Bug 490433

Summary: Add UI to set specific audio volume on start-up
Product: [Applications] systemsettings Reporter: EpicTux123 <EpicTux123>
Component: kcm_pulseaudioAssignee: Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status: CONFIRMED ---    
Severity: wishlist CC: aleixpol, isma.af, kde, kdedev, nate, pallaswept
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 6.2.4   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Fedora RPMs   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description EpicTux123 2024-07-18 04:38:22 UTC 
Hi there.

I think it would be cool to add a feature to the audio settings to always reset to a specific volume on start-up (e.g. 20%).

There are some ways to do it; one that I found is "pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ 20%", which works for PipeWire (and possibly PulseAudio too, because "pactl" is for PulseAudio, but I didn't test it).

Thanks in advance for your attention.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
OS: Fedora Linux 40
KDE Plasma Version: 6.1.2
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.3.0
Qt Version: 6.7.2
Comment 1 TraceyC 2024-07-18 17:34:52 UTC 
This seems like a reasonable quality of life setting

Possible use cases:
- Starting up a laptop in an office / meeting / public area where you don't want to annoy other people
- You might leave your volume very high after a session. Then on the next login, start up with headphones connected. You want to avoid hurting your ears.
Comment 2 Aleix Pol 2024-07-19 22:57:18 UTC 
Moved to the plasma pulseaudio integration which is how we do volume control in Plasma.
Comment 3 EpicTux123 2024-08-04 18:39:59 UTC 
FYI setting the volume does not change the muted state of the device.

So "pactl set-sink-mute @DEFAULT_SINK@ 0" is also required.
Comment 4 Nate Graham 2025-10-23 18:42:08 UTC 
What would be the use case for this? Typically the last-used volume level is remembered across reboots.
Comment 5 EpicTux123 2025-10-23 19:06:13 UTC 
See TraceyC's comment:

> - You might leave your volume very high after a session. Then on the next login, start up with headphones connected. You want to avoid hurting your ears.

It's good to always reset a volume to a specific value in order to avoid blasting your ears if you forgot your volume was very high in the last session.
Comment 6 TraceyC 2025-10-23 19:45:02 UTC 
.