound > Advanced > More sound settings.
   • Open the Playback tab, select the device, choose Properties, and confirm Device usage is set to Use this device (enable).
5. Set the earbuds or speakers as the default output device
   • Go to Start > Settings > System > Sound.
   • In Output, select the device to use for playback.
6. If using Bluetooth earbuds, check device-specific causes
   • Charge the earbuds fully.
   • Go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices and check battery if shown.
   • Inspect the earbuds for hardware issues.
   • Reconnect after charging.
7. Update or roll back the audio driver
   • If the balance control is missing or not behaving correctly, update or reinstall the audio driver.
   • If the problem started after Windows Update, open Device Manager.
   • Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   • Right-click the sound device > Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver if available.
   • If rollback is not available, install the latest audio driver from the device manufacturer.
8. Install Windows updates and restart
   • Go to Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
   • Install available updates.
   • Restart the PC.

If the left and right controls always move together, the supported Windows checks in the available guidance are the balance setting, Mono audio, driver update or rollback, and testing whether the issue follows the earbuds themselves. If the same imbalance happens across multiple devices and brands, that points to either the audio accessory or a device-specific audio/driver issue rather than a Melbourne-specific setting difference.

For background noise on phones, no supported phone-specific steps are available here.

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References:

• Fix Bluetooth audio only playing in one channel
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Fix audio issues when no sound plays from speakers or headphones in Windows
• I am unable to balance audio for headphones - Microsoft Q&A
• My headphones (wired) have slightly different volumes, my left ear is louder than my right ear, and I don't know how to change it - Microsoft Q&A