Select the microphone icon in Zoom's meeting controls. A red slash means you are muted; if Unmute is blocked, the host must allow participants to unmute.
1
Prepare the correct account, device, files, and recovery path
Confirm the active Zoom account, meeting role, selected microphone, meeting audio state, and organization policy before changing mute controls. Use Zoom's own microphone test and a trusted meeting where appropriate. Hosts can control participation but should respect consent and privacy; do not install audio-routing utilities or bypass administrator policy merely to force a microphone state.
2
Show the meeting controls
Move the pointer over the Zoom window on desktop or tap the screen on mobile.
3
Mute or unmute yourself
Select the microphone icon. The red diagonal line indicates mute; select it again to unmute.
4
Use push to talk on desktop
When enabled in Zoom audio settings, remain muted and hold Space temporarily to speak. This does not override a host restriction.
5
Fix a blocked unmute
Choose the correct microphone from the arrow beside Audio, allow microphone permission in the operating system, and ask the host to allow unmuting if the control is restricted.
6
Verify the microphone state
Confirm the red slash appears while muted. After unmuting, speak and check that Zoom's microphone indicator responds; use Test speaker and microphone if no input appears.
Video walkthrough
If it does not work
If Zoom receives no input, confirm the selected microphone, OS permission, hardware mute, and another recording app. Do not raise gain until feedback or clipping occurs.
ⓘ Sources and verification
Checked against official documentation on . Scope: Windows.
Follow the linked first-party guidance if labels differ after a platform update.
