Intel Smart Sound Technology Drivers result in muffled system sounds

[Ceejus]

Today, Windows Update forced a set of Intel SST drivers on my system that updated the following to 10.29.0.7919 on my Surface Pro 8:

• Intel Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio
• Intel Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth Audio
• Intel Smart Sound Technology BUS
• Intel Smart Sound Technology OED

These drivers result in the volume of Windows 11's system sounds being significantly muffled regardless of what level the volume is set to. This even shows in the volume output settings whenever I play a system sound - even at 100% volume, system sounds still play as though they are only at 10-15%. Regular media plays at a more regular volume, but to be honest, even that doesn't seem as loud as it was before today's updates.  

Reverting back to the previous Intel SST drivers in Device Manager does not resolve the issue. Resetting the OS does not resolve the issue. I do not have a system restore left that I can revert back to as I had already done this enough to where Windows erased all the ones prior to the forced SST driver updates. I'd rather not have to purge my entire SSD over this issue.

Please let me know what I can do to help troubleshoot this. I have tried a slew of suggestions to get around this problem and nothing has worked.

[Steven_Intel]

Hello Ceejus,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

I am sorry you are having issues with Intel® Smart Sound Technology. 

Please be aware that the Intel® SST driver is wrapped by the audio codec driver and then provided to the device manufacturer. Our best recommendation is to contact Microsoft Support for further information and assistance.

Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel. Thank you for your understanding.  

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.