Full Guide to Enable Tidal Exclusive Mode

Part 1. What Is Tidal Exclusive Mode?

Exclusive mode permits Tidal to take exclusive control of your audio device. That means your audio output device is occupied by Tidal alone. Tidal's exclusive mode bypasses the audio control of your system settings, providing a cleaner, less processed signal to your DAC device. You can adjust the audio volume directly through the Tidal app. With total control of audio, Tidal's exclusive mode makes you enjoy an uninterrupted and high-quality sound experience.

We mentioned that Amazon Music also has this feature, so how does exclusive mode work on Amazon Music? No doubt, the exclusive mode on Amazon Music does not work the same as Tidal's. Amazon Music's exclusive mode primarily blocks sounds from other applications, preventing other apps from utilizing the audio system on your playback system.

Part 2. How to Manage Exclusive Mode on Tidal

Turn on Tidal Exclusive Mode

If you are concerned about the audio quality, and you use the headphones, DAC, or other external audio output devices, Tidal's exclusive mode makes a difference in the listening experience. How to get Tidal exclusive mode on your computer? Follow the next guidance step-by-step.

• Step 1. Connect your DAC to your computer.
• Step 2. Open the Tidal desktop on your screen.
• Step 3. Click the Settings icon next to your profile.
• Step 4. Click the General option, and scroll down to the Playback section.



• Step 5. Find and tap on Sound Output. Change the System default option to your output device.
• Step 6. Once you change the audio output device, a new option will appear next to the name of the output device bar. Click Settings.



• Step 7. After tapping, you will enter the next window to see more detailed settings: use Exclusive Mode, Force volume. Toggle on Use Exclusive Mode, and Tidal exclusive mode works on your computer now.

Turn off Tidal Exclusive Mode

The Tidal exclusive mode will mute other applications. So you may miss some important notifications, or you prefer to play games while listening to Tidal. Also, some users have reported that it may sound louder than usual when they stream Tidal under the exclusive mode. So, how to turn off the Tidal exclusive mode? Very easy, follow the next steps to turn it off.

• Step 1. Open the Tidal desktop on your computer.
• Step 2. Click the Settings icon next to your Tidal profile.
• Step 3. Choose the General section and scroll down to the Playback area.
• Step 4. Navigate to Sound Output, click Settings, and turn off the Use Exclusive Mode. Then you have closed the Tidal exclusive mode.

Part 3. How to Fix Tidal Exclusive Mode Not Working

If you encounter issues with Exclusive Mode, there are also some ways for you to check the reason and fix it.

Fix 1. Check Your DAC's Firmware is Updated

The DAC device will influence the Tidal exclusive mode to work successfully. You can check the current version of Fireware installed in DAC by following the steps.

Fix 2. Check Compatibility

After updating your DAC device, if it still doesn't work, you need to consider the compatibility of your DAC device. Despite the DAC compatibility, you need to check the software compatibility. If you use ASIO to work with your Tidal exclusive mode, it may have errors while playing. Tidal doesn't support ASIO, but it works well with WASAPI.

Fix 3. Check Audio Device Settings on the Computer

After checking the DAC device, you need to transfer your attention to your computer audio output settings. Allow your audio output device to use the exclusive mode in the computer settings.

• Navigate to Settings > System > Sound > More Sound Settings on your computer.
• You will see the audio output device listed on it. Select the device you want to set as the output service on Tidal. And click Properties >Advanced icon.



• After entering the advanced window, you can see the Exclusive Mode box, and agree with the two options: Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device and Give exclusive mode applications priority.

Fix 4. Check Your Audio Device

This situation always appears. When you set an audio output device as the exclusive mode output device, you need to make sure the device is not occupied by other applications (like Windows, Voicemeeter). You can close the application or release the audio output device from its settings.

So, make sure the audio output device is not in use by other software before enabling exclusive mode on Tidal.

