[brmiller1976]

I don't get the Android and iOS people who want 5 different "volume" settings on one device. It's confusing and makes no sense.

It also means that, when apps adjust volume, it's inconsistent. Some apps will mute important volumes (like the alarm, which may make you sleep in).

Other times, you think audio is off when it's not. On the iPhone, for instance, you can actually put it in mute mode by flipping the mute switch (which Apple totally stole from Palm and the Treo, BTW -- where's the lawsuit?!?), and still have sound happen. This happened to me in an important meeting when I had an iPhone in "mute" mode that started BLASTING one of those annoying web video ads when I was looking up information pertinent to a topic being discussed. On Android and iOS devices, mute doesn't actually mean mute -- it means "sometimes mute."

With Windows Phone, audio is simple, easy and straightforward. Mute is ALWAYS mute, not "hopefully" mute. Volume level medium means medium volume, across the experience. It is how things should be. Multiple volumes is a complicated, confusing "feature" that adds nothing to the experience and significantly detracts from overall usability.

[TaliZorah]

iOS has 3.

Media, Ringtone, and Media with headphones connected. That's it.

And one thing I really like about iPhones is the physical "silent mode" button. So you don't need to wake up your phone to see if you are on silent or not.

The reason you still got sound when you were in "silent mode" on the iphone was that it only mutes your ringtone. They figure if you are watching youtube or playing a game you still want sound. I kind of like that design actually.

Oh and just to correct you, mute on WP is not ALWAYS mute... Alarms will still sound. Which is a good thing! :)

Not bashing WP here, I like how WP does it too. But I also like how iOS does it.

[brmiller1976]

When is "mute" not "mute" on iOS?

When it's "media."

Which is lame. And bizarre. And completely defeats the purpose of "mute" in a lot of ways.

[MaulerX]

I'm with you on this. I always thought of the simplicity of the volume setting as a feature. After having an iphone for three years, this was a welcome plus imo.

[vedichymn]

I'd like to have the option at least. Playing music through the stereo on my car over bluetooth requires me to crank up the volume on the phone to 30 to hear anything, and it's a little annoying to have to crank that up/down whenever I get in/out of the car.

I don't really see how having multiple volume controls would be worse, it's managing a couple of volume levels some of the time vs cranking up control up/down on a situation by situation basis.

[brmiller1976]

Sounds like your car has a defective A2DP processor.

[rockstarzzz]

You guys do know that if you crank up your volumes to 30 for music, you can still hit that little bell on the right and silent actual phone notifications?

That's my general way of doing it. If I want uninterrupted music I just crank up to whatever volume and silent my phone. So no rings or texts break the music. Then when I'm done with blasting music, I just bring down the volume for my ringtone and remove the silent mode.

Don't see why I want 30 for music all the time and 10 for ringtones too!?

[Paladinleeds]

Now, with Android, on my tablet at least, mute on media also equals mute on notification sounds, and similarly a mute on notification sounds equals mute on media. That's fine for me as I don't use my tablet for alarms. As for iOS, I'm not entirely sure how it works.

With Windows Phone, I do like the unified ring volume, especially as my songs (sourced through the Zune Music Pass) seem to vary in volume so I go between 15 and 20. Sometimes I have to go above 20 for a track. I never seem to go below 15 though, it becomes too quiet at that point.

[runam0k]

You guys do know that if you crank up your volumes to 30 for music, you can still hit that little bell on the right and silent actual phone notifications?

That's my general way of doing it. If I want uninterrupted music I just crank up to whatever volume and silent my phone. So no rings or texts break the music. Then when I'm done with blasting music, I just bring down the volume for my ringtone and remove the silent mode.

Don't see why I want 30 for music all the time and 10 for ringtones too!?

Actually, I didn't know that. Thanks!

WP has two volume settings btw - one for voice calls and one for everything else.

Personally, I can't understand why you wouldn't want to separate media and ringtone/alerts. There's nothing worse than cranking up music on a quiet track or podcast only to be deafened later by a text message.

iOS has the right idea*. And it can do playlists and podcasts too... What is Microsoft's excuse?

*I'll never switch.

[rockstarzzz]

Actually, I didn't know that. Thanks!

WP has two volume settings btw - one for voice calls and one for everything else.

Personally, I can't understand why you wouldn't want to separate media and ringtone/alerts. There's nothing worse than cranking up music on a quiet track or podcast only to be deafened later by a text message.

iOS has the right idea*. And it can do playlists and podcasts too... What is Microsoft's excuse?

*I'll never switch.

Media and ringtone/alerts CAN BE separate in Windows Phone too. But you just don't have that adjusting volume bit. It's either same volume or you get muted. I definitely prefer my notifications muted when I'm listening to music. When I'm done, I just lower my phone volume, remove silent mode.

