Does your microphone sound too quiet or pick up distant sounds too easily? Adjusting the Microphone Boost option can make your microphone sound clear and crisp. For example, I recently encountered a problem where my microphone was amplifying distant sounds during a recording. To fix this, I disabled the Microphone Boost feature, which not only solved the issue but also made the input signal much clearer.
On the other hand, if your microphone is too quiet or lacks sensitivity, enabling Microphone Boost and fine-tuning the gain levels can make your voice louder, clearer, and sharper.
In this quick tutorial, I’ll guide you through the steps to enable, adjust, or disable Microphone Boost on Windows 11 and Windows 10. Let’s get started.
Before You Begin
- Make sure your microphone is connected to the PC.
- Some microphones may not support the Microphone Boost feature, which means you won’t be able to enable, adjust, or disable it in Windows.
- The steps below are tested to work on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Steps to Enable Microphone Boost on Windows
- Press the “Windows key” on the taskbar.
- Search and open “Control Panel“.
- Select “Large icons” from the “View by” dropdown.
- Click the “Sound” option.
- Go to the “Recording” tab.
- Right-click on your microphone and select “Properties“.
- Go to the “Levels” tab.
- Use the “Microphone Boost” slider to enable and adjust it.
- Click the “OK” button to save the change.
- With that, the Microphone Boost is enabled on Windows.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, press the “Windows key” to open the Start menu. Next, search for “Control Panel“, and click the “Open” option.
Select “Large icons” from the “View by” dropdown menu in the Control Panel window. Next, click the “Sound” option.
Go to the “Recording” tab in the Sound control panel, right-click on your microphone, and select the “Properties” option. This action opens your microphone properties and settings window.
Navigate to the “Levels” tab in the microphone properties window. Here, you can adjust the “Microphone Boost” slider to enable or fine-tune it. For example, move the slider to the right to increase the boost or to the left to decrease it.
Finally, click the “OK” button to save the change.
After saving the changes, test your microphone and adjust the Microphone Boost accordingly.
Steps to Disable Microphone Boost on Windows
If your microphone is picking up distant sounds and amplifying unnecessary background noise, disabling Microphone Boost can help. Here’s how to do it.
- Open the Control Panel by searching in the Start menu.
- Select “Large icons” from the “View by” dropdown.
- Click the “Sounds” option.
- Go to the “Recording” tab.
- Right-click on your microphone.
- Select the “Properties” option.
- Go to the “Levels” tab.
- Drag the “Microphone Boost” slider all the way to the left.
- Click the “OK” button.
- With that, you’ve disabled Microphone Boost on Windows.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
To start off, open the Control Panel window. To do that, search for “Control Panel” in the Start menu and click the “Open” option. Alternatively, open the Run dialog (Windows key + R), type “control”, and click “OK”.
Once it opens, click the “Sound” option. If you don’t see the option, select “Large icons” from the “View by” dropdown menu.
Next, go to the “Recording” tab, right-click on the microphone, and select the “Properties” window. After that, go to the “Levels” tab and move the “Microphone Boost” slider all the way to the left to disable it.
Click the “OK” button to save the change and you are done.
Wrapping Up — Enabling, Adjusting, & Disabling Microphone Boost on Windows
As you can see, enabling, adjusting, or disabling the Microphone Boost is pretty easy. If your microphone is too quiet or has low sensitivity, enabling it makes your recordings louder, sharper, and clearer. On the other hand, if the microphone is picking up distant sound or amplifying background noise, disabling it is helpful.
Remember to test your audio after making changes and tweak the settings as needed for the best results—adjustments might take a few tries, and that’s perfectly normal.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
