Cannot change volume level on headphones

Question

I noticed today that when I have headphones plugged in I cannot change volume level. It doesnt matter what level I set the volume I hear is always same. It is same even when I set 0.

In image below you can see that when I set 0 level in windows settings the music still plays, when I set 100 level the music still plays at about the same level.

How can I fix this?

Solution

I finally fixed it, I did two things:

First

open "Dell command update" and click on customize and select only Recommended -> Dell Command Update

Second

open device manager and uninstall any unknown device or any other that is not familiar to you In my case there has been some NC50 drivers that I didnt know, I uninstalled both

I restarted computer after both steps and now it works :).

Comments

[Daniel B]

The “VU meter” displayed in Settings is unrelated to the output volume you select.

[Buksy]

thanks but it worked before, anyway I tried to set custom levels for applications but it didnt worked neither

[Ate Somebits]

what about your keyboard volume up/down keys? also, what happens when you use the volume slider in the music player?

[Buksy]

keyboard didnt worked, but youtube volume settings was working ... I uninstalled unknown devices and now it works, thanks

[Ate Somebits]

Well, you figured it out then... beats me. I also had variable behavior with various devices, e.g. reacting or not reacting to volume control. Sometimes the reason is that the slider needs to pickup the current value before applying the gain. But that's not the case here. FYI, it is better to disable unknown devices, Win might auto-install them later on.

[AFH]

Even though you have given your own answer, you should still mark the question as solved, for the benefit of others.

[spectras]

Your guess is wrong btw, the software mixing of Windows came in late (most other OS have had this feature for a very long time) and is pretty naïve by modern standards. For instance, it is unable to send the output of an application to multiple devices, or to feed the output of one application as the input of another.