Change volume level for notification sounds on Galaxy A51 Android 11

[ultrarunner2020]

Hello;
I have a Galaxy A51 Android 11 phone.
I find that some (but not all) of my notification sounds are not loud enough.
I have moved the notification volume slider all the way up, but some sounds are much louder than others.
Aside from changing the notification sound to one that is louder, is there a method to change the volume level of just a few selected sounds, so they more closely match the volume of other sounds?

I Googled and read that notifications are stored in a hidden/read-only folder, so not available to the casual user on an un-rooted phone.
I did read about an app 'Total Commander' that can do what I am looking for, but before I install the app, I would like to get others' opinions on this.

Thanks for your help
Ultrarunner

 

[B. Diddy]

Are the ones that are too loud unique to those apps? Or are they the same tones as on other apps, just louder?

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Actually, I'm not sure whether the sound is unique to one app. The app is Textra, and the sound is '"Cosmic Radio".
The sounds I can select in the Textra app are not the same ones I see in Android Notifications.
However, in the Textra app, when you open 'Customize Notifications' I must hit a button labeled 'Android Settings', then tap Sound to see the list of available sounds.

 

[B. Diddy]

Are you able to change the Textra notification to something else (preferably one of the preinstalled tones on the phone) and see if it's louder?

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Thanks for your help B. Diddy;
Yes. I can select any of the Galaxy/Android tones. I went through all of the available tones, and it sounds like some tones are simply not loud enough.
I changed the tone to one that seems louder, but need to test it out for a while to know.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Now I've got another issue with Textra on this phone:
I noticed that the text notification sound does not play over my Bluetooth headphones while playing music from PowerAmp, but plays on the phone's speaker, and the Galaxy Watch 4 that I am wearing.
I went into settings for both Textra and Android, but could not find a setting that would cause the notification to sound only on the phone and not on the connected Bluetooth headphones.
The music does 'duck' when the notification comes, just no sound in the headphones. Once the duck is over, the music returns to normal level.
This isn't really a problem, since I am always wearing the Watch 4 while out running, so I feel the vibration and/or hear the note played on the watch.

Any ideas on this?
Thanks
Ultrarunner

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm not sure if there's a way to avoid that temporary lowering of the music volume when a notification is triggered.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

The problem isn't that the music is lowered (ducks) - and this can be set in PowerAmp; the issue is that the notification sound from Textra does not sound in the Bluetooth headphones. I suppose I don't really need the sound, as I know a text has arrived when the music volume is temporarily lowered.
This has only been an issue recently, so perhaps it's a bug in a Textra update. I will have to experiment to find whether other apps, or headphones cause the same issue. I have checked that Textra has permissions for calls and media over BT. I probably should check whether I can hear phone calls (from the phone app) over BT. If not, then the issue is with Android or the phone, not with Textra. So I just need to play with this a bit longer.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Update:
This is odd; I played with the settings, changed the notification sound, then back to the original one, but the net result of my action did not change any settings. Now, when I send a text from my computer e-mail to my phone#, the music ducks and I do hear the notification sound.
This is familiar to me, but I don't recall what feature it happened with before. I guess I'll have to see if it works when I go out running with the BT headphones today.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Update: No, I haven't fixed the problem. The sound I thought was coming from my headphones was actually coming from my phone's speaker.
This appears to have started after one of the Textra updates, so I guess I need to post in their forum.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Update:
I believe I have figured out (but not solved) the problem with the notification sound not playing on my headphones:
It is the latency of the JBL/UA headphones, which I believe are using AAC.
When I wasn't listening to music, but had the headphones on and paired, I heard only the tail-end of the notification sound.
If I choose a longer sound, then I hear a longer sound in the headphones, but it's still only the tail-end.
If I put on my HIFIMAN Deva Pro, using LDAC, the notification sound comes through fine. I know that the Deva Pro using LDAC has a lower latency than the JBL/UA using either AAC or SBC.
So, for now, the solution is to choose a longer notification sound.
Eventually, I plan to replace the JBL/UA cans with something else - with lower latency.
It is interesting that this problem only started after I switched from the Moto G7 Optimo Maxx on Android 10 to this Samsung Galaxy A51 on Android 11, so it could be the way the phone, Android 11, or both have implemented the BT codec being used by the JBL/UA headphones.