system no longer saves the left/right volume balance

Hello,

Yes, this issue has been reported by several users after recent Windows cumulative updates. The balance setting for left/right audio channels is stored in the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\Audio, and normally Windows remembers it across reboots. However, recent builds of Windows 11 and late‑cycle Windows 10 updates introduced changes in the audio stack that reset or ignore custom balance values when the audio endpoint is reinitialized. That’s why you see the balance revert to default even though you manually set it.

At the moment, there isn’t a permanent fix you can apply yourself. Workarounds include using third‑party audio driver utilities (for example, Realtek HD Audio Manager if your hardware supports it) which store balance settings outside of Windows’ own registry, or creating a scheduled task that re‑applies the balance using PowerShell at logon. But the underlying bug is in how Windows handles per‑endpoint audio properties after update, and only Microsoft can correct it in a future patch.

If this balance setting is critical for your workflow, I recommend opening a feedback report in the Feedback Hub so it gets visibility. Microsoft has acknowledged similar regressions in audio device handling before, and they usually roll out a fix in subsequent cumulative updates once enough telemetry confirms the issue.

I hope you've found something useful here. If it helps you get more insight into the issue, it's appreciated to accept the answer. Should you have more questions, feel free to leave a message. Have a nice day!

Domic Vo.