How to Mute Yourself and Participants During a Zoom Call

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Quick instructions for turning off your mic during a Zoom call
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This wikiHow teaches you how to mute or unmute yourself in a Zoom meeting on a computer, phone, or tablet. You'll also learn how to set up Zoom so your microphone is muted automatically, as well as how to use the push-to-talk feature to temporarily unmute your microphone when you want to speak. If you are the host of a Zoom meeting, you can mute everyone or specific participants , as well as ask participants to unmute themselves.

Muting and Unmuting in Zoom

Click or tap the microphone icon to mute or unmute yourself during a Zoom meeting. You can find options to mute yourself or enable push-to-talk in the Meetings & Webinars menu in Settings . If you are hosting a meeting, you can mute participants under the Participants menu.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Muting and Unmuting Yourself

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  1. You can mute and unmute yourself in meetings on any platform, including Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and iPhone/iPad. Open the Zoom app and log in, then start or join a meeting .
  2. You'll see this in the bottom left corner of your screen. If you don't see it, click or tap the screen to bring up the icon row.
    • When the icon is red and has a line through it, your microphone is muted.
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  3. If the previous action muted your microphone, this action unmutes it. [1]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Muting Your Microphone Automatically

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  1. 1
    Open your Zoom Settings menu. If you want your microphone to be muted when you join meetings, you can do that by making a quick change in your settings. To get there, click or tap your profile icon to open the menu, then select Settings .
    • On a computer, the profile icon is in the upper-right corner of Zoom.
    • On an Android, iPhone, or iPad, it’s in the upper-left corner of the mobile app. [2]
    • Alternatively, on a PC or Mac, you can click the small gear icon in the upper-right corner of Zoom.
  2. 2
    Click Meetings & webinars (desktop) or Meetings (mobile). This opens the settings menu for your meetings.
  3. If you're using a computer, click the toggle switch next to “Keep my microphone muted.” On mobile, tap the toggle switch next to “Mute my microphone.” [3]
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Enabling and Using Push to Talk

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  1. If you're using Zoom on a computer, you can use the Push-to-Talk feature to temporarily unmute yourself when you press and hold the spacebar on the keyboard. This is helpful if you think you'll want to remain muted most of the time.
    • Alternatively, you can click your profile icon in the upper-right corner and then click Settings.
  2. 2
    Click Meetings & webinars . This displays the Settings menu for your Meetings.
  3. 3
    Click the switch next to "Press and hold SPACE key to temporarily unmute yourself." It’s in the “Controls” section. Now, when you want to unmute yourself, just press and hold the spacebar as you speak. As soon as you lift your finger, your microphone will mute again. [4]
  4. Now that you've enabled Push to Talk, it's time to see it in action. When your microphone is muted and you want to say something, just hold down the spacebar as you speak to unmute yourself. As soon as you lift your finger from the spacebar, you'll be muted again.
    • If your microphone is not already muted, click the microphone icon at the bottom-left corner to mute it now.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Muting and Unmuting Participants

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  1. 1
    Open Zoom and start a meeting. If you are the host of a meeting, you can mute participants, unmute them (if they have been given prior consent to be unmuted), or ask them to unmute themselves. Once you open Zoom on your computer, click New Meetings to start a new meeting.
  2. 2
    Click Participants . It’s in the meetings control at the bottom of the app and has an icon that resembles two people. This displays a list of participants on the right side.
  3. 3
    Click Mute all (optional). If you want to mute all participants, click Mute all at the bottom of the list of participants, then click Yes in the pop-up window to mute all participants.
    • Additionally, you can check or uncheck the box in the pop-up window next to “Allow participants to unmute themselves.” Unchecking this box will keep all participants unmuted and unable to speak during the meeting.
    • Alternatively, you can click More at the bottom of the list of participants. This displays a drop-down menu, which has the options to “Ask all to unmute,” “Mute participants upon entry,” or “Allow participants to unmute themselves.”
  4. 4
    Hover your mouse over the participant you want to mute or unmute. A list of options will appear.
  5. 5
    Click one of the options. The options are as follows: [5]
    • Mute : Instantly mutes the participant.
    • Ask to unmute : Displays a prompt on the participant's screen asking them to unmute themselves. The participant can click Unmute in the prompt to unmute themselves.
    • Unmute : Unmutes the participant with no prompt.
      • You will only be able to use this option if you have asked participants to grant prior consent to be unmuted. This option is available when you schedule a meeting.
      • You can also set this option in the Account Settings menu or the Group Setting s menu in the web portal. When enabled, participants will have to agree to be allowed to be unmuted in meetings.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    The unmute is not working on my Android. What is a way for it to work when I tap on it, and it still won't unmute?
    SylviaMoon
    Community Answer
    Maybe the meeting host muted you or everyone in the meeting and enabled do not allow participants to unmute themselves.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 15 Helpful 39
  • Question
    You don't happen to know how to turn down Zoom's volume specifically, do you? It doesn't look like there's a setting for it; the speaker volume slider in Zoom changes the computer volume.
    GamerAJ1025
    Community Answer
    If you have Windows 10, you may be able to press [Windows Key] + [G] to access the Xbox Game Bar. In the top of the screen, there should be a bar with different icons. Click the audio button. A window (with volume sliders for each app you have open) should appear. Slide the master volume to change the computer volume, slide each individual app slider to quieten particular apps.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 4 Helpful 15
  • Question
    Can the host unmute and mute individuals?
    (Student) Veronique Bastien
    Community Answer
    Yes. They can unmute and mute participants in the meeting. Since there are the ones who are "in charge" of the meeting, they can do all sorts of features.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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    Not Helpful 6 Helpful 20
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/200941109-Participant-controls-in-a-meeting
      2. ↑ https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/203024649-Muting-your-microphone-when-joining-a-meeting
      3. ↑ https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/203024649-Muting-your-microphone-when-joining-a-meeting
      4. ↑ https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360000510003-Push-to-Talk
      5. ↑ https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0066716

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To mute or unmute your microphone during a Zoom meeting, just click or tap the microphone icon at the bottom-left corner of the screen. If there's a diagonal line through the microphone icon, you'll know you're muted. If you’re using Zoom on your PC or Mac, the Push-to-Talk feature lets you temporarily unmute yourself while you press and hold the spacebar on your keyboard. To turn on Push to Talk, open Zoom and click the gear icon near the top-right corner. Click Audio in the left panel, and then check the box next to ""Press and hold SPACE key to temporarily unmute yourself."" If you want your microphone to be muted when you join meetings, you can do that by making a quick change in your settings. If you're on a computer, click the gear icon near the top-right corner of Zoom, click the Audio menu, and then check the box next to ""Mute my microphone when joining a meeting.""

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