Mute or unmute your microphone in a skype for business meeting or call

When you're in a Skype for Business meeting or call, you might have to mute or unmute your microphone multiple times. You can do this either in the Skype for Business meeting window or on your phone if you call into the meeting. (If you're using Lync on your mobile phone, you can also mute and unmute from there.)

Make sure your microphone is working correctly before joining a Skype for Business meeting or call and adjust volume levels and audio quality as needed. See Set up and test Skype for Business audio for details and information about fixing Windows sound problems.

Mute or unmute your microphone in a Skype for Business meeting or call window

Sometimes when you join a Skype for Business meeting, your microphone is muted by default.

The Mute button looks like when muted.

When you want to speak, click the Mute button to unmute your microphone. The button changes to and you can speak.

Note: You can also use the mute buttons on your laptop, keyboard or some USB headsets to mute or unmute your mic and speakers. Keep in mind that the meeting organizer sometimes mutes the audience. When this happens, you won't be able to unmute your mic.

Mute or unmute your microphone on your phone

If you've called into a Skype for Business meeting by phone, you can use the mute or unmute buttons on your phone to manage your audio. Or you can use the touch-tone commands, such as *6, which lets you switch between mute and unmute.

Press *1 on your phone to get a list and description of all available commands for your account.

Note: When you call into a Skype for Business meeting by phone, your audio is on by default. Mute your mic if you're not speaking.

What to do if your mute button is grayed out

The mute button on your laptop or phone may be grayed out during a meeting, not allowing you to unmute yourself. There can be a few reasons for this:

• The meeting organizer may have muted the audience. This will cause the mute button for all participants to be grayed out until the organizer unmutes the audience. This is explained in detail later in this article.

• Skype for Business may not have access to your phone's microphone. To correct this, go into the settings for the Skype for Business app on your phone and make sure that it is allowed to use the microphone.

• Skype for Business may not detect your microphone because of a device issue. See Troubleshoot audio and video in Skype for Business for help.

Mute or unmute the audience in a Skype for Business meeting

If you're a presenter, you can mute or unmute meeting participants, individually or as a group, to eliminate background noise.

• To mute individuals, right-click the Mute button next to their name (conversation view) or above their picture (gallery view) in the meeting and click Mute this person. They'll receive a notification that they've been muted.

  

  You can right-click the mic button again to unmute their audio and they will be prompted to unmute on their side to open the line.

  

• To mute the entire audience, point to Participant Actions > Mute Audience.

  

All meeting participants, including those on the phone, will be muted. To unmute, go back to Participant Actions and click Unmute Audience.

Having issues?

A commonly reported issue is the long voice notifications that you hear when muting or unmuting yourself during a meeting. These notifications can be disruptive and may prevent you from joining the conversation. By default, Skype for Business plays a short beep when you mute yourself, and does not play any sound when you unmute. If you want to remove the default Skype for Business mute notification sound:

1. Right click the speaker icon on your taskbar, and select Sounds.

2. Scroll down in the Program Events list to the Skype for Business section.

3. Click on Muting Tone, and using the Sounds drop down select (None), and click OK.

If you are hearing something other than the default beep when muting, or if you are hearing anything at all when you unmute, then it is likely that your headset is providing additional verbal feedback. You will need to change the settings for your headset to turn these off. Some headsets come with a management software that allows you to do this easily. See the knowledge base of your headset manufacturer for help.

If you're having other troubles with sound during a meeting, see Troubleshoot audio and video in Skype for Business.

More information about Skype for Business audio:

• Make a Skype for Business call but use your Phone System in Office 365 desk phone for audio

• Video: Set up audio and video in Skype for Business