Lenovo T520 - Volume on headphones are very low / soft

[#1]

Question

When the headphones is plugged into the Audio port, the sound coming out from the headphones is very soft. Volume has been maxed out however its still soft. Tried the headphones on other devices (mobile) the audio is significally louder compared to when on the laptop.

Answer

In SmartAudio, there's a headphone limiter (the giant headphone icon is not so intuitively the button for this). Click it, accept the warning about hearing damage, and you should have normal volume.

Follow steps provided below to remove the sound limiter.

1. Ensure your headphones is properly plugged into the audio jack
2. Click Start
3. Type "SmartAudio"
4. In Smart Audio, you should see a "Headphone" icon on the right side. Click it.
   
   
   
   
5. You will then receive a warning message.
   
   
   
   
6. Click "Accept" to accept the responsibility of any side effects resulting from the selection.