Volume icon shows Mute even when Sound is not on Windows 11
If the volume icon in the taskbar corner overflow shows mute even when the Sound is playing on Windows 11, you can fix it in the following ways. Let’s get into the details of each method.
1] Disconnect Bluetooth Devices
If you are seeing muted Volume icon, even when the sound is playing, disconnect the Bluetooth audio devices you have connected to your PC and then see if it has fixed the issue. There are some Bluetooth speakers that cause the volume to mute and play distorted sounds without clarity.
2] Restart Explorer or PC
Sometimes, some issues are fixed just by restarting the Explorer or the PC. First, restart the Explorer and see if the issue is fixed. If not restart your PC and see. To restart the Explorer,
Right-click on the Start button to open the WinX MenuSelect Task ManagerFind the Windows Explorer process and right-click on itSelect Restart
It will restart Windows Explorer which takes a few seconds.
3] Update/Rollback the Audio driver
Since the error is directly related to the audio, you need to update the audio driver to the latest version to fix the issue if it has been caused by the faulty audio driver. So, try updating the audio driver and check if the issue still persists. You can use one of the methods below to update your device drivers: Once, you have completed the update of audio drivers, restart your PC to check if the error still exists. If the issue is not yet fixed, you need to roll back the driver to previous versions. To roll back the audio driver,
Open Device Manager.Click the driver category to expand the menu.Then choose the relevant driver and right-click on it.Select PropertiesThen, click on Rollback Driver in the Driver tabFollow the on-screen wizard to complete roll backing the audio drivers
4] Run Playing Audio Troubleshooter
Windows has the best features available to troubleshoot issues on it in the form of Troubleshooters. Almost every problem has its own generalized troubleshooter. When the volume icon is muted even if the sound is playing, you can fix it by running Playing Audio Troubleshooter which will run, find issues and troubleshoot them automatically. To run Playing Audio Troubleshooter,
Open the Settings app from the Start menu or use the Win+I keyboard shortcutThen, click on the Troubleshoot tabClick on Other troubleshootersFind Playing Audio Troubleshooter and click on Run beside it
It will run and fix the issues if there are any.
5] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State
If the issue is yet not fixed, you need to perform a Clean Boot and fix it manually. In the Clean Boot state, your system starts with minimal drivers and startup programs. All the programs will not work as the system runs on minimal drivers and its components. You can find which program is causing the error in the Clean Boot mode. You can turn off and turn on programs in Clean Boot mode and find the exact program responsible for the issue. To perform Clean Boot,
Type MSConfig in the Start menu and hit EnterIt opens System Configuration UtilitySelect the General tab and click on Selective startupUncheck the button beside Load startup itemsThen, click on the Services tabCheck the button beside Hide all Microsoft services at the bottom and then click on Disable all button.Then, click on Apply and then OKNow, restart your PC.
Find the program that is causing the issue and resolve it.
Why is my audio device muted?
There might be many reasons for the audio device to be muted. You might have pressed the mute icon accidentally, the audio drivers might be corrupted or outdated, or there might be some other issue that occurred with the audio settings. You can fix them all using the above fixes.
Why is my volume automatically muted?
Some speakers or headsets are preconfigured to mute system sound automatically when connected. Check if it’s the cause. If not, it might be caused due to corrupted or outdated audio drivers, etc. Related read: Fix Sound and Audio problems and issues in Windows 11/10.
