How to use Roku's volume leveling tool

Key Takeaways

Roku TV offers a customizable viewing experience with features like volume leveling to enhance audio consistency.
Users can activate automatic volume leveling to maintain consistent sound across different apps on Roku devices.
Night mode optimizes sound quality for quieter night viewing, adjusting softer and louder noises to maintain volume balance.

If you’re reading this right now, chances are that you’re the kind of person who goes out of your way to tweak your TV settings to improve your watching experience any way you can. There’s a reason why companies sell TVs that are 70-inches or larger and users are constantly upgrading their equipment — making watching movies at home feel like a movie theater or gaming on a projection screen at night are just a couple of examples of improving the general media-consuming experience.

Of course, not everyone is able to go bigger or upgrade their equipment frequently. Companies understand that, so they input features within their device that allow for customization of the experience. You may remember Tom Cruise’s motion smoothing video describing why you should turn off that setting on your TV. The viewing and gaming experience is highly customizable and Roku has considered that when designing many of its devices.

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One of the features that you can adjust is the volume on your Roku. We’re not just talking about lowering and raising the volume or even turning on subtitles so you can understand what the show or movie is saying — there are other volume modes that you can choose to put on that can make your viewing session better. Here’s more on them, including volume leveling.

Roku TV

Roku TV is an incerdibly popular operating system that allows users to stream TV shows and movies from a variety of popular apps, including Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and more. The interface is simple to navigate and the customization is easy to adjust.

What is automatic volume leveling on Roku TV?

It’s one of the three volume modes you can enact

Automatic volume leveling is one of the volume settings available to turn on while using your Roku TV device. It allows the volume to remain consistent, even if you change the channel or watch a different show. Have you ever been watching something on your Roku and the program has commercials and all of a sudden the volume jumps when a commercial comes on, startling you? This setting helps you avoid that jump-scare.

Not every Roku device allows for volume modes to be changed. Here are all the devices that support volume modes, and you can find out which model you have by going to Settings, then System, and then About.

Device	Model
Roku TV™ system with Roku wireless speakers	All models
Roku Streambar SE	9104
Roku Streambar	9102
Roku Streambar Pro	9101R, 9101R2
Roku Smart Soundbar	9101
onn.™ • Roku Smart Soundbar	9100
Roku Express	3930, 3960
Roku Express+	3931
Roku Streaming Stick®	3800
Roku Streaming Stick+	3810, 3811
Roku Streaming Stick 4K	3820, 3940X
Roku Streaming Stick 4K+	3821, 3941X
Roku Premiere	3920, 4620
Roku Premiere+	3921, 4630
Roku Ultra	4660, 4661, 4662, 4670, 4800, 4802
Roku Ultra LT	4662, 4801

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Automatic volume leveling doesn’t support all audio formats. When you turn it on, you may actually lose the audio format that you’re listening to, as Roku will change it into stereo. This can happen with Dolby Digital, Dolby ATMOS, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS. If you want to continue listening in surround sound with these formats, automatic volume leveling may not be the right choice for you.

Automatic volume leveling doesn’t support all audio formats.

The setting will help eliminate the need to have your TV remote constantly in hand, ready to adjust the sound whenever there’s a change in channel or a commercial comes on. Many people will turn on volume leveling so that they don’t have to adjust the volume any time they are watching something. It also works across different apps, so you can turn it on once and then not have to do it every time you change streaming services.

How do you turn automatic volume leveling on?

Start a show or open an app first

First, start by watching a show or opening up an app. This works with Netflix, Tubi, Disney+, and more, so you don’t need to use one specific app. What can be confusing is that you don’t adjust the volume modes while you’re on the Roku home screen — it isn’t in the settings for the Roku itself. You must first open an app and begin watching some content.

After you open an app and start watching something:

Press the asterisk (*) button on your Roku remote. It will bring up a menu and show you the options.
The Volume mode is a menu option that is originally set to Off, which means that the volume can only be changed by you by adjusting the television’s volume. Click the Volume mode button.
There are three options: Off, Leveling, and Night. Scroll down to leveling and click the OK button to turn it on. From there, it will keep your volume leveling on for any content that you’re watching.

roku's volume leveling option highlighted on a TV

This is the standard process for almost any Roku device, minus the Roku Streambar. There is an extra step with that device — press the asterisk (*), then Sound Settings, then Customize sound mode, then Volume mode, then Leveling.

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What does Night Mode do on a Roku TV?

Night mode is the other volume mode that you can choose on your Roku. It can be turned on when you want to watch a program while someone else may be sleeping, as it keeps loud noises down but turns softer noises up, minimizing your need to alter the overall volume. It will recognize what the content that you’re watching is and seamlessly adjust. It’s ideal for new parents who don’t want to startle a new baby, couples where one person falls asleep before the other person, or just people who want a more consistent experience while watching something at night.

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You might want to remember to turn Night Mode off if you aren’t watching content at night, though.

Night mode will adjust the volume if a character is whispering or talking in a hushed voice so that you can hear it more clearly. But if there’s a loud chase scene or an explosion, it will automatically decrease the volume to avoid it blasting through the speakers. You enable this the same way as the automatic volume leveling mode through your Roku device. It will work across all content, so you don’t have to change it across different devices. You might want to remember to turn this on and off if you aren’t watching content at night, though.