How to increase the volume of headphones on Xiaomi Redmi 9A: safe and risky methods

Xiaomi Redmi 9A is a budget smartphone with good specs, but many users face the problem of too quiet sound in the headphones. Even at maximum volume, music, videos or calls can sound muffled. The reasons are rooted in firmware limitations, hardware features or incorrect settings. In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways to increase the volume, from basic settings to deep changes in the system.

It's important to understand that not all methods are equally safe. Some can damage your headphone speakers or even your smartphone audio chip. We'll highlight the risk options and give you recommendations on how to use them without consequences. If you're not sure about what you're doing, start with the simplest ways.

1. Checking basic volume settings

Before you go to the engineering menu or install third-party apps, make sure that the problem is not the trivial settings. Redmi 9A has separate volume controls for media, calls and alarms - they are easy to confuse.

Open the notification panel and check:

• 🔊 Volume slider – it should be at maximum (but it doesn’t always solve the problem).
• 🎵 Do Not Disturb Mode – If it is on, the sound may be muted.
• 🔕 Silent mode – sometimes activated accidentally through a hardware button.
• 🎧 Type of connected headphones - wires or Bluetooth (for each there may be its own settings).

Also look at Settings → Sound and Vibration → Sound Quality. Here you can turn on the option “Adaptive Sound” (if you have one in your firmware) – it automatically adjusts the volume to the ambient noise. On Redmi 9A, this feature doesn’t work perfectly, but sometimes it helps.

2. Cleaning the headphone jack and checking the headphones

In 60 percent of cases, quiet sound is not due to smartphone settings, but to contamination of the 3.5mm connector or malfunction of the headphones themselves. Dust, contact oxidation or a damaged plug can significantly reduce the volume.

What to do:

• 🧹 Clean the connector, use a toothpick (carefully!) or compressed air. Don't use metal objects.
• 🔍 Check the headphones on another device – if the sound is the same quiet, the problem is with them.
• 🔌 Try other headphones – preferably with low impedance (up to 32 ohms).
• 📱 Check out Bluetooth headphones – if they sound louder, the problem is the wired connector.

If the sound is better after cleaning, but it's still quiet, go to software methods. If there's no change, the audio chip may be faulty (in which case only the service center will help).

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To clean the connector, you can use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, but do not overdo it - excess fluid can damage the contacts.

3.Use of the Engineering Menu (MTK Engineering Mode)

The Redmi 9A has a MediaTek Helio G25 processor, which means access to an engineering menu with advanced audio settings, where you can turn up the volume above standard limits, but there are risks:

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect settings in the engineering menu can damage headphone speakers or distort sound.Do not raise values above 150 for Headset and 100 for Speaker.

Instructions:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination: ##36446337###.
2. Go to Hardware Testing → Audio → Headset Mode.
3. Find the settings: Headset Max Vol - maximum volume for headphones (standard: 140-160); Headset Min Vol - minimum volume (do not change!); Headset Volume - current value (can be increased to 150).

Set

After the changes, restart your phone. If the sound starts to get distorted ("wheezing"), return the values to the standard ones.

4.Applicants for sound amplification

If you don't want to take risks with the engineering menu, try third-party apps. They work like software amplifiers, increasing volume at the system level. 9A:

How to use:

1. Install the application from the table.
2. Start and give all necessary permissions.
3. Turn on the option "Volume Amplifier" or "Max Volume".
4. Adjust the slider, but don’t bet on the maximum right away – check the sound gradually.

⚠️ Note: Volume Booster-type apps can damage headphone speakers if used at full volume for long periods of time. +15-20% of the standard.

5. Equalizer setting in the player

Sometimes the problem is not the volume, but the wrong frequencies, for example, if there are too many low frequencies (bass) in the music, they eat up the overall volume, in which case an integrated or third-party equalizer will help.

Redmi 9A has an equalizer in the MIUI Music Player app by default:

1. Open the player and select a track.
2. Click on three points in the upper right corner → Equalizer.
3. Choose presets like Rock or Pop, which usually increase the medium and high frequencies.
4. Manually lift sliders 1–3 kHz (this is the range of human speech and basic tools).

If the standard equalizer doesn't suit you, install Poweramp or Neutron Music Player, which has more flexible settings, for example, Poweramp can enable the "Direct Volume Control" option, which bypasses system limitations.

🔹 Make sure the headphones are connected correctly

🔹 Choose a track with a wide dynamic range (not compressed)

🔹 Start with the "Flat" preset)

🔹 Raise the frequencies gradually by checking the sound-->

6. Update firmware and reset settings

Sometimes a quiet sound is a firmware bug. For example, in the early MIUI versions for the Redmi 9A, there was a problem with limiting the volume through the headphones after the upgrade.

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. If there are any updates available, install them.
3. After the update, reset the sound settings: Settings → Applications → Application Management → Music → Storage → Clear the data.

The safest option is to use an external DAC (Digital Analog Converter) that connects to a USB-C connector and improves sound quality, including volume, and the Redmi 9A will be suitable for low-cost models based on the ES9018 or PCM5102A chip.

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Hardware modifications should only be considered if all software methods have been tried, and improper actions can lead to the breakdown of the phone or headphones.

FAQ: Frequent questions about volume on Redmi 9A