How do I mute the sound on WhatsApp calls?

WhatsApp is a popular cross-platform instant messaging and voice over IP service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to send text messages, voice messages, photos, videos, documents and share locations with individuals or groups.

According to Backlinko, WhatsApp has over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide as of December 2023, making it the most used mobile messenger app globally. Statista reports that as of January 2024, WhatsApp continues to be the top mobile messenger app with approximately 2 billion monthly active users. The Business of Apps states that WhatsApp reached 2.2 billion monthly active users in 2021.

WhatsApp is ranked the most popular messaging app in over 100 countries. It has widespread global usage, especially in countries like Brazil, India, the United States, Germany, Russia and Mexico.

When You Might Want to Mute

There are many situations where muting your WhatsApp notifications or calls can be useful. One common scenario is when you are in a meeting or classroom setting. The constant dings and vibrations from WhatsApp notifications can be distracting and disruptive. Teachers often recommend students mute their phones during class so they can focus better on lectures and activities. Similarly, professionals may want to mute WhatsApp notifications during important meetings to avoid interruptions.

According to research, constant notifications from messaging apps like WhatsApp can negatively impact productivity and concentration at work and school. One study found that university employees felt WhatsApp interfered with their work and reduced their focus (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-47411-9_34). For students and professionals alike, muting WhatsApp during key times can help minimize distractions.

Mute Notifications

You can mute notifications for WhatsApp so you don’t get disturbed by the sound when messages arrive. Here’s how:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the More options (three dots) icon.

2. Go to Settings > Notifications.

3. Tap Sound and uncheck the option for “Play sound.”

This will mute all WhatsApp notification sounds so you won’t hear any audible alerts for new messages. The notifications will still show up silently on your phone.

To customize notifications further, you can also set a custom notification tone for specific chats. See this guide for more details.

Mute During a Call

You can easily mute your microphone during a WhatsApp call so the other person cannot hear you. This allows you to have side conversations or avoid background noise disrupting the call.

To mute your microphone during a WhatsApp call on both Android and iPhone:

• Press the mute button during the call. It appears as a microphone icon at the bottom of the call screen.
• The mute button will have a strikethrough line when activated, indicating you are muted.
• To unmute, simply press the mute button again and the strikethrough line will disappear.

Muting during a call only silences your microphone temporarily. Once you end the call, muting will be disabled again by default for your next call.

Muting is useful if you need to quickly silence background noise, have a side conversation, or prevent audio feedback during a WhatsApp call without hanging up.

Mute Incoming Calls

When you receive an incoming WhatsApp call, you have the option to mute the call before answering it so the caller won’t be able to hear you. Here’s how to mute incoming WhatsApp calls on both iPhone and Android:

On iPhone, when you receive an incoming WhatsApp call, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the call options. Before answering the call, tap the “Mute” button so that the microphone is muted. You can then answer the call and the caller will not be able to hear you.

On Android, swipe up to answer the WhatsApp call. On the call screen you will see a mute icon in the bottom left – tap this to mute your microphone before answering the call. The caller will not be able to hear you when the call is muted.

Muting the call before answering is useful if you need to take the call but cannot speak at the moment. The caller will not know you have muted yourself unless you tell them.

Mute Group Chats

You can mute group chats in WhatsApp to stop getting notifications from particularly active or noisy groups. This allows you to avoid constant interruptions without fully leaving the group. Here’s how to mute group chats on WhatsApp:

Open the WhatsApp group chat you want to mute. You can access this from the Chats tab in WhatsApp.

Tap the group name at the top of the chat screen. This will open up the Group Info screen.

Tap “Mute notifications”. You’ll then have the option to mute for 8 hours, 1 week, or to always mute the group.

Select the length of time you want to mute notifications from this group. The group will remain muted for your chosen duration.

You can unmute at any time by returning to the Group Info and tapping “Unmute”. The group will return to normal notifications.

Muting groups allows you to avoid constant pings without fully leaving the conversation. You can catch up on the messages in your own time.

Mute Always

You can mute a WhatsApp contact or group permanently so that you never receive notifications from them. This is useful if there is a chat that is very active that you don’t necessarily need notifications from.

To mute a chat forever on WhatsApp:

1. Open the WhatsApp app and go to the chat you want to mute.
2. Tap on the contact name at the top of the chat to open their contact profile.
3. Tap on “Custom notifications”.
4. Select “Always mute” to mute notifications for this chat indefinitely.

With this setting, you will never receive sound or vibration notifications from this chat. The messages will still come through but will be muted.

To unmute the chat in the future, simply go back into custom notifications and select another option like “Default notifications”.

Unmute

If you want to unmute yourself or others on WhatsApp after muting, the process is straightforward. Essentially, you will follow the steps to mute in reverse. For example, to unmute during a call:

1. During a WhatsApp call, tap the mute button once again. This will now show the microphone icon and unmute you on the call.
2. For group calls, tap the user you want to unmute. Tap the mute button by their name or avatar to unmute them.
3. You can also open their chat and tap the mute button in the chat header to unmute them fully.

To unmute notifications or chats you had muted, go to the chat, group, or contact and tap the mute button again. This will remove the mute and allow notifications and messages to come through once more. You can also long press or swipe on a chat in your list to access the mute option.

If you don’t remember what you had muted, check your app notifications settings or chat list for the mute icon to see what needs to be unmuted.

Troubleshooting

If you find that muting is not working properly on WhatsApp, here are some things you can try:

First, check that your phone’s OS settings for notifications are configured correctly. Go into your phone’s settings app and look for the notifications settings. Make sure WhatsApp notifications are not disabled here.

Next, check WhatsApp’s notification settings. Open WhatsApp, go to Settings > Notifications and make sure that notifications are enabled and sound is selected. Try toggling the mute switch off and back on.

You may also want to check for any updates to WhatsApp – updates sometimes address bugs that affect features like muting. Make sure you’re running the latest version of the app.

If the issue persists, try uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp. This will clear out any problematic cached data that could be causing muting issues.

As a last resort, you can try resetting your phone. Back up your data first, then do a factory reset. Reinstall WhatsApp and test if muting works properly again.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, it’s best to contact WhatsApp support for further troubleshooting assistance.

Conclusion

In summary, there are several ways to mute notifications from WhatsApp calls and chats. You can mute an entire chat so you don’t receive notifications for new messages, mute notifications during a call so incoming messages don’t disrupt your conversation, mute entire group chats to avoid constant notifications, or mute calls and notifications from specific contacts that you don’t want to hear from. You can also mute the app always, even when you are actively using it. Just remember to turn off mute when you do want to receive WhatsApp notifications again. With these muting options, you have control over when and how you receive notifications from the app.