Your Mac volume keys.
Working again.

Many audio interfaces and digital display outputs do not give macOS a settable volume control, so F10-F12 stop changing the level and the volume indicator appears disabled or grayed out. VolumeKeys creates a software-controlled route for compatible Core Audio outputs and brings the keys back.

VolumeKeys attenuates the routed Mac signal and is not designed to add gain above the source level. This helps avoid unwanted distortion. Actual loudness still depends on the source audio, interface, amplifier, headphones and speakers. Before first use and after changing your setup, turn your interface or monitor level down, then raise it gradually.

Bass Focus uses a fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley low-pass (24 dB per octave) set to 150 Hz. Two cascaded Butterworth stages create a smooth, monotonic curve with −6 dB at the labeled cutoff, while left and right are filtered independently so the low end stays stereo. Its coefficients are calculated for the active sample rate, and a 30 ms crossfade with fixed safety headroom makes switching clean without look-ahead or added buffering latency. You hear kick, bass and low-frequency buildup in isolation, not through a crude one-knob EQ.

Bass Night targets long-wavelength low frequencies, which typical walls and floors attenuate less effectively and can transmit through a building’s structure. A second-order Butterworth high-pass at 60 Hz attenuates deep sub-bass; then a −6 dB low shelf at 200 Hz, based on Robert Bristow-Johnson’s biquad design, progressively reduces the remaining low end while keeping the mids and highs intact. The stereo, sample-rate-aware cascade runs without look-ahead or extra buffering and blends over 30 ms, so it sounds balanced instead of abruptly thin. It reduces low-frequency energy entering the room; listening level and the building still determine how much reaches your neighbors.

The minimum system version is macOS 14.2. We test on current macOS with Apple silicon. The app is also built for Intel Macs, but we have not tested it on Intel hardware. Every feature is included free for 7 days, so you can try the complete app on your own Mac before you decide.

VolumeKeys supports compatible Core Audio outputs, including USB and Thunderbolt interfaces as well as HDMI or DisplayPort displays that appear as standard stereo outputs. Every feature is included free for 7 days, so you can experience the complete app with your preferred output before you decide.

Yes, they can. Tools that sit between your apps and your speakers or interface, such as other output routers, volume tools or virtual output devices that keep the output permanently active, share the same Core Audio path as VolumeKeys. If one of them cannot keep up in time, macOS can report audio overloads for the whole output, including VolumeKeys, and the system audio service can use noticeably more processing power. In our tests, these overloads stopped once such a tool was removed. We therefore recommend running only one tool at a time that takes over your system output. If you hear dropouts, quit or uninstall the other tool, restart your Mac and try again. This does not apply to virtual audio cables that only pass audio from one app to another.

Not for normal audio use. Internet is needed to download, buy and activate VolumeKeys, and to start the free trial. Once activated, a paid license works offline in normal use.

VolumeKeys is a one-time purchase with no subscription. One license runs on one Mac at a time. Taxes are included in the price. You buy it from Link, LLC (Lemon Squeezy), which handles payment, tax and the invoice.