I am GLAD that Windows Phone has one volume setting

[Squadromeo]

The only people who want this feature are the same people who complain that Windows Phone isn't like iOS or Android. Sorry.

Those of us who have had devices for years view the "multiple volume settings" as the confusing usability nightmare that it is.

That is absolutely nonsense! When I listen to music or watch a movie on my LG E900 via headphones, I have to lower the volume to 6-7. If I forget to raise the volume again after media playback, there's no way I'm gonna hear the ringtone when the phone is in my pocket. It really needs to be crancked up all the way to 30 (max).

 

[jaif]

That is absolutely nonsense! When I listen to music or watch a movie on my LG E900 via headphones, I have to lower the volume to 6-7. If I forget to raise the volume again after media playback, there's no way I'm gonna hear the ringtone when the phone is in my pocket. It really needs to be crancked up all the way to 30 (max).

This +1. I understand most of the other sides presented in this thread, but how can you ignore the difference between headphones and speaker? This one issue is really starting to bother me.

 

[socialcarpet]

Now, I'm one of the biggest WP ****** defenders you will meet, but I swear if Windows Phone had the volume permanently set at 15 with no way to adjust it, brmiller1976 would be tell us all how thats an advantage because being able to adjust it from 1-30 is just too confusing and would ruin the elegant simplicity of Windows Phone.

 

[Green_Is_The_Color]

Having one volume control for everything is totally ******ed. My hearing is not impaired and I want my music to be on 3/30 while on headphones, while I want to have ringtone and notifications on 30/30, since it's hard to hear when it's in the other room. Thought wp8 was cool, but this is really frustrating, I've already missed like 10 calls because of this bull****, and I have the phone only for 4 days...

If anyone knows a solution to this, even a clunky one, let me know please.

 

[Dave Blake]

I like the way the sound settings on Windows Phone work at this time. If I would change anything it would be to add a bedside mode. Just something simple that could be set to start and end at a set time.

 

[tk-093]

Having one volume control for everything is totally ******ed. My hearing is not impaired and I want my music to be on 3/30 while on headphones, while I want to have ringtone and notifications on 30/30, since it's hard to hear when it's in the other room. Thought wp8 was cool, but this is really frustrating, I've already missed like 10 calls because of this bull****, and I have the phone only for 4 days...

If anyone knows a solution to this, even a clunky one, let me know please.

The only possible solution I can think of in your case is to get headphones that have their own volume slider build into the headphones. I had some kiddie headphones that did that, so no matter how much the device was cranked, the headphones kept it at a set level.

I don't know if adult type ones exist.. here is an example of the kids one I just found: http://mashable.com/2012/12/11/headphones-for-kids-nabi-notes/

I really hope they address it in a future update. By default you can just leave the volume linked and allow people to go into the settings, check a box and BAM, independant volumes. Makes everybody happy.

 

[rockstarzzz]

Having one volume control for everything is totally ******ed. My hearing is not impaired and I want my music to be on 3/30 while on headphones, while I want to have ringtone and notifications on 30/30, since it's hard to hear when it's in the other room. Thought wp8 was cool, but this is really frustrating, I've already missed like 10 calls because of this bull****, and I have the phone only for 4 days...

If anyone knows a solution to this, even a clunky one, let me know please.

This made WP uncool?

Welcome to WP Central. Excellent first post.

Edit: Oh, and the solution, a rather clunky one is, turn on vibration i.e. ring+vibrate.

 

[Dave Blake]

Having one volume control for everything is totally ******ed. My hearing is not impaired and I want my music to be on 3/30 while on headphones, while I want to have ringtone and notifications on 30/30, since it's hard to hear when it's in the other room. Thought wp8 was cool, but this is really frustrating, I've already missed like 10 calls because of this bull****, and I have the phone only for 4 days...

If anyone knows a solution to this, even a clunky one, let me know please.

Get a Bluetooth headset like the LG-HBS 730. I use these they sound great and use their own independent volume controls.

