Quality Windows Audio Video Experience (QWAVE) Service Defaults in Windows 10

Quality Windows Audio Video Experience (qWave) is a networking platform for Audio Video (AV) streaming applications on IP home networks. qWave enhances AV streaming performance and reliability by ensuring network quality-of-service (QoS) for AV applications. It provides mechanisms for admission control, run time monitoring and enforcement, application feedback, and traffic prioritization.

Default Settings

Startup type: Manual
Display name:Quality Windows Audio Video Experience
Service name:QWAVE
Service type:share
Error control:normal
Object:NT AUTHORITY\LocalService
Path:%SystemRoot%\system32\svchost.exe -k LocalServiceAndNoImpersonation -p
File:%SystemRoot%\system32\qwave.dll
Registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\QWAVE
Privileges:
  • SeChangeNotifyPrivilege

Default Behavior

Quality Windows Audio Video Experience is a Win32 service. In Windows 10 it is starting only if the user, an application or another service starts it. When the Quality Windows Audio Video Experience service is started, it is running as NT AUTHORITY\LocalService in a shared process of svchost.exe along with other services. If Quality Windows Audio Video Experience fails to start, the failure details are being recorded into Event Log. Then Windows 10 will start up and notify the user that the QWAVE service has failed to start due to the error.

Dependencies

Quality Windows Audio Video Experience cannot be started under any conditions, if the following services are disabled, deleted or working improperly:

Restore Default Startup Configuration of Quality Windows Audio Video Experience

Before you begin doing this, make sure that all the services on which Quality Windows Audio Video Experience depends are configured by default and function properly. See the list of dependencies above.

1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.

2. Copy the command below, paste it into the command window and press ENTER:

sc config QWAVE start= demand

3. Close the command window and restart the computer.

The QWAVE service is using the qwave.dll file that is located in the C:\Windows\system32 directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows 10 installation media.