How do I mute the volume when calling?

Muting your phone during calls can be very beneficial for a variety of reasons. The main purpose of muting a call is so you can hear the other person, but they cannot hear any background noise coming from your end. This allows you to multitask during a call without distracting the other party with noises around you. Key benefits of muting your phone during calls include:

– Eliminating background noise. Muting blocks background sounds like pets, music, talking, etc so the other caller only hears your voice. This delivers much better call quality.

– Providing privacy if you need to talk to someone near you during the call. You can mute temporarily to have a private conversation without the other caller hearing.

– Avoiding interruptions if you need to briefly tend to something urgent during a call. You can mute to handle the situation then unmute to resume the conversation.

– Staying focused, especially during conference calls, by muting when you are not speaking. This avoids you getting distracted by other noises.

In summary, muting allows you to maintain call quality, privacy, focus and avoid distractions during phone conversations. Knowing the proper way to mute on your device is key to utilizing this important calling feature.

When You Might Want to Mute

One of the main times you’ll want to mute your phone is when you are giving some sort of verbal presentation, whether it’s a business meeting, conference call, class lecture, or speech. Having your phone muted during these situations prevents any background noise at your location from interrupting the presentation and distracting the audience. It also eliminates the possibility of inadvertent noises coming through if you set your phone down while speaking.

According to experts, muting yourself when not actively speaking is proper video call etiquette, especially when there are more than 5 participants (Source). Allowing background noise into a call with multiple people makes it difficult for others to hear and focus. Muting your line keeps the call running smoothly.

Another key time you may want to mute is when you are simply listening to the other participant(s) on the call, such as during a work meeting, class lecture, or customer service call. Keeping your phone muted means you avoid interrupting the speaker with any ambient sounds near you. It also eliminates the possibility of the speaker hearing side conversations if you are with other people.

How to Mute on an iPhone

Muting your microphone on an iPhone during a call is easy. Just locate the mute button at the bottom-left corner of the call screen and press it to toggle muting on and off. When muted, the mute button will turn red and display a strikethrough microphone icon.

To unmute, simply tap the mute button again. The mute button will revert to white and display a normal microphone icon to indicate the microphone is unmuted.

This mute button works the same way across all iPhone models and versions of iOS. So whether you have an iPhone 14, iPhone 13, or older models, the process is identical.

How to Mute on an Android

To mute the microphone on an Android phone during a call, simply locate the mute button on the call screen and press it to toggle mute on and off. The mute button is usually represented by a microphone icon with a line through it and can be found on the call screen when you are actively on a phone call.

On many Android devices like Samsung Galaxy phones, the mute button is on the bottom left corner of the call screen. Just tap it once to mute your microphone so the caller cannot hear you. The icon will change from a microphone to a muted microphone. Tap the mute button again to unmute yourself and allow the caller to hear you.

You can test that the mute function is working by trying to speak while muted – the caller should not be able to hear you. Be aware that muting yourself only mutes your microphone, not the incoming audio. You will still be able to hear the caller even when muted. Muting is a handy feature when you need to briefly block sound from your end of the call.

Sources:
How do I completely mute the sound in phone calls?

How to Unmute

Once you have muted your call, unmuting is very easy. Simply press the mute button again to deactivate the mute feature and allow your voice to be heard once more. The mute button is the same one you pressed to mute in the first place, so there’s no confusion about which button to press.

On an iPhone, tap the mute button on the call screen to unmute. For Android devices, tap the microphone icon at the bottom of the call screen. You’ll know the mute is deactivated when the mute icon disappears or changes color. Just like that, you’ll be unmuted and your caller will be able to hear you again.

Unmuting is a very quick and simple process no matter what device you are using. Just remember that the mute button toggles between muted and unmuted states, so pressing it again always undoes the mute.

Mute While Still Hearing the Caller

One handy technique is to mute yourself on the call but still be able to hear the other person. This allows you to avoid any background noise on your end being heard, while you can still listen to what they are saying. Here’s how to do this:

Use a headset or headphones. The key is to plug in either a headset with a microphone or regular headphones. Make sure the headphones/headset is properly connected and you can hear the audio through them.

Mute the microphone on your phone, but keep the call volume up. Then use your headphones to continue listening to the caller. You will be able to hear them but they won’t hear anything from your end, since your microphone is muted.

This works on both iPhones and Android phones. Just hit the mute button as you normally would during a call. As long as your headset or headphones are plugged in, you can keep listening even while the call is muted on your end.

The advantage of this technique is you can avoid any ambient or background noise around you being picked up by your microphone and heard by the other party. Things like keyboard clicks, kids, pets, etc. Using headphones lets you continute actively listening without distracting the caller.

Alternative Ways to Mute

In addition to muting directly on your iPhone or Android device, there are a couple other ways you can mute your call audio:

Headphone Mute Button

Many wired and wireless headphones have a mute button built right into the controls. When on a call, you can press this mute button to toggle your microphone’s audio on and off. This provides a quick and easy way to mute without having to navigate through your phone’s menus.

For example, AirPods and Beats wireless headphones have a microphone mute button located on the side of one earbud. You can press this during a call to mute and unmute.[1]

Mute Through Call Menu

Both iPhones and Android phones provide a way to mute the microphone directly from the in-call screen. There is typically a mute button right on the call that you can tap to toggle muting on and off.

On an iPhone, tap the mute button to mute your line during a call. The mute button will appear red when activated. Tap it again to unmute.[2]

Troubleshooting Muting Issues

If the mute function is not working properly during a call, there are a few things you can try to fix it:

• Check that your phone’s software is fully up to date. Go to Settings > System > System update to update on Android, or Settings > General > Software Update on iPhone.
• Restart your phone by powering it off completely, waiting 30 seconds, then powering it back on. This refreshes the operating system and can resolve muting glitches.
• Clean out dust or debris in your phone’s microphone and headphone ports with canned air. Dust accumulation can cause sensor issues with muting.
• Disable VoLTE (Voice over LTE) in your phone’s network settings, as this advanced calling feature can sometimes interfere with mute operation. Disable, apply settings, and test if muting now works.

If muting problems persist on an iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch and switch off “Call Audio Routing.” This feature automatically switches calls to speakerphone and can override muting.

As a last resort, back up your phone and restore it to factory settings. If muting problems only occurred recently, restoring defaults often resolves software-related issues.

If hardware damage is causing persistent muting problems, you may need to replace the phone’s microphone or internal components.

Muting Tips

When on a video call or conference call, using mute properly is an important etiquette skill. Here are some best practices for using mute:

• Greet the other callers when joining the meeting and introduce yourself if needed before muting, according to tips from 21st Century AV.
• Mute yourself when not actively speaking to avoid background noise interference, per phone conference etiquette recommendations from the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds.
• Unmute and check in occasionally if you are muted for an extended time, suggests Don Phillips on LinkedIn.
• Never put a call on hold if you need to briefly step away. Simply mute instead, according to phone conference etiquette tips.

Conclusion

In summary, there are several good reasons why you may want to mute the microphone on your mobile phone during a call. Muting allows you to briefly speak to someone else without the caller hearing, avoid background noise disrupting the call, or simply take a break from an lengthy call while still listening to the other party.

Muting a call is easy to do on both iPhones and Android phones. Simply tap or toggle the mute button during a call, usually located on the call screen. Just remember to unmute again when you want to resume the conversation. With some planning ahead, muting can help make your calls go smoother.