The Volume Mixer is one of the handiest tools built into Windows 11. It lets you set a custom volume level for each app on your PC. You can use this to your advantage by lowering the volume for apps that send out a lot of notifications and raising it for the apps you actually want to hear, like your music player. While the Volume Mixer has been part of Windows for years, Microsoft has been busy giving it a makeover. The updated Volume Mixer is now available to every Windows 11 user: here's how to get the most from it.

The easiest way to launch the new Windows 11 Volume Mixer is via a keyboard shortcut: Windows-Ctrl-V. You’ll see the Volume Mixer in the lower-right corner of your screen, just above the clock in the taskbar. You can also open the Volume Mixer by right-clicking on the speaker icon in the taskbar, which is located in roughly the same area. Once it’s open, you’ll see the following sections:

We’re looking for the volume mixer section, so scroll down to use it. You’ll see a few app icons and a volume slider next to each one. Move the slider to adjust the volume for each app. The first slider on the left is for system sounds, including alerts, so you can use this to reduce loud sounds in Windows 11. If the app you want to adjust isn’t listed, click the gear icon next to Volume Mixer. This will open Settings and you’ll see its own Volume Mixer section. You should see your app there, but if not, press Crtl+Alt+Del to open Task Manager and double-check that the app is running.

I recently discovered a faster way to adjust the volume on my Windows 11 PC. If your keyboard has media keys, first press the volume up or down key. In Windows 11, this will open a small pop-up menu that will show you the current volume level. Move your cursor to this menu and use the scroll wheel on your mouse to adjust the volume more quickly than the media keys normally allow.