Samsung easily makes some of the most widely-lauded smartphones around. But, when it comes to the overall user experience, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best at everything. Audio, for instance, can be hit and miss when everything is left as is by default. Fortunately, Samsung does allow users to adjust the sound settings — and thus, the quality of audio they hear. And that’s not just for its smartphones either. This also works for most of its tablet hardware.
Unfortunately, finding those settings in Samsung’s maze of menus isn’t always the easiest. But that’s exactly why this guide exists. So if you want to adapt the sound quality of your Samsung device to better suit you, read on.
It’s easy to adjust the sound quality on Samsung phones if you know where to look
If you’re looking to adjust the sound quality of Samsung phones, the process isn’t necessarily difficult or time-consuming. Although, it can be if you plan to adjust a lot of the sound quality options on Samsung phones. That’s all going to depend on precisely how customized you want the EQ to be.
Regardless, the settings themselves are relatively easy to find and to interact with.
- Begin by swiping down just once from the top of your screen to reveal the notification shade
- Tap to select the gear-shaped Settings icon from the top right-hand corner
- Once Settings has opened, scroll as needed and select the “Sounds and vibration” card from the list of options
- Next, select “Sound quality and effects.” You may need to scroll to reveal the option
- If you have a Samsung phone with Dolby Atmos, you can adjust via the following. Otherwise, skip this step
- First, toggle the Dolby Atmos setting to turn it off or on
- Tap to toggle Dolby Atmos for Gaming to include support for Android titles that support the feature
- Next, tap on the text reading “Dolby Atmos” to adjust the Atmos settings. Specifically, you can set those to “Auto” to adjust the Atmos EQ automatically for the remaining settings. Or you can choose from the list of self-explanatory settings. Namely, for Movie, Music, or Voice accentuation
- Back out of the menu to the “Sound quality and effects”
- Select the option for “Equalizer”
- Choose from the range of options, for specific media type preferences — with options from Pop to Rock and everything in between. Or select the “Custom” option and adjust your EQ manually across the variety of frequencies, using the on-screen slider bars
- Back out to the menu for “Sound quality and effects”
- If your device features a “UHQ Upscaler” option, you’ll need to attach headphones to access it. That, as its name implies, offers clearer, higher-quality audio via wearables. You’ll want this enabled if you listen via headphones or earbuds often. So it’s worth the time to turn on
- Finally, after backing out to the “Sound quality and effects” page once more, you can adjust Samsung phones to better fit individual ears. Since not everybody’s ears hear frequencies the same or result in the same tuning preferences. Simply select the “Adapt sound” option near the bottom of the menu. Specifically, the page offers options based on your age group. As well as an option to personalize sound on a case-by-case basis. The feature also allows you to choose exactly which experiences are enhanced. And will even help you to perform a hearing test for more accurate adjustments
This will also work with at least some Android apps’ in-app sound EQ settings
Now, you also don’t necessarily need to go through all the trouble of following exactly those steps. At the very least, not insofar as opening the Settings app manually and then executing multiple extra taps. All just to get to the audio EQ at the Settings level. And that’s because, in addition to ready access via the Settings app, these adjustments are readily available directly in some other apps.
Specifically, you can adjust sound quality on your Samsung phones — or tablets — via the EQ settings of various streaming apps. For instance, in YouTube Music, you can tap your profile image in the top right-hand corner. Then you can select “Settings” and then “Equalizer,” where you can access the same sound quality options for Samsung phones. And, indeed, most other phones that come with dedicated adjustments work the same way.
That same arrangement carries over for other apps with built-in EQ settings. Albeit, with the EQ settings themselves moving around a bit from app to app.