Conexant SmartAudio HD Volume VERY LOW - Can't Permanently Remove Driver!

[Ransome]

I recently got the
ASUS ZenBook UX310UA (replacement for my older Vivobook laptop via Warranty)
https://www.asus.com/Commercial-Laptops/ASUS-ZenBook-UX310UA/
Windows 10 64bit

I noticed that if I right click on t he Sound icon and "Playback Devices" and then right click on the Speakers and "Properties" - there is no option for "loudness equalization" or "bass boost" or something similar that may boost the audio volume up.

I tried to remove the device or uninstall "Conexant HD Audio" but unfortunately it keeps coming back after Windows restarts. Both the drive and the device.
Also tried the added "Audio Wizard" software and set modes like Gaming or Movie but it was super useless. Only made the volume sound lower and muffled.

I think the best solution would be to somehow get rid of Conexant HD Audio and use Windows 10 Default Driver.

Someone here posted his solution:
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-11e-Windows-13-E-and/Speaker-volume-uselessly-low-SmartAudio-HD-does-not-work/m-p/937491#M8943

But for me it doesn't work because Windows keeps reinstalling the driver and software as soon as I reboot. Sometimes even without reboot.

I want to permanently remove Conexant HD Audio and use Windows Default Drivers. How do I keep Windows 10 from re-installing this specific driver?

 

[Ransome]

I never had or heard of Conexant before. I have experience with Realtek where it is easy to apply Loudness Equalization or use the software audio manger to boost the sound +DBs.
Seems the software and driver is holding back the sound. Some YouTube videos are totally unhearable even at 100% Windows and YouTube volume.

 

[avzhatkin]

There may be another option for you. I kept fighting with Conexant HD driver on my ASUS UX303LB for some time, but now I found out how to restore normal volume level AND keep this driver. Here is what helped me out: open regedit and find node "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Conexant". Down in it there should be path like "EQ\1\1" (yours may be different though, I have only my machine for reference), it seems to be equalizer. In it you should find some nodes like "Band1", "Band2", ... You need to identify those with really big (or, rather, really low in DEC) values of "Gainx1001" and "Gainx1002". In my case those were Band1 and Band2 with values like 0xFFFFFC18 (-1000 DEC). Set them to 0 and reboot your machine. You should get back to the volume levels of stock Windows drivers, but without some of their issues, like choppy sound sometimes.

 

[Ransome]

I appreciate the advice, but I've already fully removed the drivers and installed the latest driver - downloaded from Asus support page for my laptop.
I also turned off EQ and modes in SmartAudio and AudioWiz respectively.
So I doubt this will help... (because I don't think there's EQ at plau here).
And I generally rather avoid Registry edits

What SHOULD fix this, however, is removal of the entire driver and usage of Windows 10 own driver. Then applying Loudness Equalization which should boost the volume levels dramatically.
Conextant HD Audio is so awful it doesn't have that feature. Wish it was just Realtek like my older Asus VivoBook (that ceased to be). I got this laptop as replacement for mine in warranty, the only real complaint I have is the super low audio and also lack of USB 3.0 ports (just 1). And since it's an UltraBook it doesn't have many ports like audio jacks etc..

I just can't get Windows NOT to re-download and install Conextant HD Audio driver over and over again.

EDIT:
Okay I decided to check it out anyway. Couldn't find EQ/1/1 but I found MicEQ/1/1... and changed the only values that were higher than 0 in Band10, as seen here:

I don't think it will change much.

I just want to use Windows 10 default audio driver and Loudness Equalization - I just KNOW it will fix this
I never had any issue uninstalling audio drivers (like Realtek). Windows would not automatically re-download them like that.
Anyone knows how to do that?

 

[Dragos Manea]

Second solution, buy a usb dac for example Asus Xonar U7 Mk II or Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB. It has headphone amp integrated so it boost the volume considerably.

 

[avzhatkin]

Well, the MicEQ seems to stand for Microphone Equalizer so yes, no luck here.
Anyway, if you want to get rid of Conexant driver autoinstall you should follow MS article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3073930/how-to-temporarily-prevent-a-driver-update-from-reinstalling-in-window
This will work until a new Conexant driver is published through MS Updates, which should be infrequent. Basically this driver is sent to you as "Recommended update" and you can just hide it for your machine.

 

[Ransome]

Well, the MicEQ seems to stand for Microphone Equalizer so yes, no luck here.
Anyway, if you want to get rid of Conexant driver autoinstall you should follow MS article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3073930/how-to-temporarily-prevent-a-driver-update-from-reinstalling-in-window
This will work until a new Conexant driver is published through MS Updates, which should be infrequent. Basically this driver is sent to you as "Recommended update" and you can just hide it for your machine.

This doesn't work well because the drivers won't show up on the troublshooter. If I remove the driver it still won't show up. And Windows automatically re-downloads and installs it instantly.

What should I do?

As you can see - it keeps coming back, and it's not in the tool:

:/
This so irritating

 

[boby1]

Guys, did anyone manage to find a solution to this problem in the meantime? I got an Asus UX410UR and after I updated the Conexant driver with the latest one (8.66.94.51) my volume level dropped considerably. Now even after I revert to the old driver, the volume level is still low. How the hell can we fix this shit?

 

[Laci222]

Guys, did anyone manage to find a solution to this problem in the meantime? I got an Asus UX410UR and after I updated the Conexant driver with the latest one (8.66.94.51) my volume level dropped considerably. Now even after I revert to the old driver, the volume level is still low. How the hell can we fix this shit?

