While you can only mute other participants if you’re the meeting host or co-host, Zoom always allows you to mute yourself. In this article, we’ll cover how you can mute yourself or disable your microphone in Zoom on your PC, Mac, iPad, or mobile device.
1. Mute Yourself With the Zoom Toolbar
The Zoom toolbar makes it simple to mute yourself, and the process is essentially the same for both the PC and mobile app. To mute yourself on Zoom: If the toolbar isn’t visible and you’re using Windows or a Mac, all you need to do is hover your mouse over the Zoom window. If you’re using an Android or iPhone, simply tap the screen and it will appear. Note: The loudspeaker icon at the top-left of the screen simply turns your audio down so that you can’t hear anything. It doesn’t turn the mute on.
2. Mute Yourself Using Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts
There are several helpful Zoom keyboard shortcuts on both Mac and PC. To mute yourself on Windows 10, press Alt + A. To mute audio on a Mac, press Shift + Command + A. There are plenty of other useful shortcuts and tips to use in Zoom, including shortcuts that mute participants (rather than clicking Mute All or Unmute All in the participants window).
3. Enable Auto-Mute When Joining Zoom Meetings
Some people prefer to join a meeting muted so that they don’t cause unnecessary interruptions when they join. Luckily, Zoom has a dedicated setting to allow users to do just this. To make sure you’re muted whenever you join a Zoom meeting on a PC or Mac: To make sure you’re muted when you join a meeting on your phone:
4. Disable Your Microphone
Another option that will ensure you are muted in Zoom is to disable your microphone directly via the system settings. This option is only available on PC or Mac. If you’re using Android or iOS you could consider not allowing your Zoom app microphone permissions when the pop-up appears. To disable your microphone on Windows: To disable your microphone on a Mac:
5. Suppress Background Noises
If you’re muting your microphone because you’re in a busy or loud environment, Zoom has a background noise suppression function that might help. Combining this with a virtual background is a great way to look more professional despite having less than ideal circumstances. To enable this setting: Note: Some people report that this causes their microphone not to work. If that’s the case, simply turn the setting back to Auto.
Radio Silence
Muting yourself in the Zoom app is fine, but it’s easy to double-click and unmute yourself by accident. If you’re paranoid that your microphone is transmitting sound while you’re supposed to be muted, you can use this guide to disable your microphone in the computer audio settings. This way you can be sure that no sound is going through!
