The Nexus 5 might have dual speaker grilles on the bottom, but there is only a tiny mono speaker residing on the bottom left of the handset. Compared to the Nexus 4, the Nexus 5 speaker sounds downright awful and quiet. Google fixed the volume issue to a certain extent with the Android 4.4.1 update and later on even updated the speaker grilles on the handset to deliver a louder and cleaner output. 

However, things only improved marginally and in day-to-day use, the Nexus 5 speaker is still pretty quiet. Being a Nexus device though, it was just a matter of time before some developers tweaked some system files to improve the loudness on the Nexus 5. A new app on the Play Store — Nexus 5 Real Volume Booster — does exactly that and allows Nexus 5 owners to increase the speaker as well as the headphone volume output of the device. Sadly, the app requires root access to work properly.

Read the steps below to find out how you can use the app to improve the volume output of your Nexus 5.

Step 1: Start Nexus 5 Real Volume Booster on your phone after installing it from the Play Store.

Step 2: The app will then allow you to enter the values to which you want to increase the volume level by. Keep in mind to increase the volume level only by a couple of points and to not set them to the maximum value. Otherwise, the longevity of the speaker and the earphones amp will be seriously affected.

Step 3: When you click on Save, the app will save a flashable ZIP file in the root of your internal storage. Now, tap the Reboot option at the bottom and make sure to grant root access to the app when prompted.

Step 4: Once your Nexus 5 has booted into recovery, use the Install option and flash the “N5VolumeBoost.zip” file located in the root of your sdcard.

Reboot your device to enjoy a louder speaker and earphone volume output from your Nexus 5. Keep in mind that since you are only modifying some system files, you will not notice any change in quality.