Channel Flip

English | 繁體中文

Swap the left and right channels of your headphones or speakers on Windows. Windows has no such switch of its own. Channel Flip works at the system level, so it does not depend on each player having its own option, and it does not need Equalizer APO installed.

Useful when

• The cable or connector on your headphones or speakers is wired backwards
• You wear a headset the other way round, for example to put a fixed microphone boom on your other side
• The audio itself is reversed (old recordings, transfers, an editing mistake)
• Your player, game or meeting app offers no left/right swap

Tip

Hearing loss in one ear, or one earcup not working? Swapping only moves the other channel to your good ear. Windows' built-in Mono audio (Settings → Accessibility → Audio) plays both channels in both ears and suits that better.

Download

Download 2.3.0 (Windows x64 ZIP)

SHA256 7f96abc3f842fd3be74480df86b8647fd08033e6af16b4f6fdcbb07c021a82de

Release notes · Security and verification · Report an issue

Important

This release has no Microsoft audio signature. First-time setup requires administrator approval, briefly interrupts computer audio, and disables the protected audio host's signature restriction system-wide. This may affect DRM playback, and the change stays in place until you undo it. Review the full list of changes and how to restore them.

Get started

1. Open the app: Extract the download and run ChannelFlip.exe.
2. Set up a device: Select your headphones or speakers, choose Set up this device, and follow the on-screen steps.
3. Check the direction: Turn on Swap left/right and use both test buttons. The left source should reach your right ear; the right source should reach your left ear.

Swapping stays active after you close the window. Turn off Swap left/right to restore the original direction. To undo system changes, choose Advanced settings → Remove all device settings.

Switch between English and Traditional Chinese at the top right. The app remembers your choice.

Security and verification

This app asks for administrator rights and changes system-wide audio settings, so confirm you received the file you expected.

Check the download's hash in PowerShell:

Get-FileHash .\ChannelFlip-2.3.0-windows-x64.zip -Algorithm SHA256

It should match the SHA256 above and the .sha256.txt attached to the release. You can also upload the file to VirusTotal and scan it yourself.

About the SmartScreen warning: the executable is not yet code-signed, so Windows shows "Windows protected your PC." See the signing notes for the current state and the plan.

If you would rather not trust a binary, build it yourself. The source is fully public, the build steps are below, and every push runs the complete build and test suite on GitHub Actions.

Why administrator rights are needed: installing a custom audio processing object (APO) requires writing to the system registry and restarting the audio service. Every value that gets modified, how it is backed up, and how to restore it are listed in FIRST_RUN.md. The app also shows you the full scope of the change before it applies anything.

Compatibility

• Requirements: Windows 10 / 11 x64 with .NET Framework 4.6.2 or later.
• Tested: Windows 11 with MOMENTUM 4. Windows 10, other devices and actual sleep/resume remain unvalidated.
• Audio paths: Audio must pass through Windows shared-mode effects. ASIO, exclusive mode, RAW, passthrough, or disabled audio enhancements may bypass swapping.

View compatibility and test results

Build and contribute

Run in 64-bit PowerShell on Windows x64:

.\tools\bootstrap.ps1
.\build.ps1 -Test

The output is app/ChannelFlip.exe. Build and contribution guide · Release process

License

MIT. Include LICENSE and third-party notices when redistributing.