How do I access audio settings on Android?

The audio settings on Android allow you to control various aspects of sound on your device. This includes adjusting volume levels for media, ringtones, notifications and system sounds. You can also switch between silent, vibrate and sound modes, enable accessibility features like mono audio and captions, and customize your ringtones.

Controlling these audio settings gives you granular control over the acoustic experience on your Android device. Whether you want to turn up the volume for music or switch to silent mode for meetings, the settings provide easy access to accomplish that.

Locate Settings App

You can access the Settings app on any Android device from the home screen, app drawer, or search bar. To open Settings from the home screen, swipe up to reveal the app drawer and look for the Gear or Cog icon to launch Settings (source). You can also search for “Settings” using the search bar at the top of the home screen and tap the Settings app icon when it appears in results.

If you prefer, open the app drawer on your home screen and locate the Settings app, usually in the list of system apps. The Settings icon looks like a cog or gear. Tap the icon to open the Settings menu.

Once inside the Settings app, you’ll find various options to customize and control different features on your Android device.

Open Sound Settings

To open the Sound settings on your Android device, first tap on the Settings app icon on your home screen or app drawer to launch the Settings menu. You’ll see a list of various settings categories.

Look for the “Sound & vibration” or “Sound” option and tap on it. On some Android devices like Samsung, this may be labeled “Sounds and vibration” instead. According to Google’s Android Help guide, you simply need to tap on “Sound & vibration” and then you can access and adjust the sound and vibration settings.

Media Volume

Media volume allows you to control the volume level for music, videos, and games on your Android device. To adjust the media volume:

1. Press the volume keys on the side of your device. The media volume slider will appear.
2. Drag the slider left to decrease or right to increase the volume level. The media volume level is indicated below the slider.
3. When you’re finished, stop interacting with the slider and it will disappear after a few seconds. The volume keys will go back to controlling ringer volume.

You can also go to Settings > Sound to control other volume options and behaviors. For example, you can enable the “Use volume keys for media” option. This will make your device’s volume keys always control media volume by default rather than ringer volume (source).

Call Volume

To set the call volume in Android, first open the Settings app and select Sound. There you will find the volume controls for calls. Drag the “Media volume” slider to set the volume level for phone calls. Setting this volume higher or lower will adjust the speaker volume when you are on a phone call.

Ringtone & Notifications

To choose your ringtones and notification sounds on Android:

1. Open the Settings app and select Sound & vibration.
2. Tap on Default notification sound to select notification sounds. You can choose from system sounds, music on your device, and other options.
3. Tap on Phone ringtone to choose your incoming call ringtone. Again, you can select from system sounds, your music library, and more.
4. You can also choose different notification sounds for individual apps by going into the app’s settings. For example, in WhatsApp go to Settings > Notifications > Notification tone.

As per this article, you can also import custom sounds to use for ringtones and notifications. To do this, connect your Android phone to your computer and transfer over MP3 files into the Notifications folder.

Vibrate for Calls & Notifications

You can separately enable or disable vibration for incoming calls and notifications. To access these settings, open the Settings app and select Sound & vibration > Vibration & haptics.

From there, you can turn on or off the following options:

• Vibration for Calls
• Notification Vibration

Enabling Vibration for Calls means incoming calls will vibrate your phone when your phone is not in DND (Do Not Disturb). Enabling Notification Vibration means all app notifications will vibrate your phone when you are not in DND.

Note that enabling vibration only works if your phone is not muted. Plus, there are extra options for call vibrate patterns and notification vibration intensity. Go explore!

Do Not Disturb

The Do Not Disturb feature in Android allows you to block sounds, vibrations, and visual notifications during specific times or events, such as bedtime or meetings. When Do Not Disturb is enabled, you will not receive any phone calls, messages, notifications, or alarms, providing uninterrupted quiet times.

You can turn on Do Not Disturb manually by swiping down from the top of your screen and tapping the Do Not Disturb icon. You can also schedule times for Do Not Disturb to automatically turn on, such as during your sleep hours (see source). Tap “Do Not Disturb preferences” in Settings to customize your preferences for exceptions and schedules. For example, you can allow phone calls, messages or alarms from certain contacts when Do Not Disturb is on.

Do Not Disturb is an easy way to block interruptions for important events, meetings or restful sleep. Customize the exceptions and schedules in Settings based on your needs.

Accessibility Volume

Android allows you to set a separate volume level for accessibility features like screen readers or text-to-speech. This allows you to adjust the volume for these features without affecting your device’s media or call volumes.

To change the accessibility volume, start by going to Settings > Accessibility. Then scroll down and select “Volume key shortcut” [1]. Here you can toggle this feature on or off. When enabled, you can press both volume keys at once to bring up a menu. Select your desired accessibility feature like TalkBack or Select to Speak. Then use the volume keys to adjust the volume specifically for that feature.

This accessibility shortcut makes it quick and easy to change the volume for speech outputs without having to dig into the settings. It’s useful for those who rely on screen readers or text-to-speech to use their device.

Additional Settings

Android provides additional audio settings beyond the basics like adjusting media, call, ringtone, and notification volumes. For more advanced options, head over to “Sound & vibration” or “Sounds and vibration” in Settings.

There you will find a section for Advanced or “More sound settings” (depending on your Android device). Here you can adjust options like the headphone audio channel balance, size of audio channel, and audio profiles like Movie or Music. These controls let you fine tune the sound output to your preferences.

You can also enable custom equalizers or audio effects in the advanced settings. This allows you to boost or reduce specific frequency ranges like bass or treble. Some Android devices have built-in equalizer presets tailored for different genres. On Samsung devices, there is a further option to adapt sound balance automatically when using headphones.

Other handy settings you’ll find:

• Separate app sound – Play media sound independently from device alerts
• Mono audio – Converts stereo sound to single-channel mono audio
• Auto start – Start music player when headphones are connected

So explore the advanced sound options to take greater control over audio output and quality on your Android device.