I want to stay in a meeting but sometimes I'll be doing something else and don't want to hear their voices for a period of time. Is there any way to mute zoom without actually leaving the meeting? Thanks. —- A Reddit User
Are you in the same situation and need to mute Zoom audio? Or you just want to mute yourself while not speaking because there are background noises? Whatever the case, Zoom offers a built-in feature to satisfy your needs.
In this guide, we will show you how to take full advantage of Zoom's mute feature to mute yourself and other participants in a meeting to restore organization.
When to Mute a Zoom Meeting
When attending a virtual meeting, you normally want to hear what every participant has to say and contribute positively. Nevertheless, Every rule has its exception.
Below are some of the situations that will call for silencing a Zoom meeting:
Excessive background noise: In virtual meetings, some participants might be on the train, in a subway, or other places with unmanageable background noise. In this case, it is best to mute yourself or other participants to prevent disrupting the meeting.
Lack of organization: In a webinar or public meeting, for example, where participants can ask questions and contribute, things get rowdy when people talk over one another. As the host of such a meeting, you might need to mute all participants and unmute them based on a request to restore order.
When you don't need to talk: If you are in a webinar that only requires you to listen or one where you know you won't be contributing, you can mute yourself.
When Multitasking: There are times when a meeting just falls wrong for you, with other activities already scheduled. Also, you might have an unimportant meeting and decide to do other things during the session. The best thing to do in this scenario to avoid disrupting the meeting is to mute the Zoom audio.
How to Mute Yourself on a Zoom Meeting?
1. Use Zoom Meeting's Toolbar (on PC & Mobile)
Zoom has a built-in toolbar you can use to silence your microphone during meetings. Below is how to mute Zoom audio on PC and mobile:
Step 1: During a Zoom meeting, move your cursor randomly till the bottom toolbar appears. On mobile, just tap anywhere on the screen.
Step 2: Click Mute (microphone icon) in the bottom left corner to mute your audio.
Step 3: To unmute yourself, repeat the steps above with the microphone icon now tagged Unmute.
With the steps above, other participants will not hear you again till you reverse the action.
Use Keyboard Shortcuts (on PC only)
Aside from the in-app feature, you can use keyboard shortcuts to mute yourself on a computer. Below are the key combinations for different operating systems.
For Windows PC, press and hold the Alt + A keys to mute Zoom sound.
On Mac, press and hold the Command + Shift + A keys to mute yourself.
To mute yourself on Linux, press and hold the Alt + A keys.
How to Join a Zoom Meeting with Microphone Turned Off
Another option provided by Zoom is to have your microphone muted by default before joining a meeting. With this, you are sure that you won't be disrupting a meeting until you decide to unmute yourself.
Join every Zoom meeting with microphone turned off
Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
Click your profile picture in the right corner and select the Settings option.
Choose Audio from the list of options.
Finally, check the box for Mute my microphone when joining a meeting.
Join a specific meeting with your microphone muted
You might just want to turn off your microphone before joining a meeting as a one-off. Below are the steps you need to follow to do this:
Upon clicking the link in the invite to join a meeting, you will prompted to “Join with Computer audio”.
Click the Cancel icon to decline.
Click the Continue button in the next window to confirm the action.
To turn on your Microphone, just move your cursor randomly till the bottom toolbar appears and click the Join Audio option in the bottom left corner.
How to Mute Other Participants on Zoom?
There are times when you need to mute a participant disrupting the Zoom meeting. Other times, it might be difficult to trace the source of the disturbance, and you might need to mute all participants instead.
Note that you must be the host or co-host to mute other participants.
Mute a single participant (on mobile and PC)
Click the Participants option in the bottom menu.
In the sidebar opened to the right, click the microphone icon next to the name of the participant you want to mute.
To unmute the participant, repeat the steps above.
Mute all participants on PC
Click the Participants option in the bottom menu.
Click the Mute All button on the right panel.
Tick the checkbox for Allow participants to unmute themselves, then click Yes to save the change. This will send a notification that "The host muted everyone" to all participants.
To unmute all participants, repeat step 1 and click the more button in the bottom right corner.
Select the Ask All to Unmute option. This will send a prompt that "The host will like you to speak" to all participants. They can decide to stay muted or unmute.
Mute all participants on mobile
Tap in anywhere on the screen to display the bottom menu, then select the Participants option.
Select the Mute All button at the bottom of the screen.
Toggle the switch for Allow all participants to unmute themselves and tap the Mute All button to complete the process.
To unmute all participants, repeat step 1 above and select the more button (three horizontal dots) in the bottom left corner.
Tap the Ask All to Unmute option. This will send a "The host would like you to unmute prompt" to all participants. They can decide to stay muted or unmute.
How to Mute Zoom Audio Without Muting the Computer?
Sometimes, you might not be the host in a Zoom meeting and need to mute the sound to stop the noise or skip a less important part.
Fortunately, there is a way to mute Zoom sound without silencing your PC using the Windows Volume Mixer feature.
Right-click the sound icon in the bottom corner of your PC while a meeting is on.
Select the Open Volume Mixer option.
Click the sound icon below the Zoom Meeting bar to mute it in the newly opened Volume Mixer Window.
Let Airgram Listen in and Transcribe
While it is easy to mute Zoom audio, you may worry about missing any important information, right? What if there is a tool that can still listen in and take automated meeting notes accurately?
For this purpose, a meeting assistant like Airgram is the exact tool you need. With this program, you can effectively reduce volume and let it transcribe the meeting for you without all the jargon.
Transcription Features of Airgram
Real-time transcription and recording.
Auto-speaker detection that displays the speaker’s name next to the written text.
Multiple transcription languages available.
Transcribes from other popular meeting platforms like Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.
Conclusion
There you have it: a detailed guide on how to mute Zoom meeting. We have discussed everything you need to know, from how to do it on your mobile and PC devices.
Whether you are a participant or the host, with this guide, you can eliminate all unwanted noises from your Zoom meeting in simple steps.
Michael started his career as a product manager and then developed a passion for writing. He has been writing on technology, remote working, productivity, etc., hoping to share his thoughts with more people.