[glassadam]

It's no feature, it's a real problem for a lot of folks around here, including myself.

[TaliZorah]

You guys do know that if you crank up your volumes to 30 for music, you can still hit that little bell on the right and silent actual phone notifications?

That's my general way of doing it. If I want uninterrupted music I just crank up to whatever volume and silent my phone. So no rings or texts break the music. Then when I'm done with blasting music, I just bring down the volume for my ringtone and remove the silent mode.

Don't see why I want 30 for music all the time and 10 for ringtones too!?

Wait! So you can mute ringtones and still get media sound!? Like... the IPHONE!? The very thing people here are saying is "lame"

lol.

Never seen so much care for volume controls. Fact of the matter is the volume controls work on all devices.

[ousooner314]

Wait! So you can mute ringtones and still get media sound!? Like... the IPHONE!? The very thing people here are saying is "lame"

lol.

Never seen so much care for volume controls. Fact of the matter is the volume controls work on all devices.

For me, it's about usability. I prefer my ringtone (and alerts) set to a certain volume. The volume, as it turns out, is too low when connected to headphones and while streaming via bluetooth. Having multiple volume profiles would easily fix this because one profile keeps track of the preferred volume for ringtone/alerts, the other for headphones/bluetooth/etc. It's really about convenience because, right now, I have to constantly change volume settings before (and after) listening to music. It's a win-win for everyone - people who don't care about it can leave it as-is, and people like me who prefer having multiple volume settings would also benefit from it.

[cp2_4eva]

Honestly, at least on this 920, when I put my phone on vibrate, it still lets media play sound. I end up having to turn it down anyways. On my androids, I could choose to either put all sound off, or tweak the sounds individually. Not a necessity, but a NICE-ety. Don't get "amped" up over volume controls folks. Move along. There are more important problems to worry about.

[DaveGx]

I'm with you on this. I always thought of the simplicity of the volume setting as a feature. After having an iphone for three years, this was a welcome plus imo.

Sorry but that's bs. Most people want this feature badly. And for people like you, you can simply leave all volume levels the same. If they had this simple common sense feature, I bet you'd use it.

[cameradork]

Of all the volume settings I'd think were essential, making your phone really-truly silent when it's muted (no vibrate, either) would be top of my list. Sometimes, like in a meeting or when it's on your nightstand and you're a light sleeper, you just don't want it to make any noise at all. Right now you have to dig into the settings and manually turn vibrate off, and then hopefully remember to turn it back on after toggling mute off.

[wamsille]

When is "mute" not "mute" on iOS?

When it's "media."

Which is lame. And bizarre. And completely defeats the purpose of "mute" in a lot of ways.

When is a door not a door? When it's ajar.

Ha ha ha...

[brmiller1976]

Sorry but that's bs. Most people want this feature badly. And for people like you, you can simply leave all volume levels the same. If they had this simple common sense feature, I bet you'd use it.

The only people who want this feature are the same people who complain that Windows Phone isn't like iOS or Android. Sorry.

Those of us who have had devices for years view the "multiple volume settings" as the confusing usability nightmare that it is.

[tk-093]

The only people who want this feature are the same people who complain that Windows Phone isn't like iOS or Android. Sorry.

Those of us who have had devices for years view the "multiple volume settings" as the confusing usability nightmare that it is.

I don't know if i totally agree with that, but do you know what? I'll have my 822 today and after flipping between Android and iOS the last year, I'll finally be rocking WP and in a few days I will make an official announcement about who is correct. The reason I can do that? I'm super smart. :)

[cp2_4eva]

I'll finally be rocking WP and in a few days I will make an official announcement about who is correct. The reason I can do that? I'm super smart. :)

I should make this my new sig. lol. Because I'm super smart!!!

[Squatting Hen]

I love my WP, but I really wish there were separate volume controls. This has annoyed me since I first got my phone, and I did not have an iphone before.

[1jaxstate1]

You are the king of mass generalization. 1976? I hope that's not your birth year.

The only people who want this feature are the same people who complain that Windows Phone isn't like iOS or Android. Sorry.

Those of us who have had devices for years view the "multiple volume settings" as the confusing usability nightmare that it is.

[vedichymn]

Sounds like your car has a defective A2DP processor.

It's something specific to Windows Phone, it's happened on the Focus, Lumia 900 and now the 920.

Every other device I've tried is fine.

[tk-093]

On WP8, can I turn off text message sounds and just hear phone call sounds? That's what I need to have.

[chrgeorgeson]

The only people who want this feature are the same people who complain that Windows Phone isn't like iOS or Android. Sorry.

Those of us who have had devices for years view the "multiple volume settings" as the confusing usability nightmare that it is.

LOL It's not confusing on iOS.
What is so confusing... one is for Notifications... one is for everything else.


DONE!