Disable Microsoft Voice Clarity / Voice Focus on Windows 11

README.md

Disable Microsoft Voice Clarity / Voice Focus on Windows 11

This gist disables the Windows 11 Microsoft Voice Clarity / Voice Focus audio-processing component in a way that survives Settings refreshes, device rescans, and the driver being restaged.

It is meant for systems where the Windows Settings app keeps showing Audio enhancements -> Voice Clarity or Voice Focus -> Automatic for microphone input devices even after toggling audio enhancements off.

What it does

Disable-VoiceClarity-Reliable.ps1:

1. Self-elevates with a UAC prompt.

2. Adds a local Device Installation Restriction policy blocking this hardware ID:

   SWC\VEN_MSFT&AUDIO_EFFECTPACK_VOICECLARITY
   

3. Adds a retroactive block for the known Voice Clarity device instance:

   SWD\DRIVERENUM\{96bedf2c-18cb-4a15-b821-5e95ed0fea61}#VocaEffectPack&1&6b31f1d&0
   

4. Removes the Voice Clarity software component device.

5. Deletes any published voiceclarityep_audio_component.inf package from the Windows DriverStore.

6. Runs a device scan and deletes the package again if Windows restages it.

7. Writes a log and exported driver backup under %TEMP%.

This can make the Voice Clarity option disappear from Windows Settings. That is expected: Windows is being told not to install that audio-processing component.

Run

Download all files from this gist, keep the .cmd and .ps1 files in the same folder, then double-click:

Disable-VoiceClarity-Reliable.cmd

Or run from PowerShell:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Disable-VoiceClarity-Reliable.ps1

Undo

To remove the local block policy, double-click:

Undo-VoiceClarity-Block.cmd

Or run:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Undo-VoiceClarity-Block.ps1

After undoing, Windows may reinstall Voice Clarity on the next hardware scan, reboot, or driver update.

Check state

Run this in PowerShell:

pnputil /enum-devices /instanceid "SWD\DRIVERENUM\{96bedf2c-18cb-4a15-b821-5e95ed0fea61}#VocaEffectPack&1&6b31f1d&0" /properties /drivers

When blocked, you may see:

Problem Code: 28 (0x1C) [CM_PROB_FAILED_INSTALL]
The installation of this device is forbidden by system policy.

You can also check that Voice Clarity is not running as an Audio Processing Object:

pnputil /enum-drivers /class AudioProcessingObject /devices

Notes

• This uses Windows-supported mechanisms: local Device Installation Restrictions plus pnputil.
• It does not disable your microphone or all audio effects. It targets the Microsoft Voice Clarity effect-pack component.
• You should still keep your normal audio driver packages, such as Realtek, SteelSeries Sonar, etc.
• Windows updates may try to stage the package again; the block policy is what keeps it from becoming active.

Disable-VoiceClarity-Reliable.cmd

@echo off
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "%~dp0Disable-VoiceClarity-Reliable.ps1"

Disable-VoiceClarity-Reliable.ps1

param(
    [switch]$NoPause
)

$isAdmin = ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal] [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole(
    [Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator
)
if (-not $isAdmin) {
    $argsList = @('-NoProfile', '-ExecutionPolicy', 'Bypass', '-File', "`"$PSCommandPath`"")
    if ($NoPause) { $argsList += '-NoPause' }
    Start-Process -FilePath powershell.exe -ArgumentList $argsList -Verb RunAs
    exit
}

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue'

$instanceId = 'SWD\DRIVERENUM\{96bedf2c-18cb-4a15-b821-5e95ed0fea61}#VocaEffectPack&1&6b31f1d&0'
$hardwareId = 'SWC\VEN_MSFT&AUDIO_EFFECTPACK_VOICECLARITY'
$className = 'AudioProcessingObject'

$stamp = Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd_HHmmss'
$logDir = Join-Path $env:TEMP "VoiceClarityDisable_$stamp"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $logDir -Force | Out-Null
$log = Join-Path $logDir 'disable-voice-clarity.log'

function Write-Log {
    param([string]$Message)
    $line = "[{0}] {1}" -f (Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'), $Message
    $line | Tee-Object -FilePath $log -Append
}

function Run-External {
    param(
        [string]$FilePath,
        [string[]]$Arguments
    )
    Write-Log "$FilePath $($Arguments -join ' ')"
    $output = & $FilePath @Arguments 2>&1
    $code = $LASTEXITCODE
    foreach ($line in $output) {
        Write-Log "  $line"
    }
    Write-Log "  ExitCode=$code"
    return $code
}

function Set-PolicyDword {
    param([string]$Path, [string]$Name, [int]$Value)
    New-ItemProperty -Path $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType DWord -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
    Write-Log "Set $Path\$Name = $Value (DWORD)"
}

function Set-PolicyString {
    param([string]$Path, [string]$Name, [string]$Value)
    New-ItemProperty -Path $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType String -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
    Write-Log "Set $Path\$Name = $Value (REG_SZ)"
}

function Get-VoiceClarityPublishedInfs {
    $lines = & pnputil /enum-drivers /class $className /ids 2>&1
    $currentPublished = $null
    $currentOriginal = $null
    $results = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[string]

    foreach ($line in $lines) {
        if ($line -match '^\s*Published Name:\s+(.+?)\s*$') {
            $currentPublished = $Matches[1].Trim()
            $currentOriginal = $null
            continue
        }
        if ($line -match '^\s*Original Name:\s+(.+?)\s*$') {
            $currentOriginal = $Matches[1].Trim()
        }
        if ($currentPublished -and $currentOriginal -ieq 'voiceclarityep_audio_component.inf') {
            [void]$results.Add($currentPublished)
            $currentPublished = $null
            $currentOriginal = $null
        }
    }

    return $results | Select-Object -Unique
}

Write-Host ''
Write-Host 'Disabling Microsoft Voice Clarity / Voice Focus...' -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Log "Log folder: $logDir"

