Removing the Volume Cap from European Sony Walkmans

One of the biggest complaints from Walkman owners in Europe is the volume cap that was imposed on the devices by the EU. While the service menu method used to work on some previous models to remove the cap, it did not work for everyone. Fortunately there is another method that helps remove the volume cap and restore FM radio function to the NW-A55L for example. In addition, for those wanting to change the language of their Japanese model to English, this guide is for you.

First, none of the following would not be possible without Amaury Pouly’s work, so please visit their page here, and donate to help with the development of the software. Second, I should have made this tutorial sooner in retrospect. Now onto the tutorial.

1. Changing the region to remove EU volume cap
2. Restoring radio function
3. Changing device language to English

In order the alter the region code of a Walkman to remove the volume cap and change the radio function, you will need to download SonyNWDestTool, the download link can be found here. Not all of Sony’s Walkmans are supported by the software, so here is a current list of the supported devices:

• NWZ-A10
• NW-A20
• NW-A30/40/50
• NWZ-A810
• NWZ-A840
• NWZ-A850
• NWZ-A860
• NWZ-E450
• NWZ-E460
• NWZ-E470
• NWZ-E580
• NW-WM1
• NW-ZX100
• NW-ZX300/300A
• NWZ-S750

None of the Android Walkmans support the software unfortunately which would include the new A100 and ZX500, the same goes for the following models:

• NWZ-E360
• NWZ-E370
• NWZ-E380
• NWZ-E390
• NWZ-E440
• NWZ-W270

I have NWZ-WH505, testing it with the tool shows it as non-compatible, since the program cannot grab the device ID. The same result for the NWZ-M504 unfortunately.

For the tutorial I will be using my NWZ-A845 and NWZ-A15. Both of these players are EU capped and I have been using them for many years capped with no issue but decided to uncap them to see if there is any noticeable difference in volume. The software uses command prompt, so if you are unfamiliar with it, I would recommend downloading the tool into your main Windows directory, so C:Users(windows username) since then it will be easier to find the file when launching command prompt.

Before starting, it is necessary to change the Walkman from MTP to MSC mode. Connect the Walkman to the PC using the USB cable, MTP should be visible
on the screen. Next open up device manager (press Windows key and type in device manager).

Step 1 – With the device manager open, find Portable devices and expand the category to find your WALKMAN.

Step 2 – Select WALKMAN and right click. Then select Update driver.

Step 3 – In the next dialog box, choose ‘Browse my computer for driver software’.

Step 4 – Then select ‘Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer’.

Step 5 – Finally select USB Mass Storage Device and click next. The driver will update and the Walkman will reconnect in MSC mode. You can confirm this by opening up Windows Explorer, Windows Key + E, and see which drive letter your Walkman was assigned. For my Walkman it is D.

I will point out, I had to do this on my NWZ-A845 but not NWZ-A15. I do not recall if I already switched the A15 or if it shipped like this. With your Walkman switched to MSC mode, time to change the region.

Changing the region and uncapping the volume

Step 1

Open command prompt by pressing the Windows key and typing in ‘cmd’. Command prompt should open up to C:Users(windows username). If you downloaded SonyNWDestTool here, then scsitool-nwz-v26 should be visible in this directory. Then type/copy the following into the command prompt:

scsitool-nwz-vX.exe H: dest_tool get

Replace X with your program version, version 26 in my case and H: to the drive where your Walkman has been assigned to, D: in my case. As you can see below, the region code for my NWZ-A845 is CEW (3), I presume this is another Western Europe code. The same code was present for my A15.

Step 2

Change the region code to a one you wish to use, preferably one without the cap. I will be selecting Canada (CA), since it is uncapped and High gain output is available. Then type in the following:

scsitool-nwz-vX.exe H: dest_tool set <dest> <sps>

Again replace X with your software version, H: with your Walkman drive location, <dest> to the region you wish to you use and <sps> to off. In my case this would end up being “scsitool-nwz-v26.exe D: dest_tool set CA off”. The destination codes can be found here. Supposedly the Sound Pressure Regulation (SPS) does not do anything in newer models, so switching to a region without the volume cap is more important than disabling SPS.

Step 3

You can recheck if the change has been performed repeating Step 1.To finalize the region change, unplug your Walkman, then go to Settings >> Common Settings >> Reset/Format >> Reset All Settings. Once you have done this, you are finished and your Walkman now has no more volume cap.

I did comparison tests for both the A845 and A15 to see if there was any major difference in the volume. I am not sure I noticed a major difference on the A845, yes it was slightly louder but the difference in volume was more noticeable on the A15. This might also be related to the better components in the A15 and the S-Master HX amp versus just S-Master in the A845.

If you have any Walkmans from the supported list and live in the EU, I would recommend uncapping the Walkman to see the difference yourself. You can always change the region back, but there is no reason to revert back.

Restoring FM radio function

To restore the radio function in the European NW-A55L and expanding to the full radio frequency for Japanese Walkmans, just switch the region to E or E2 for best results. Thanks to Bogdan Adrian for the tip about this in the comments.

Changing device language to English

One can use the same tutorial to change the language of a Japanese model to support English. Just follow the same steps when changing the region, but change it to a region where English is present. So here is an example:

scsitool-nwz-vX.exe H: dest_tool set <dest>

Replace the X with your program version number and H: the drive to where the program is located. Then set the <dest> to another region like E, CA, or U. This will change the firmware so English is available. One can all the different regions here at the end of the page. Leave any troubleshooting questions in the comments.