Spotify Won't Unmute in Volume Mixer

[ain2006-us]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

IdeaPad Flex

Operating System

Windows 10

My Issue

As you can see in the screen shot attached, Spotify will not unmute. I have relaunched the app, closed other applications, and changed the volume. No matter what I do, it is stuck on mute. If anyone can help, please respond. Thank you!

[OneByBoo]

Hi there @ain2006-us,

thanks for reaching out !

Let's try a small trick :

- Open your Desktop app

- Visit your settings page

- Scroll down and click on advanced settings

- Turn on the "Crossfade" feature

In addition, please turn off the "Enable Hardware Acceleration" tab under "Compatibility" on the same settings page.

Let me know how it goes 🙂

[VladimirGluten]

I have the same issue. Followed these steps with no luck. Of note, this seems to happen for me when I'm in a Microsoft Teams call or meeting.

[Sebasty]

Hey @VladimirGluten 

That sounds a bit like the Communications setting causing this.
You can disable it by doing this:
1. Find the speaker icon on Taskbar. Right-click on it and select Sounds.
2. In the opened window go to Communications and set Windows to do nothing.

Let me know how it goes : )

[VladimirGluten]

Hi @Sebasty, it certainly is set to "Do nothing". I've tried toggling it to another value and back. I suspect that it's something specifically to do with Microsoft Teams as this is the only program I've noticed interfering with Spotify.
I ended up creating a fairly clunky workaround to this by using AutoHotkey and a program by the name of NirCMD, to bind a key on my mouse to run NirCMD which will unmute spotify:

run "C:\Program Files\nircmd-x64\nircmd.exe" muteappvolume spotify.exe 0

Obviously this is not ideal but may come in handy for anyone else out there who wants a quick and dirty "fix".

[Prabhjot]

I tried all the methods listed on the forum nothing seems to work for me, developer please get in touch

[Elena]

Hey there @Prabhjot!

Thanks for reaching out to us.

If you've followed all the steps listed above, you could continue with a clean reinstall with the steps here to make sure that all old files that might be causing trouble are gone.

It's also important that you re-download it from the Microsoft store.

Give your device a quick restart before you start the newly installed app.

In case the issue persists, could you ask a friend or a family member to log in on your computer and test this out to see if they get the same issue?

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[VladimirGluten]

Hi Elena,

This issue is persisiting for me after re-installing Spotify and trying another account. Could you please assist in troubleshooting this? I believe that Microsoft Teams is forcefully muting the Spotifiy application when in a meeting. Is there any way to bypass this?

Thanks.

[Eni]

Hey @VladimirGluten, 

Thanks for getting back in touch. 

Would you mind letting us know what audio output are you using? Also, could you check if it happens when using a different audio output?

On another note, we suggest that you check if the OS of your device has any pending updates. 

Lastly, could you send us the exact make/model, operating system and Spotify version of your device?

We'll be on the lookout. 

[imhotep222]

I'm having the same problem.

First I noticed Spotify was getting muted when I'm in a meeting in Microsoft Teams - I tried switching to the "Do nothing" setting in Sound > Communications but it still happens, just maybe a bit less often.

Before I was always able to unmute it in Volume Mixer but now it's stuck and the button doesn't do anything. Closing and re-opening Spotify hasn't worked, restarting my PC might but I can't be doing that after every meeting.

Issue happens both when using the built-in laptop speakers and some desktop speakers plugged into a monitor. Other programs play audio with no issues.

Spotify version 1.1.63.568.gda8cb5ac-a

Lenovo Thinkpad T470 Signature Edition

Windows 10 Pro version 1809

[Eni]

Hey there @imhotep222, 

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community. 

First up, it's well worth running a clean reinstall to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble. This one is more thorough than the usual one. Make sure to re-download it from the Microsoft store.

If this doesn't do the trick, could you let us know if this started happening after a specific event such as an update either of Spotify or the OS of you device?

Lastly, we'd recommend checking if the OS of your device has any pending updates. 

Keep us posted.

[BonerFett]

If anyone has issues with Bluetooth Headphone, Microsoft Teams, and Spotify, this solution is for you.

1st, bluetooth headphones sometimes dont work with Teams and thus with Spotify. If you want to use regular headphone driver and not the hands-free headset driver, you'll need to disable the ability for apps to prioritize the headset driver. You can do this by following the steps in this thread:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/fix-for-bluetooth-headphones-or-speaker-using/...

For unmuting Spotify, you'll need to go to the Sounds window (the one with Playback, Recording, Sounds, Communication tabs). Right clicking the speaker icon in W10 you can select "Sounds." In W11, you'll need to do the same but go to "Sound Settings," and then scroll down in the next window to "More Sound Settings" under Advanced.

Once in the Sounds window, go to Playback, right click your headphones, properties, advanced, and uncheck "allow applications to take exclusive control..."

After unchecking and saving, go back to the volume mixer and you'll be able to unmute spotify. Unfortunately, if you use teams and spotify, a lot of the time, when you pause spotify or something, windows will mute it (probably to keep the sounds down so you can have your call). This means if you use Teams and Spotify, you'll likely find yourself having to unmute Spotify in the volume mixer. Again, this is just when using Teams.

Like my response to pin to the top

[VladimirGluten]

Appreciate you taking the time to respond to this. I can't recall if I tried this troubleshooting step but I will when I find myself in that situation again.

For the record, I ended up switching to a non-bluetooth pair of headphones and microphone for daily use which bypasses this issue. I'm unsure what the state of this issue is in late 2024.