When you plug in your headphones or earbuds, your computer automatically mutes the system volume. The only problem is that the speakers stay on. This makes for a jarring experience for those around you when a song comes on and blasts sound through your laptop speakers. Windows 10 has an easy fix to this problem. Here’s how to mute speakers when headphones are plugged in Windows 10.
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Plug in the headphones
Plug in the headphones. If you plug them in before you start playing a song, the speakers should automatically be muted.
Press the volume button on the headphones
When you plug in your headphones or earbuds, the volume on the computer will automatically lower. This is because Windows 10 knows that sound should be going into the headphones. But this can be frustrating if a song starts playing and takes over the speakers, like it does if you’re listening to music on YouTube or SoundCloud. It might take a few seconds for the computer to register that you’re holding down the volume button, but when it does, you’ll notice that both your speakers and your microphone will turn off. You’ll know that your speakers are off because they won’t make any noise.
Go to Settings and select “Playback”
The first step is to go to the Settings app and select “Playback”. Click the device you want to mute and then click on “Mute” next to that. If you’re not sure which device corresponds with your speakers, here’s a quick way to find out.
Select Speakers and uncheck “Allow Audio to route through this device”
The first step is to select your speakers and uncheck “Allow Audio to route through this device.” This will mute the speakers. It might seem like it’s not working, but if you play any audio on your computer or from a website, the sound will be muffled.
How to Mute Speakers in Windows 10
Go to the Sound settings and select “Playback Devices”.
Click the arrow next to “Speakers” and choose “Show Disabled Devices”.
You will now see a list of all the disabled devices. Find your speakers on this list and click it to change it from “Disabled” to “Enabled”.
Safety control when plugging headphones in windows 10
The idea of plugging your headphones into your desktop or laptop and having the speakers automatically turn off sounds like a great idea. But unfortunately, this isn’t actually how it works. When you plug in your headphones or earbuds, the computer automatically mutes the system volume. This means that while your headphone experience is private and soundless to you, your speakers are still on and producing sound for everyone around you to hear.
It’s such an annoying experience that has led many people to feel unsafe when they’re plugged in at work because they have no control over their sound. The only way to mute your speakers when plugging in headphones is through Windows 10 settings. Here’s how:
how to switch off speakers in windows 10
First, right-click on the speaker icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
Secondly, click “Playback devices.”
Thirdly, look to see if your speakers are set to “On” or “Off.” If they’re set to On, turn them off.
Lastly, click OK and exit out of the window.
Change the default sound device
The first way to mute speakers when headphones are plugged in is to change the default sound device. To do this, go to Start > Settings > Devices and you’ll see a list of sound devices on the left. Along with your speakers, you should see your headphones if they’re plugged in. Select them from the list and click “Set as Default Communication Device”.
Use the default sound device for a particular application only
If you want to use the speakers and headphones both at the same time, but only for specific applications, you can specify a sound device for each. You can do this by right-clicking on the speaker icon in your taskbar and going to Playback devices. Clicking on each device will let you rename it.
Make the computer recognize headphones as speakers
If you want to use your headphones as speakers, you can make the computer recognize the headphones as speakers by changing the sound settings.
Open up Control Panel and go to Hardware and Sound. Go to Sound > Playback Devices > Right click on Speakers and choose Properties > Click “Configure” > Check the box that says “Show disabled devices” and uncheck it for Speakers > Click OK.
Now, plug in headphones into your computer. You should only be able to hear sound from the headphones now because the speakers are disabled. Now when you unplug your headphones, you’ll hear sound from both the speakers and the headphones at once again.
safest way of muting your speakers
The safest way to mute your speakers when headphones are plugged in is by using the keyboard shortcut. To do this, you will need to press the Windows key + Pause/Break button. This will turn off your computer’s sound and then you can plug in your headphones. This method also works for muting your speakers when an external monitor or TV is connected.
You can also try adjusting the Volume Mixer in your Control Panel. This can be done by clicking on the “Hardware and Sound” icon in your Control Panel and then clicking on “Sound” on the left side of the window that pops up. Under “Playback”, click on “Volume Mixer”. From here, you can adjust the volume of each output device that is playing sound. You may have to click on another tab like “Recording” or “DVD-Audio Output” to find out which devices are making noise as not all tabs are visible at once.
If you’re using a laptop with built-in speakers, you can right click on the speaker icon in your system tray and set it to lower volume or mute it completely before plugging in headphones
Change the volume mixer settings
The first way you can do this is by changing the volume mixer settings. To do this, open Control Panel, go to Hardware and Sound>Sound>Adjust system volume and click on “Change device” in the left-hand column of options.
Then, click on your headphones or speakers device, which will usually be listed as “Headphones.”
Now, you want to uncheck the box next to Mute and adjust the slider up until you reach a comfortable volume level that’s not too high for others nearby. This is a good option if you’re using headphones with a microphone like gaming headphones.
Turn your computer off
The simplest way to hear sound from both headphones and speakers at the same time is to turn your computer off. When you do this, both the headphones and speakers will work together. This is a good option if you want to listen to music or watch a video on your computer without disturbing anyone around you.
How to protect my speakers from damage
while I’m listening to music on my headphones
When you plug in your headphones or earbuds, your computer automatically mutes the system volume. But then, you’re left with the speakers still playing loudly. This can be a real problem for those around you who are trying to work or study and have to listen to your music blasting through their laptop speakers when you unplug. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution for this in Windows 10.
To mute all audio coming from your laptop’s speakers when your headphones are plugged in, go to the Sound panel by clicking on the sound icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen (next to the time). Click on “Playback Devices.” In this drop-down menu, select “Show Disabled Devices.” Scroll down until you find “Speakers” and click on it once so that a check mark appears next to it. Click OK and close out of everything. Now when you put your headphones in and test it out, all sound will only come from your headphones!
FAQs
You can tap the speaker icon. The speaker icon is on the taskbar, next to the time, or by holding the Volume button down for a few seconds. If you want to mute your system’s volume, you can choose from a list of options when you tap the speaker icon.
Windows 10 knows when you plug in your headphones and automatically turns off the speakers. This saves power and makes for a quieter experience. If you want to hear sound from both the speakers and headphones at the same time, there are a few different ways to do this.
If you want to keep both your speakers and your headphones on at the same time, all you have to do is go to Settings > System > Sound > Audio Output. Under “Playback”, turn on “Show all devices”. Now, your speaker will stay on while you’re listening to something with your headphones.
Conclusion
Using headphones instead of speakers can help you avoid disturbing people around you. However, there are a few things to consider before you decide to switch over to headphones.
Plug the headphones into your computer and use the volume button on the headphones to control the volume. You can also mute your speakers by unchecking “Allow Audio to route through this device” in the Playback settings.
While you might be tempted to just turn off the speakers altogether, it’s better to keep them on and in a low volume. This way, if you need to hear something, or have somebody else listen to something, you can quickly turn the speakers back on without having to restart your computer.
It’s also important to protect your speakers with a rubber band or something similar when you’re not using them so they don’t get damaged.
For more FAQs about headphones, click here
