Windows 11 still has the classic Sound window with its Playback, Recording, Sounds and Communications tabs. It just isn't where you would expect. The volume icon on the taskbar and the main Sound page in Settings only show a simplified set of options, so the controls you may be looking for stay out of sight. This guide shows how to reach the older window, how to put it a click away on your desktop, and what to do once it is open.
Open it from the Run box with a short command
This is the quickest route, and it works on both Windows 11 and Windows 10. The window opens on whichever tab you used last time.
- Press Win + R to open the Run box.
- Type mmsys.cpl and press Enter.
- The Sound window appears.
Open it from the speaker icon or Settings
On Windows 11 the link to the classic window sits on the Sound page in Settings, and the speaker icon takes you to that page.
- Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and choose Sound settings, or press Win + I and select System, then Sound.
- Under Advanced, select More sound settings. The classic window opens.
- On Windows 10 the link is called Sound control panel and sits on the right side of the Sound page. Right-clicking the speaker icon may also show a Sounds entry that opens the window directly. The entries in that menu differ from one PC to another, so if it is missing, use another method here.
Open it from Control Panel
Control Panel is harder to spot in Windows 11, so type Control Panel into the search box on the taskbar to find it. From there, the Sound window takes two clicks.
- Open Control Panel.
- Choose the Hardware and Sound category.
- Under the Sound heading, click Sound. It opens the same window, showing your playback devices.
Make a desktop shortcut to the Sound window
If you open this window often, a shortcut saves the trip through menus. You can build one from Control Panel.
- Open Control Panel.
- In the top right corner, find the View by menu and switch it from Category to Small icons. All the items now show in one list.
- Right-click Sound and choose Create shortcut.
- Windows says it can't place the shortcut there and asks whether to put it on the desktop instead. Click Yes.
- Double-click the new icon whenever you want the Sound window.
What you can do in the Sound window
Once the window is open, these are the controls people usually come for.
- Tabs: Playback lists your speakers and headphones, Recording lists microphones and other inputs, Sounds covers system sound effects, and Communications controls what Windows does with volume during calls.
- Missing device: right-click an empty area of the list and choose Show Disabled Devices. Do the same for Show Disconnected Devices if your gear is unplugged. Then right-click the device and pick Enable. If it still won't appear, the no-sound steps pick up from here.
- Default device: right-click a device and choose Set as Default Device. A green check mark shows which device programs will use unless told otherwise.
- Calls: choose Set as Default Communication Device to give a different device to apps like Zoom or Skype. It gets a small telephone icon.
- Volume level: double-click a device, or right-click it and pick Properties, then open the Levels tab. A USB microphone can arrive with its input volume set quite low, so check here if it sounds faint.
- Audio effects: in the device's Properties, open the Advanced tab and look under Signal Enhancements for the Enable audio enhancements checkbox. If the tab isn't there, the driver probably has its own app, such as Realtek Audio Console, where those effects are managed. The audio enhancements steps cover turning them off.