Hi Guys,

I just did it! After several days of unsuccessful attempts I managed to remove it and it have a microsoft driver which is double as loud. I have an Asus Vivobook S14 S410UN notebook with windows 10.
This is how I did it:
1, Check that you have a "CONEXANT" folder under C:\Program Files. This is the folder that holds the Conexant driver.
2, Disconnect internet
3, Remove Conexant driver (Settings -> Uninstall programs -> uninstall Conixant driver)
This removes the CONEXANT folder from the Program Files. If you connect to internet and reboot your machine it will be installed again, so we have to block it. The system has a default Microsoft driver for it, so it will work without the Conexant driver.

4, Create a CONEXANT folder under C:\Program Files. This will be an empty folder. Click on it with right button -> Properties -> security tab -> edit
5, Select “SYSTEM” by clicking on it on the Group or user names options.
6, In the Permissions for SYSTEM, check the deny checkbox in the full control option.
7, Press OK twice to accept these changes.
8, Restart your computer

This way the system tries to install the Conexant driver again but it can't because the folder it tries to put the driver in is blocked for the system so the installation fails and the good old Microsoft driver remains. With the loudness equalization box you can make it even louder. (https://www.nextofwindows.com/sound-volume-not-loud-enough-here-is-how-you-can-boost-it)

 

[boby1]

Hi Guys,

I just did it! After several days of unsuccessful attempts I managed to remove it and it have a microsoft driver which is double as loud. I have an Asus Vivobook S14 S410UN notebook with windows 10.
This is how I did it:
1, Check that you have a "CONEXANT" folder under C:\Program Files. This is the folder that holds the Conexant driver.
2, Disconnect internet
3, Remove Conexant driver (Settings -> Uninstall programs -> uninstall Conixant driver)
This removes the CONEXANT folder from the Program Files. If you connect to internet and reboot your machine it will be installed again, so we have to block it. The system has a default Microsoft driver for it, so it will work without the Conexant driver.

4, Create a CONEXANT folder under C:\Program Files. This will be an empty folder. Click on it with right button -> Properties -> security tab -> edit
5, Select “SYSTEM” by clicking on it on the Group or user names options.
6, In the Permissions for SYSTEM, check the deny checkbox in the full control option.
7, Press OK twice to accept these changes.
8, Restart your computer

This way the system tries to install the Conexant driver again but it can't because the folder it tries to put the driver in is blocked for the system so the installation fails and the good old Microsoft driver remains. With the loudness equalization box you can make it even louder. (https://www.nextofwindows.com/sound-volume-not-loud-enough-here-is-how-you-can-boost-it)

I know that it's not a problem to force the OS to use the generic audio driver, but I don't want to use the generic driver! I want to use the Conexant driver because it's made to work with the Conexant chip and offers many options which are not present in the generic driver. There must be a way to fix the volume level of the Conexant driver, because just before I updated it with a newer version, the volume level was good. Only after I updated it, something broke on a system level.

 

[robertg500]

Guys, did anyone manage to find a solution to this problem in the meantime? I got an Asus UX410UR and after I updated the Conexant driver with the latest one (8.66.94.51) my volume level dropped considerably. Now even after I revert to the old driver, the volume level is still low. How the hell can we fix this shit?

I may have found a solution

The ASUS laptop that I just bought came with a Conexant SmartAudio HD driver and was giving me the same issue, low headphone volume. After hours of researching and tinkering with the computer, I may have found a fix. The laptop that I bought came with a program called "Smart Audio" installed that is part of the Conexant driver. I am able to find it simply by searching for it in the start menu. When I open this program it comes up with a mic and speaker volume slider, and some buttons at the bottom such as jack configuration, volume mixer, etc. On the very lower right there is a button that looks sort of like an old boom box that will say "Launch Audio Wizard." Click this and another window should open that shows some presets. Choose "Music Mode" and then click "Advanced" in the lower right corner and raise the treble knob all the way to the max. After this, close the window with the knobs and hit "done" in the lower right of the Audio Wizard window. After this the volume should be noticeably louder.

I am unaware of whether this program comes installed on all computers with a Conexant driver, so if your computer doesn't have it, I apologize for wasting your time. If it does have it then I hope I helped!

 

[Helen S]

I may have found a solution

The ASUS laptop that I just bought came with a Conexant SmartAudio HD driver and was giving me the same issue, low headphone volume. After hours of researching and tinkering with the computer, I may have found a fix. The laptop that I bought came with a program called "Smart Audio" installed that is part of the Conexant driver. I am able to find it simply by searching for it in the start menu. When I open this program it comes up with a mic and speaker volume slider, and some buttons at the bottom such as jack configuration, volume mixer, etc. On the very lower right there is a button that looks sort of like an old boom box that will say "Launch Audio Wizard." Click this and another window should open that shows some presets. Choose "Music Mode" and then click "Advanced" in the lower right corner and raise the treble knob all the way to the max. After this, close the window with the knobs and hit "done" in the lower right of the Audio Wizard window. After this the volume should be noticeably louder.

I am unaware of whether this program comes installed on all computers with a Conexant driver, so if your computer doesn't have it, I apologize for wasting your time. If it does have it then I hope I helped!

THANK YOU. I have searched the whole internet for a solution to this and this finally fixed it, although when I choose 'music mode' nothing happened, I didn't get the 'advanced' in the lower right it just said 'done'. However when opening the program to start with I clicked on the EQ/3D settings (third from left) and then clicked on custom, and turned the volume of the equalizer all the way up on each setting. That instantly fixed the problem. Originally the settings were all on half.