Quick fix: Right-click speaker icon → Sounds → Communications tab. Set When Windows detects communications activity to Do nothing. This stops Windows from ducking (lowering) other audio when a call starts.
You’re listening to music or a video, then a Teams/Discord/Zoom call starts. Music auto-lowers to background volume. Some users find this useful; others want full-volume music regardless. The setting is in a not-obvious tab in the Sound control panel.
Affects: Windows 11 (and Windows 10) with VoIP apps.
Fix time: ~3 minutes.
What causes this
Windows has a built-in audio ducking feature: when an app uses the system audio in “communication” mode (typically VoIP calls), Windows reduces the volume of other audio streams. The default reduces other audio by 80%, making the call easier to hear. Apps register communication mode via the Windows audio API.
Method 1: Set Communications behavior to Do nothing
The standard route.
- Right-click speaker icon in system tray → Sounds.
- Switch to the Communications tab.
- Four options:
- Mute all other sounds — full silence on other audio.
- Reduce the volume of other sounds by 80% — default.
- Reduce the volume of other sounds by 50% — less aggressive.
- Do nothing — no auto-adjustment.
- Pick Do nothing. Click Apply → OK.
- Test: start a call in Teams/Discord/Zoom while music plays. Music should stay at the same volume.
This is the simple toggle.
Method 2: Configure per-app audio ducking in vendor apps
Some apps have their own ducking control.
- Discord: User Settings → Voice & Video → Attenuation slider — controls how much other audio is reduced. Set to 0% for no ducking.
- Microsoft Teams: Settings → Devices → some versions have Stop sharing system audio or audio behavior options. Limited; usually Windows-level setting wins.
- Zoom: Settings → Audio → Mute other apps’ audio option. Untick to disable in-app ducking.
- Skype: Settings → Audio & Video → sound device. No explicit ducking control; Windows-level setting applies.
- Combination: set Windows-level to Do nothing, and disable per-app ducking. Provides full audio independence.
This is the right path when Windows-level setting isn’t enough.
Method 3: Disable Communications mode entirely via registry
For preventing apps from triggering ducking.
- Open Registry Editor.
- Navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\Audio. - Find or create DWORD value UserDuckingPreference.
- Set to 3. Values: 0 = Mute, 1 = -80%, 2 = -50%, 3 = Do nothing.
- Close Registry Editor. Restart Windows Audio service:
net stop audiosrv && net start audiosrv. - This is essentially the same as Method 1 via registry, useful for scripted deployment.
- For per-app communication-mode disable: more complex. Each app declares communication mode via API; no registry override for the API itself.
This is the right path for scripted setup.
How to verify the fix worked
- Play music or video at normal volume.
- Start a call in Teams/Discord/Zoom. Other audio should stay at the same volume.
- Sounds → Communications tab: Do nothing is selected.
If none of these work
If audio still ducks despite the setting: Per-app override: the app may have its own ducking, separate from Windows. Check the app’s audio settings (see Method 2). Spatial audio interference: spatial audio on headphones can apply its own volume adjustments. Sounds → Spatial sound → Off to test. Bluetooth handsfree profile: Bluetooth headsets switch to mono Hands-Free profile during calls, which often involves lower audio quality and effective ducking. Use stereo mode or wired headset. Browser tab audio mixer override: Edge and Chrome have per-tab volume controls. The browser tab playing music may have its own behavior. For audio interfaces with vendor utilities: some audio interfaces (Focusrite Control, Audient Mixer) have routing options that affect communication app audio. Configure within vendor app.
Bottom line: Sounds → Communications tab → Do nothing. Stops Windows from ducking other audio when a call starts. Per-app settings in Discord/Teams/Zoom for additional control.