$policyKey = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceInstall\Restrictions'
$policyReg = 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceInstall\Restrictions'
$policyBackup = Join-Path $logDir 'DeviceInstallRestrictions-before.reg'
Run-External 'reg.exe' @('export', $policyReg, $policyBackup, '/y') | Out-Null

New-Item -Path $policyKey -Force | Out-Null
$denyIdsKey = Join-Path $policyKey 'DenyDeviceIDs'
$denyInstancesKey = Join-Path $policyKey 'DenyDeviceInstanceIDs'
New-Item -Path $denyIdsKey -Force | Out-Null
New-Item -Path $denyInstancesKey -Force | Out-Null

Set-PolicyDword $policyKey 'DenyDeviceIDs' 1
Set-PolicyDword $policyKey 'DenyDeviceIDsRetroactive' 1
Set-PolicyString $denyIdsKey '1' $hardwareId

Set-PolicyDword $policyKey 'DenyDeviceInstanceIDs' 1
Set-PolicyDword $policyKey 'DenyDeviceInstanceIDsRetroactive' 1
Set-PolicyString $denyInstancesKey '1' $instanceId

Get-Process SystemSettings -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Run-External 'gpupdate.exe' @('/target:computer', '/force') | Out-Null

$infs = @(Get-VoiceClarityPublishedInfs)
foreach ($inf in $infs) {
    Run-External 'pnputil.exe' @('/export-driver', $inf, $logDir) | Out-Null
}

Run-External 'pnputil.exe' @('/remove-device', $instanceId, '/subtree', '/force') | Out-Null

$infs = @($infs + @(Get-VoiceClarityPublishedInfs) | Select-Object -Unique)
foreach ($inf in $infs) {
    Run-External 'pnputil.exe' @('/delete-driver', $inf, '/force') | Out-Null
}

Run-External 'pnputil.exe' @('/scan-devices') | Out-Null

$infs = @(Get-VoiceClarityPublishedInfs)
foreach ($inf in $infs) {
    Run-External 'pnputil.exe' @('/delete-driver', $inf, '/force') | Out-Null
}

Write-Log 'Final Voice Clarity device state:'
Run-External 'pnputil.exe' @('/enum-devices', '/instanceid', $instanceId, '/properties', '/drivers') | Out-Null

Write-Log 'Final AudioProcessingObject driver packages:'
Run-External 'pnputil.exe' @('/enum-drivers', '/class', $className, '/devices') | Out-Null

Write-Host ''
Write-Host 'Done. Voice Clarity is blocked by local device-install policy.' -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Log and driver backup: $logDir"
Write-Host 'Close and reopen Windows Settings before checking the microphone page.'

if (-not $NoPause) {
    Write-Host ''
    Read-Host 'Press Enter to close'
}

Undo-VoiceClarity-Block.cmd

@echo off
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "%~dp0Undo-VoiceClarity-Block.ps1"

Undo-VoiceClarity-Block.ps1

param(
    [switch]$NoPause
)

$isAdmin = ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal] [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole(
    [Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator
)
if (-not $isAdmin) {
    $argsList = @('-NoProfile', '-ExecutionPolicy', 'Bypass', '-File', "`"$PSCommandPath`"")
    if ($NoPause) { $argsList += '-NoPause' }
    Start-Process -FilePath powershell.exe -ArgumentList $argsList -Verb RunAs
    exit
}

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue'
$policyKey = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceInstall\Restrictions'
$instanceId = 'SWD\DRIVERENUM\{96bedf2c-18cb-4a15-b821-5e95ed0fea61}#VocaEffectPack&1&6b31f1d&0'

$stamp = Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd_HHmmss'
$logDir = Join-Path $env:TEMP "VoiceClarityUndo_$stamp"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $logDir -Force | Out-Null
$log = Join-Path $logDir 'undo-voice-clarity-block.log'

function Write-Log {
    param([string]$Message)
    $line = "[{0}] {1}" -f (Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'), $Message
    $line | Tee-Object -FilePath $log -Append
}

function Remove-PolicyValue {
    param([string]$Path, [string]$Name)
    Remove-ItemProperty -Path $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Write-Log "Removed $Path\$Name when present"
}

Write-Host ''
Write-Host 'Removing the local Voice Clarity device-install block...' -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Log "Log folder: $logDir"

Remove-PolicyValue $policyKey 'DenyDeviceIDs'
Remove-PolicyValue $policyKey 'DenyDeviceIDsRetroactive'
Remove-PolicyValue $policyKey 'DenyDeviceInstanceIDs'
Remove-PolicyValue $policyKey 'DenyDeviceInstanceIDsRetroactive'
Remove-Item -Path (Join-Path $policyKey 'DenyDeviceIDs') -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item -Path (Join-Path $policyKey 'DenyDeviceInstanceIDs') -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Get-Process SystemSettings -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
& gpupdate.exe /target:computer /force 2>&1 | ForEach-Object { Write-Log "  $_" }
& pnputil.exe /scan-devices 2>&1 | ForEach-Object { Write-Log "  $_" }
& pnputil.exe /enum-devices /instanceid $instanceId /properties /drivers 2>&1 | ForEach-Object { Write-Log "  $_" }

Write-Host ''
Write-Host 'Done. The block policy is removed.' -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Log: $logDir"
Write-Host 'Windows may reinstall Voice Clarity on the next scan or reboot.'

if (-not $NoPause) {
    Write-Host ''
    Read-Host 'Press Enter to close'
}