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Do you know that Microsoft is preparing a brand-new volume mixer for Windows 11? One of the recent preview builds added much better volume controls to the operating system, allowing Windows Insiders to change audio output devices, enable extra features (like spatial audio), and adjust the volume per app. While we wait for Microsoft to announce the new mixer, the company is busy improving it with some much-needed changes (via @PhantomOfEarth on Twitter).
Bringing the volume mixer previously required opening the Quick Settings menu and clicking a button next to the volume slider. It is a much better and faster option than navigating to the Settings app only to adjust the volume for one app, but it still needs an extra click. Now you can open the volume mixed with dedicated shortcut keys: Win + Ctrl + V.
Windows 11 build 25300 will present you with the new shortcut every time you open the mixer (you can also spot the seconds in the tray clock, which is a feature Microsoft restored in the latest build) so you can remember it. Enabling the new mixer also turns on the shortcut in the previous Windows 11 build, 25295, but no one knew it was there as the public announcement has yet to come.
In addition to the shortcut, Windows 11 build 25300 slightly tweaks the mixer"s UI with notably increased margins for a more polished look.
The new volume mixer is still hidden deep inside the operating system. However, you can enable it using the Vivetool app, as our dedicated guide describes. Remember that toying around with unannounced features might have unexpected consequences, so back up important data before experimenting.
Meanwhile, those sticking to stable Windows 11 releases can get a similar experience by using third-party apps, such as EarTrumpet. We recently covered it in our "Top 11 apps for Windows 11 users" article.