How to Mute and Unmute Tabs in Chrome: Guide + Troubleshooting

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Make a tab in Google Chrome produce no sound on Windows, Mac, or Chromebook

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: November 24, 2024 Fact Checked

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Muting and Unmuting

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Troubleshooting

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Video

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Q&A

Did you know that you can control the audio of individual tabs in Google Chrome? If you want to mute specific tabs or websites, you can do so without touching your computer’s main speakers or volume controls. We'll show you how to mute Google Chrome without impacting the volume of other programs and what to do if you can't unmute or mute a website.

Muting Tabs on Chrome

To mute a tab, right-click on it and select Mute site and you'll no longer hear sound from that tab, including future visits to that site. To unmute a tab, right-click on it and select Unmute site.

Section 1 of 2:

Muting and Unmuting

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1
Right-click the tab you want to mute. A drop-down menu will open.
- You can mute a site whether or not it's currently playing audio.
- When a Chrome tab is actively playing audio, you'll see a volume icon on the tab.
2
Click Mute site. This is in the middle section of the drop-down menu.
- The tab will be muted.
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To unmute a silenced tab, right-click the tab again and select Unmute site.

Section 2 of 2:

Troubleshooting

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An extension may be affecting the mute/unmute option. Temporarily disable all Chrome extensions, then try muting again.
If tabs aren't muting properly, make sure Chrome is updated to the latest version.^{[1]
X
Research source}
3
Enable tab audio muting in the Flags menu. This menu has experimental features.^{[2]
X
Research source} Do the following:
- Type chrome://flags/ into the address bar and press Enter/Return.
- Find the Tab audio muting UI control option.
- Click the drop-down menu.
- Select Enabled.
- Restart Chrome.
4
Try an extension instead. You can download an extension, such as Mute Tab if the built-in feature isn't working.
- Once downloaded, activate it in the extensions menu to mute tabs.

Community Q&A

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Question

Clicking the tab isn't unmuting it. What can I do?

Community Answer

Right-click on the tab. There should be an option to unmute it.

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Question

After muting the tab, the audio symbol disappears and I can't unmute the tab. How do I get the audio symbol to reappear?

Community Answer

Right-click on the tab. There should be an option to unmute it.

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Question

How do I unmute videos when I’m presenting and they are automatically muted?

Tyler Mathis

Community Answer

To unmute, go into YouTube, go into the frame where the video runs, click the volume icon and click it, or you can try: right click the tab you are currently in, and press Unmute. This is not automatically muted.

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