How to Mute AirPods: Quick and Easy Steps

In this digital age, AirPods have become a common tool for communication, providing high-quality audio for calls, video conferences, and more.

A feature often overlooked, is the ability to mute AirPods, which can be crucial during certain scenarios such as preserving privacy, minimizing background noise, or practicing good etiquette in virtual meetings.

This post goes into detail on the reasons why you may want to mute your AirPods, and how you can go about doing it in various ways.

Reasons For Wanting to Mute AirPods

While enjoying the convenience of phone calls or video conferencing with AirPods, there might be times when you need to mute yourself. The reasons can vary widely depending on your circumstances. Let’s discuss some common scenarios.

Privacy

During a call or video conference, there might be moments where private or sensitive information is being discussed nearby, or maybe you want to converse with someone in your vicinity without the other end of the call hearing. In such cases, muting your AirPods can maintain your privacy.

Courtesy in Meetings

If you’re attending a virtual meeting with multiple participants, it’s good etiquette to mute yourself when not speaking. This minimizes unnecessary noise and disruptions, making the meeting more efficient and less chaotic.

Minimizing Background Noise

In a noisy environment, it’s not uncommon for background sounds to be picked up during your call, which can be distracting to others.

Whether it’s loud chatter, traffic noise, or a barking dog, being able to mute your AirPods can prevent these unwanted sounds from being heard.

How to Mute AirPods During Phone Calls

Muting your AirPods during phone calls can be done 3 different ways. Let’s expand on each method:

On Your iPhone

During a regular phone call, you can mute them using the mute function on your iPhone.

1. Start or receive a call as you normally would.
2. Look at your iPhone screen; you’ll see the call interface.
3. Tap on the “mute” button on the screen.
4. Your microphone is now muted, and the other end will not be able to hear you.

On Your Apple Watch

You can also mute phone calls on your AirPods using your Apple Watch.

1. Start or receive a call as you normally would.
2. On your Apple Watch screen, you will see a similar call interface as on the iPhone.
3. Tap on the “mute” button on the screen.
4. Now, your AirPods are muted, and the person on the other end won’t be able to hear you.

Directly on the AirPods

Direct muting with AirPods is not a built-in feature. However, you can customize the double-tap settings to trigger Siri and then use a voice command to mute the call.

1. Go to ‘Settings’ on your iPhone and select ‘Bluetooth.’
2. Find your AirPods on the list and click the ‘i’ icon next to it.
3. Under ‘Double-Tap on AirPod,’ select ‘Siri.’
4. Now, during a call, double-tap one of your AirPods to activate Siri and say, “mute call.”

How to Mute AirPods on Zoom

Zoom has become an essential tool for remote communication. Here’s how to silence yourself during a Zoom call with your AirPods:

1. Join a Zoom meeting.
2. Look at the lower left corner of the Zoom interface, you’ll see a microphone icon.
3. Click on this icon to mute your microphone.
4. To unmute, click on the microphone icon again.

How to Mute AirPods on Teams

Microsoft Teams is another popular platform for virtual meetings. Here’s how you can mute during a Teams call:

1. Join a Microsoft Teams meeting.
2. Look at the toolbar in the Teams interface, you’ll see a microphone icon.
3. Click on this icon to mute your microphone.
4. To unmute, click on the microphone icon again.

How to Mute AirPods Pro

To mute your AirPods Pro, it is the same process as muting your standard AirPods. Click here to jump back up to the step-by-step process of how to mute AirPods Pro.

How to Unmute AirPods

To return to your conversation or meeting, you might need to unmute your AirPods. Unmuting your AirPods follows a similar process to muting them. You can unmute your AirPods using the same device you used to mute them.

On Your iPhone

To unmute your AirPods on your iPhone:

1. During your call, look at your iPhone screen.
2. The call interface will show a muted microphone icon.
3. Tap on the muted microphone icon.
4. Your AirPods are now unmuted, and your voice can be heard by the other party.

On Your Apple Watch

To unmute your AirPods using your Apple Watch:

1. During the call, check your Apple Watch screen.
2. You’ll see the call interface displaying a muted microphone icon.
3. Tap on the muted microphone icon.
4. Your AirPods are now unmuted, and the other party can hear your voice.

Directly on Your AirPods

To unmute your AirPods using Siri:

1. Make sure your AirPods are in your ears.
2. Say “Hey Siri, unmute my microphone.”
3. Siri will confirm the action, and your microphone will be unmuted.

AirPods Won’t Mute

If your AirPods won’t mute after trying all the steps above, there may be a software bug or hardware damage. First try restarting the device they’re paired to. If that doesn’t work, contact Apple Support.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I mute and unmute on Zoom AirPods?

During a Zoom meeting, you can mute yourself by clicking the “mute” button within the Zoom app interface on your screen. To unmute, simply click the same button again.

How to mute AirPods by tapping?

AirPods themselves do not have a built-in mute feature that can be activated by tapping. However, you can set up a shortcut on your iPhone to mute a call using Siri. You can then activate Siri by tapping on your AirPods, depending on your settings.

How to mute AirPods Pro during call?

Muting during a call when using AirPods Pro involves using the mute function on your iPhone or the device you are using for the call. Simply tap on the “mute” button on the call screen. You can also ask Siri to “mute my microphone”.