Why Is My Radio Louder Than My Bluetooth?

If you have a Bluetooth speaker, you understand the convenience that these speakers offer. You can play your music when having a good time from your coach without having to walk to the speaker. However, when dealing with Bluetooth speakers, you have to face the challenge of audio quality and low volume.

There are times you will realize that your radio has a higher volume than the Bluetooth speaker. This can result from one of many reasons as I explain in this post.

Why Is My Radio Louder Than My Bluetooth?

The main reason your radio might be louder than your Bluetooth is that Android devices restrict the volume of sound sent to Bluetooth audio devices in a bid to protect your ears. Another reason is that Bluetooth compresses files and then sends them to the amplifier and then to the speaker or directly to the speaker. This is unlike a radio that might stream audio or play audio directly.

The process of compression involves reducing the size of the files so that they are sent as signals to the Bluetooth speaker. As the wireless technology compresses the file, the quality of the file distorts a little, and you may hear the audio as low in volume.

However, you can fix the problem and enjoy better quality and high volume sound. Below, I explain how you can tackle this problem.

Can Having the Latest Version of Bluetooth Help the Problem?

Yes. Having Bluetooth 4.0, 5.0, or aptX can help enhance the quality of the audio that goes to the Bluettoth speakers. This means that you have to buy an advanced Bluetooth speaker with a strong Bluetooth signal.

These newer versions of Bluetooth compress files differently when converting them to signals, and this ensures you enjoy better quality audio. Again, the newer versions have more bandwidth than the older versions, and they also offer a longer range.

If your streaming device and your Bluetooth speaker have the latest version of Bluetooth, and you still experience low volume issues, then you need to try other remedies to rectify the issue.

Disable Absolute Volume on Your Smartphone

Android restricts how high the volume goes when you play audio over Bluetooth. This means that even when the phone volume and the speaker volume are cranked to maximum, you will still experience low volume. The feature was meant to ensure that anyone playing audio on Bluetooth headphones does not play loud enough to damage their ears.

This has never been an issue with the wired headphones as you could crank the volume as much as you needed. For you to experience a high volume, you need to disable absolute volume so that you can increase the volume as you need.

The Absolute Volume restriction is only available in Android phones running Android 7 “Nougat” or better. If your Android has a lower version of Android, you may not have this issue.

Open Settings on your phone and scroll down to About Phone. While there, scroll down to “Builder Number” and click on it seven times. You will see a message that says you are already a developer.

From there, go back to the “About Phone” menu and scroll down to “Developer Options.” At the top of the page, you will see the “Enable”, and you can toggle the button to switch on developer options. The device will give you a warning when you turn on developer options telling you that you might change the performance of your device.

Scroll down to Networking and toggle the button next to “Disable Absolute Volume.” Once you toggle on, restart your device and try playing your audio through a Bluetooth speaker. You should be able to control the volume of your device as much as you want without any issues with low volume.

If you have an iOS device, this will not be a problem, so you have to check other solutions to this problem.

Unpair Bluetooth Devices

Low volume might occur if Bluetooth connection suffers. Bluetooth is not a new technology and sometimes it suffers challenges that you may need to deal with. If the Bluetooth connection is weak, you need to unpair and forget devices the re-add them.

It is frustrating when you were having a good time and your Bluetooth speaker starts stuttering. When this happens, it is likely that your phone’s operation settings have changed perhaps after you’ve done an upgrade.

If you are using new software on your laptop or PC, or you have updated the apps on your mobile device, you might need to re-add the Bluetooth devices to make connection strong again.

There are so many equalizer apps that can help you increase the Bluetooth speaker volume. Sometimes when the settings of your device are restricting, and you are not sure what to do, go for an equalizer app. You will find a host of free equalizer apps online.

You need to try a number of these apps and see which one is ideal for your phone and your speaker. With the equalizer, you can regulate the sound better and achieve impressive highs and lows.

Check the Range and the Position of the Speakers

Bluetooth works at a range of 30 feet. Newer versions can connect devices up to 100 feet apart, but the range is still limiting. You need to ensure there are no walls in between the speaker and the streaming device.

You also need to ensure the two devices are as close together as possible so that the signal is strong and the quality impressive. If the quality of the audio is poor, you might perceive that as low volume, but that may not be the case.

If you have a WiFi router at home and there are so many devices connected, the wireless network might interfere with Bluetooth, affecting the quality of the audio. Your speaker probably comes with a manual on how to position it. You need to ensure your speakers face you and not a wall or any other obstructions.

If the Options Above Don’t Work, Pair Two or More Speakers

If the low volume comes as a result of the compression that Bluetooth does to send the signal to your speaker, the above settings may not help. However, you can still enjoy high volume by pairing two speakers to the same Bluetooth device.

Unfortunately, this option is only available for high-end speakers such as JBL. You may find the features in more affordable speakers, but you are sure you can connect two speakers with a high-end speaker. Again, you need the latest version of Bluetooth and a high-end smartphone.

Some smartphones, such as Samsung Galaxy S9, allow you to connect two speakers from different brands, thanks to the dual-audio mode.

To do that, open the Bluetooth settings and power on phone Bluetooth. Ensure the two speakers are turned on. Scan the Bluetooth speakers from your phone.

Once the speakers appear on the list of available Bluetooth devices, pair with the first speaker, and you will hear the speaker click to confirm the pairing. Click on the second Bluetooth speaker to pair, and you will be good to go.

Once the two speakers connect to your smartphone, click on the three dots at the top of Bluetooth settings and activate “Dual Audio.” Confirm that you need to activate that and your two speakers are ready.

You can then adjust the volume from your smartphone to enjoy loud music. If the speakers still have a low volume, adjust the speaker volume up from the buttons on the speaker. This should give you enough volume to enjoy your music.

Buy a Bigger Bluetooth Speaker

It is easy if you first try altering the settings on your smartphone or laptop volume controls before you get a new and bigger speaker. If you tweak all the settings, but still get a low volume, you might need to get a bigger speaker.

If you are using a laptop or a PC, the volume controls for external devices have different sliders. Granted, open Bluetooth settings and see whether there are sound restrictions. If you are using third-party streaming software, check whether the volume slider is turned too low.

If all the settings fail, you need to get a bigger speaker. You need a speaker that offers enough wattage, updated Bluetooth version, and a host of other good features to enjoy quality audio.

Closing Thoughts

Bluetooth speakers offer convenience. However, Bluetooth might have a few shortcomings and one of these is sound quality and low volume.

In most cases, low volume results from settings on your streaming device, but it could also result from the way Bluetooth compresses files. If the later causes the problem, you can only rectify that by picking a speaker with an advanced Bluetooth version.

If the slow volume is due to settings, you can try different audio settings as explained above. You can also try unpairing and re-adding the Bluetooth devices. If you are using a laptop or PC, you can try updating your audio drivers.

I hope this guide helps you enjoy your music more.