 

[sdrawkcabII]

Man, I hate to say it, but it's the little things like this that piss me off about Microsoft. Why are they so slow to adding small, commonsense features? Do their WP8 staff even have other phones? Isn't it mandatory that in comps like these, they're required to use devices the competition developed, so they can see what are good features to implement/ improve upon? These are the little details that Microsoft are not paying attention to, how, I don't know. Must something like this really need to be submitted to their site by users? MICROSOFT, if you or anyone of your representatives are reading this, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, FAST!

 

[kyle7286]

I'd like to have the option at least. Playing music through the stereo on my car over bluetooth requires me to crank up the volume on the phone to 30 to hear anything, and it's a little annoying to have to crank that up/down whenever I get in/out of the car.

I don't really see how having multiple volume controls would be worse, it's managing a couple of volume levels some of the time vs cranking up control up/down on a situation by situation basis.

I have the same experience. I always bluetooth stream music in my car. I have to crank the volume up to 30/30. HOWEVER, i noticed that once the phone recognizes its playing music, it goes to 30/30 like i set it to. And when i stop the music, it goes back to 20/30 automatically. I observed that a couple times already.

 

[Dave Blake]

Man, I hate to say it, but it's the little things like this that piss me off about Microsoft. Why are they so slow to adding small, commonsense features? Do their WP8 staff even have other phones? Isn't it mandatory that in comps like these, they're required to use devices the competition developed, so they can see what are good features to implement/ improve upon? These are the little details that Microsoft are not paying attention to, how, I don't know. Must something like this really need to be submitted to their site by users? MICROSOFT, if you or anyone of your representatives are reading this, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, FAST!

Something to think about. WP has it basis in simplicity. Microsoft surly knows some might want a feature but wont add it. Why do I think this is. Well it has its basis in security and patents. Plain and simple if Microsoft can give us the feature and keep our device safe and our data secure we get it. There might be security reasons preventing the addition of some features. WP uses sandboxing to keep applications from pulling secure data from one app to the other. Could this be why are developers having a hard time figuring a way to give us this simple option without limiting the security of the device? Could it be that this option when used in the traditional fashion is patented by another entity. All of this plays into what will be made available to us. I am not making excuses for Microsoft am just pointing out that I would rather deal with a device where I have to take a second to adjust the volume once in a while than to have a less secure device or to have to pay more for my device because of a patent lawsuit

 

[AfroPhysics]

My problem is that when I'm listening to music or Audible with headphones, I need to turn down the volume. Then later, my phone rings or I receive a text and I can't hear it because the volume is at 5/30 and I'm more than 10 ft away.

The answer in my opinion is to provide separate volume controls for different things, but to satisfy those who claim it's too difficult to understand (not sure how) make it so each one by default is locked to the master -- which is pretty much as it is now.

Media, Notification, Ringer and Master would be great.

 

[scubus]

This made WP uncool?

Welcome to WP Central. Excellent first post.

Edit: Oh, and the solution, a rather clunky one is, turn on vibration i.e. ring+vibrate.

How is that a solution? I don't think vibrate is going to help him hear the phone in the other room.

 

[scubus]

Something to think about. WP has it basis in simplicity. Microsoft surly knows some might want a feature but wont add it. Why do I think this is. Well it has its basis in security and patents. Plain and simple if Microsoft can give us the feature and keep our device safe and our data secure we get it. There might be security reasons preventing the addition of some features. WP uses sandboxing to keep applications from pulling secure data from one app to the other. Could this be why are developers having a hard time figuring a way to give us this simple option without limiting the security of the device? Could it be that this option when used in the traditional fashion is patented by another entity. All of this plays into what will be made available to us. I am not making excuses for Microsoft am just pointing out that I would rather deal with a device where I have to take a second to adjust the volume once in a while than to have a less secure device or to have to pay more for my device because of a patent lawsuit

Apple apps are sandboxed as well.

I understand your post, but I am not sure how adding sound profiles would be a security risk or a patent issue. Even the master switch isn't an Apple exclusive.

