Free companion for the Microsoft Store app
KikuTune Bridge
The Microsoft Store version of KikuTune covers battery, output switching and reconnecting. The Bridge adds the equalizer, so your sound follows everything you play.
Windows 11 · Free · Starts with Windows · Remove it any time in Settings › Apps
What it adds
Windows does not let a Microsoft Store app change how your system sounds. The Bridge does that part, and KikuTune stays the place you use it.
The equalizer
Ten bands, a preamp, balance and a clipping limiter, with presets. Windows applies them to everything you play on the headphones you set up.
Sound for each pair
Every pair of headphones keeps its own settings, and KikuTune switches them when you switch headphones.
The same installer also adds Noise Control for supported AirPods.
How it works
- 1
Install KikuTune, then the Bridge
KikuTune comes from the Microsoft Store. Windows checks with you before the Bridge installer runs (below), then the installer asks for administrator permission once and starts the Bridge right away. Where it adds Noise Control, Windows restarts once and setup finishes by itself.
- 2
Open KikuTune
The Sound page appears within a few seconds. Nothing to configure: KikuTune finds the Bridge by itself, now and after every sign-in.
- 3
Set up Sound Enhancements for your headphones
One more administrator prompt, once per pair of headphones. KikuTune then turns the equalizer on.
One trade-off. Sound Enhancements turn on Windows' Protected Audio opt-in for the headphones you set up, so some protected (DRM) playback may refuse to play on them. Removing Sound Enhancements or the Bridge turns it back off.
Windows asks first
The Bridge is not code-signed, so Windows cannot name its publisher and checks with you before it runs. Download it only from this page, then:
- 1
Keep the download. If your browser says the file is not commonly downloaded, choose to keep it.
- 2
Run anyway. Windows SmartScreen says “Windows protected your PC”. Choose More info, check that the app is KikuTuneBridgeSetup-1.2.0.exe, then Run anyway.
- 3
Yes. The administrator prompt says the publisher is unknown. Choose Yes.
To check the download first, open PowerShell in your Downloads folder and run
Get-FileHash .\KikuTuneBridgeSetup-1.2.0.exeThe hash it prints must be 5FACD7EC2A0E24AD0C203CBDFF18735453960C694BD27ECA29E41B7193684CA0.
Smart App Control. Where it is on, Windows blocks apps that are not signed outright, so the Bridge cannot be installed on that PC. Windows Security › App & browser control › Smart App Control shows whether it is on.
In the same installer
Noise Control
Switch Noise Cancellation, Transparency and Adaptive on your AirPods from KikuTune. Windows gives apps no way to do that, so it takes a driver, and that driver comes with a real trade-off. Read it before you install:
Windows Test Mode turns on. The Noise Control driver is not signed by Microsoft, so Windows only loads it in Test Mode. The installer says so before it starts, turns Test Mode on, restarts Windows once, and finishes by itself.
Secure Boot has to be off. Test Mode cannot be turned on while Secure Boot is on, and only you can change that, in your PC's firmware settings. If it is on, the installer sets up the Bridge and the equalizer without Noise Control and links the steps below; run it again once Secure Boot is off.
Some protection is lowered. In Test Mode Windows also accepts other test-signed drivers, shows “Test Mode” in the corner of the desktop, and some games with anti-cheat will not start.
BitLocker is paused for that one restart. So Windows does not ask for the recovery key. It resumes by itself afterwards. If BitLocker cannot be paused, the installer leaves Test Mode alone and installs everything except Noise Control.
Uninstalling undoes it. Removing KikuTune Bridge also turns Test Mode off again, if the installer was the one that turned it on.
There is nothing else to download: the Bridge installer above adds Noise Control wherever Windows allows it.
What it is not
No driver for the equalizer
Sound Enhancements need no driver. Only Noise Control adds one, as the Noise Control section below explains.
Not a Windows service
It runs as you, from sign-in, and stops when you sign out.
Only KikuTune, only this PC
It answers KikuTune on this PC over a private local channel, and nothing else.
Separate from the app
The Microsoft Store app never installs, starts or offers it. It simply uses it when it is there.
Removing it
Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find KikuTune Bridge and choose Uninstall. It takes Sound Enhancements off your headphones, turns Protected Audio back to how it was, and stops starting with Windows. KikuTune itself stays.
If your headphones are not connected at that moment, their Sound Enhancements stay until they are: then remove KikuTune Sound Enhancements in the same list.
Noise Control only
If the installer reports Secure Boot: On
KikuTune and the Bridge's equalizer never ask for any of this. Only Noise Control does: its driver is test-signed, Windows loads it only in Test Mode, and Test Mode needs Secure Boot off.
KikuTune cannot disable Secure Boot for you. Secure Boot is a firmware setting, so Windows software cannot safely or consistently change it. The installer stops before trusting certificates, enabling Test Mode, or installing DriverBeta files.
Before changing firmware settings: save your work and confirm you can reach this PC's BitLocker recovery key. A firmware change can trigger BitLocker recovery on the next boot, and disabling Secure Boot weakens boot-chain protection.
- 1
Open Windows recovery options
Open Settings → System → Recovery. Under Advanced startup, select Restart now and confirm the restart.
- 2
Enter UEFI firmware settings
On the recovery screen choose Troubleshoot → Advanced options → UEFI Firmware Settings → Restart.
- 3
Disable Secure Boot manually
In UEFI/BIOS, find Secure Boot. It is commonly under Boot, Security, Authentication, or Windows OS Configuration. Set it to Disabled, then save changes and exit. Names vary by PC manufacturer.
Do not clear the TPM, delete platform keys, change storage mode, or reset firmware defaults. KikuTune does not need any of those, and they can cause data loss or stop Windows starting.
- 4
Verify, then run the installer again
After Windows starts, open System Information (
msinfo32) and confirm Secure Boot State: Off. Then run the same installer again.Microsoft reference: Windows 11 and Secure Boot (opens in a new tab).
Turning Secure Boot back on
Uninstall KikuTune Bridge first and complete the restart it asks for: Noise Control stops working once Secure Boot is back on. Then return to UEFI/BIOS and re-enable Secure Boot. Confirm in System Information that Secure Boot State is On.