Fix 5. Check Audio Format

If you play from the Tidal app via USB, it's notable that the audio format will also influence whether the Tidal exclusive mode works. Tidal requires you to set your system sound settings in Control Panel to 16 bit, 44100Hz (CD Quality)

Fix 6.Check Tidal

After ensuring that Tidal's exclusive mode is not working, unrelating to your audio output device or computer system settings. It may be due to Tidal itself. The repair way is similar to solving Tidal not working

Clean Tidal cache

Removing the temporary file that caused Tidal's exclusive mode not to work is a useful way. Tap on three horizontal lines next to TIDAL, and navigate to Help > Troubleshooting> Clear Cache.

Force close and restart Tidal

On Android, long-press press Tidal app and click the App Info > Force stop. If you use iOS, tap the home button twice to enter the recently used app. Locate Tidal and swipe it up.

Log out and log in

Logging out and in can release the temporary shuffle playback issue on Tidal. Logging out and back into your Tidal account can refresh your session.

Update Tidal

If it's still not working, check your Tidal version; the outdated version may also cause the Tidal exclusive mode to fail to work. Go to your settings on Tidal, choose the About option to see the version of Tidal, if not the new one, update it from the Tidal site.

Ask for Tidal Contact

It's sorry to see that your Tidal exclusive mode still can't work; you need to reflect on your problem with Tidal Contact to seek Tidal's professional tech assistance. Or you can move to the next part, knowing the alternatives to Tidal's exclusive mode.

Part 4. Alternatives to Tidal Exclusive Mode

Yes, we know the reason that most Tidal users choose to stream on Tidal and subscribe to Tidal HiFi. To seek superior audio quality. That's why Tidal integrates the exclusive mode. The alternative way allows you to enjoy the same audio quality as streaming on Tidal, however, without the trouble of playing under the Tidal exclusive mode. Use ViWizard Tidal Music Converter to download to your local computer and play it on any other device!

ViWizard Tidal Music Converter can convert Tidal music into many formats--Lossless, AIFF, MP3, M4A, M4B, WAV, and FLAC, keeping your downloaded music tracks with high audio quality (up to 4.8kHz, 320 kbps). Also, quick downloading speed up to 40x. ViWizard also keeps the original ID3 and editor to help you better manage your downloaded tracks.

ViWizard Tidal Music Converter

Download music from Tidal to MP3, FLAC, M4A, M4B, WAV, or AIFF. Works for all users. Listen offline anytime.

Available on:

Free Download

Free Download

Secure Download

Step 1 Connect Your Tidal HiFi Account

Install ViWizard Tidal Music Converter through the official website. Once downloaded, click ViWizard twice to open it. Then, you will see the Tidal web player displayed in the interface. You can directly log in to your Tidal HiFi account.

Step 2 Tailored the Audio Output Format

Once successfully connected your Tidal account in ViWizard, you can click the hamburger icon at the top right of the interface. Go to Preferences > Conversion >Output Format. You can choose from Lossless, AIFF, MP3, M4A, M4B, WAV, and FLAC. Also, ViWizard provides the sample rate and bitrate choices up to 4.8 kHz and 320 kbps. Once you set up, click OK icon to save the format change.

Step 3 Add Songs from Tidal and Convert

Everything is prepared, then you can choose to add songs to convert to your local. ViWizard can download all the music in the Tidal library. You can directly paste the URL of music to download or choose from your collection. Click Add to List icon to add music to the conversion list. ViWizard will automatically recognize the music to avoid duplicate downloading. On the conversion window, click the Convert button to allow downloading. Within seconds, you can enjoy the downloads in Tidal's high audio quality even if you stop subscribing to Tidal HiFi.

Conclusion

The exclusive mode on Tidal provides a new way to help us enhance the listening experience. If you are not satisfied with the audio quality of your used streaming music service, try syncing to Tidal and try to enable Tidal exclusive mode on your computer. We are sure you must be surprised by the awesome listening experience.