 

[Flagz]

Jesus you guys are so lazy you can't use volume rocker for about 1.5 second to turn volume down or up. What I want is profile settings, that if anything makes more sense. Example, click volume rocker and choose between 1-5 setting for different profiles. Profile for work, vibration, cellular off WiFi on, brightness low. Profile for home, mid volume + vibration, brightness low cellular off WiFi on. Outdoor/city profile, high volume, no vibration, brightness high, cellular off. That actually saves time, really adjusting volume is not hard, but it waste time when I have to completely reconfigure my phone very time I leave home.

 

[DaveSC]

What I find annoying and a hassle twice every day is that I want to kill notifications at night (emails and texts) but I want to hear phone calls. What I have to do now is disable the tones for email and texting individually when I go to sleep then try to remember to re-enable them each morning.

On android we had an app zdbox that would mute "notifications" between the hours of X and X on X days of the week. I have been looking for apps that will handle notification schedules since we started using WP8 but haven't found anything. I am not even sure if microsoft exposes those controls to 3rd party apps.

 

[vedichymn]

Seeing this thread bumped reminded me that it seems like WP8 is already keeping track of different volume settings (at least for bluetooth devices). When I'm connected to my car, it keeps the volume high (25 so I can actually hear music over A2DP), but then when I turn the car off, volume returns to normal.

 

[Akhona Ngquba]

I use a Lumia 920 and I think having one volume setting is very stupid and here is why. I want my ringtones to be on level 20 (just an example) but everytime I listen to music with my headphone I find that the music is too loud and then I have to reduce my volume back to 5. The OS is not intelligent enough to revert back to my previous volume setting of 20 when I remove my headphone (I find it is much easier to just pull out my headphones when I'm done as this stops the music). So after I pull out my headphones I sometimes miss calls because I cannot here my phone (with the setting on 5 since I reduced it when I was listening to music). Now everytime Ilisten to music I have to reduce the volume and then increase it when done. I have always used Nokia phones and this was never a problem until now. Now I find myself returning calls because I missed calls.

I would like at least two different volume settings. 1. for my notifications (when I choose my ringtone I also want to choose a volume level....think Nokia 5110 if lost). The second one for my media. Obviously when I choose silent mode everything should be silenced to nothing with the exception of the music because if I actively go play my music then I want to hear it.

 

[great_smell_of_brut]

So after I pull out my headphones I sometimes miss calls because I cannot here my phone (with the setting on 5 since I reduced it when I was listening to music). Now everytime Ilisten to music I have to reduce the volume and then increase it when done. I have always used Nokia phones and this was never a problem until now. Now I find myself returning calls because I missed calls.

Of the three people (including myself) that use WP we have all had exactly the same problem. For me it's that I have to turn the volume down whilst gaming but forget to turn it back up afterwards.

It is probably the only thing I really dislike about WP7 & 8

 

[anon5664829]

I don't get the Android and iOS people who want 5 different "volume" settings on one device. It's confusing and makes no sense.

It also means that, when apps adjust volume, it's inconsistent. Some apps will mute important volumes (like the alarm, which may make you sleep in).

Other times, you think audio is off when it's not. On the iPhone, for instance, you can actually put it in mute mode by flipping the mute switch (which Apple totally stole from Palm and the Treo, BTW -- where's the lawsuit?!?), and still have sound happen. This happened to me in an important meeting when I had an iPhone in "mute" mode that started BLASTING one of those annoying web video ads when I was looking up information pertinent to a topic being discussed. On Android and iOS devices, mute doesn't actually mean mute -- it means "sometimes mute."

With Windows Phone, audio is simple, easy and straightforward. Mute is ALWAYS mute, not "hopefully" mute. Volume level medium means medium volume, across the experience. It is how things should be. Multiple volumes is a complicated, confusing "feature" that adds nothing to the experience and significantly detracts from overall usability.

There is media sounds, notifications sounds and alarm sounds for iOS MUCH MUCH better then WP8's implementation. Quite clearly you do not understand iOS and Android.