How to turn on Dolby Atmos and use the equaliser on a Samsung Galaxy (S26, One UI 9)

howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-turn-on-dolby-atmos-and-use-the-equaliser-on-a-samsung-galaxy/ · Checked October 2026 · Samsung Galaxy S26 (SM-S942N, Korean model), One UI 9, Android 17

5 of 5 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device

Android

Shown on

Samsung Galaxy S26 (SM-S942N, Korean model), One UI 9, Android 17

App

Settings

Path

Settings › Sounds and vibration

Real screenshots

5 of 5 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open Sound quality and effects

   Open Settings, Sounds and vibration and scroll to Advanced: Sound quality and effects. The first time, ours asked to find nearby devices; we allowed it.

   Done

2. 

   Tap Dolby Atmos

   The page lists Dolby Atmos, Equalizer, App sound settings, Loudness normalization, Adapt sound and UHQ upscaler. Tap the words Dolby Atmos, not the switch, to see its modes.

   Done

3. 

   Turn it on and pick a mode

   Turn on the switch, then pick Auto, Movie, Music or Voice. Samsung's screen says Voice makes voices loud and clear. Ours was off, with Auto selected.

   Done

4. 

   Pick an equaliser preset

   Back on the page, tap Equalizer: Balanced, Bass boost, Smooth, Dynamic, Clear, Treble boost or Custom. Custom lets you drag the nine bands from 63 Hz to 16 kHz.

   Done

5. 

   Use Adapt sound for headphones

   Adapt sound works when headphones are connected. Pick Under 30, 30 to 60 or Over 60 years old, or Add personalized sound profile for a hearing test. Samsung recommends a quiet room with headphones on.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• Dolby Atmos modes or Adapt sound presets greyed out? On ours they stay grey until you turn on the switch at the top of each page (steps 3 and 5). Adapt sound says it works whenever you are wearing headphones.
• UHQ upscaler is greyed out? On ours it was grey: its note says it makes music and videos clearer when you wear headphones, so it needs wired or Bluetooth headphones connected.

  

If this does not work

• Sound still too quiet? See Samsung Galaxy volume too low? 6 fixes.
• Volume jumps between apps? Loudness normalization, on the same page, stops sound becoming too loud or too quiet between media.

About this guide

One UI keeps its sound options on one page that is easy to miss at the bottom of Sounds and vibration.

The screenshots are from our Samsung Galaxy S26, the Korean model SM-S942N, with One UI 9 and Android 17, in Dark mode. Menus can differ on models sold in other regions. Dolby Atmos and Adapt sound were off and the equaliser on Balanced; we changed nothing.

Good to know

Play one app's sound somewhere else: how to play one app's sound on a different device.

In short: Settings, Sounds and vibration, Sound quality and effects: Dolby Atmos mode, Equalizer preset, Adapt sound for headphones.