How to Create a Hotkey to Change Audio Output in Windows 10/11

In Windows, clicking on the audio icon in the taskbar is necessary to change audio devices. This is not convenient when you are playing games in fullscreen, so many users want to learn how to create a hotkey to change audio output in Windows 10 or 11 quickly.

While Windows lacks a built-in solution, there is a way to work around this limitation by using a third-party app called SoundSwitch, which allows you to change between selected audio devices with a shortcut key quickly.

Here is how to use it:

1. Download SoundSwitch and install it on your PC.
2. You will find SoundSwitch on the taskbar notification area when the installation is done. Right-click on it and click on Settings.
   
3. Select the audio devices you want to toggle between by clicking on the checkbox next to it.
4. Now set your preferred Hotkey below, and make sure that Hotkey enabled is on:
   

You can quickly switch audio devices using the hotkey you set when playing full-screen games.

(SoundSwitch can also hide audio devices without disabling them in Windows, just don’t check the devices you want to hide on SoundSwitch settings.)

If you want multiple audio devices, keep reading.

How to Create a Specific Hotkey to Each Audio Output Device in Windows

You might want to create a different hotkey for each audio device if you have multiple audio devices. If this is the case, you can try using AudioSwitcher instead.

To create a specific hotkey for each output device, follow the steps below:

1. Download AudioSwitcher on GitHub and run the executable.
2. Under Playback, right-click on any audio device and select Set Hot Key:
   
3. Click on the Hot Key box and input your desired hotkey, then press Save:
   
4. Do this to every audio device you want to toggle between.

You can always check the hotkeys you created by going to the Hotkeys tab on SoundSwitcher.

Conclusion

There is no built-in solution on Windows 10 or 11 to set a hotkey to change sound output devices, so you will need a third-party app called SoundSwitch to create a hotkey to toggle between a list of your audio output devices.

If you want to set a single hotkey to each audio device, you can try the app AudioSwitcher instead.

If you have any audio or display issues, check out my article on how to update multiple drivers at once.

To quickly free up at least 10 GB of disk space, check our article on how to reduce the size of the Windows Folder.