Detailed instructions: how to disconnect the microphone on a laptop

Laptop owners often wonder how to turn off the microphone on a laptop. Here it's not even that it's easier to do it on personal computers, but rather that the user does not possess this knowledge. In general, that on the PC, that the laptop operations are similar, with the exception of some nuances. In the framework of this article we will answer the question of how to disconnect the microphone on the laptop. Windows 10 and Ubuntu are the operating systems in question.

Disconnect the microphone on Windows OS

In the Windows operating system, as in all others, there are several ways how to disable the built-in microphone on the laptop. Now we will consider the most popular of them. Both the built-in microphones and the external headset will be exposed.

Initially, of course, it should be said that on more laptops there is a special button on the keyboard to turn off the microphone. The microphone icon will be drawn on this key, and it is often located in the upper area, where the keys that begin with F are located. Note that this function is often activated when pressed in combination with the Fn key.

Now let's move on to the system settings themselves. The microphone (both internal and external) can be turned off in the audio settings. First, let's go there.

To do this, enter the "Control Panel". To get there, click the "Start" menu, then click on "Control Panel", which is in the sidebar on the right. Find the category "Hardware and Sound", go there. Now go to the "Sound" setting. Before you open the window, in it immediately click on the tab "Record". There you can watch all the microphones connected at the moment - both external and internal. To disable any, click on it on the PCM and select the same option from the menu.

Note: if there are several microphones and you do not know which one to turn off, you can tap on it, in this case in the "Sound" settings next to this microphone the green scale will be filled. In this way, you will find out which microphone the icon belongs to in the settings.

Now you know how to disconnect the internal microphone on a laptop in the Windows operating system. But this is not the only way, so we move on.

Disable via the Realtek utility

Immediately it is worth saying that this method will only suit those users who have a microphone from the company Realtek. The fact is that this manufacturer together with the product provides a utility that helps to interact with his device. Often this utility is installed automatically with the driver, and later it can be found in the system tray.

Open the tray and click on the Realtek icon. Before you open "Manager Realtek HD". Most likely, you will see two tabs - it's "Speakers" and "Microphone". Go to the second one. Now before you all the settings of the microphone. Here, in addition to the fact that you can turn off the recording of the microphone, you can still turn on the noise reduction or echo option, and much more. Now you know how to disconnect the microphone on a laptop if it's from Realtek.

Turn off the microphone in Skype

Most often people want to turn off the microphone while using Skype. In this case, you can not even bother looking for system configurations, everything is much easier.

There are also two options here, how to disconnect the microphone on the laptop. First let's examine the simplest and most famous. To implement it, you just need to pay attention to the large round button with the microphone icon. Note that it appears only during a direct conversation. If you click on it, your interlocutor will stop hearing you. To restore everything to its original state, click the button again.

It was a simple way, but there is also more complicated. To do this, go to the Skype settings. To do this, on the top bar, click "Tools" and go to "Settings ...". In the left pane, go to "Audio Settings" and in the "Microphone" field, move the slider to the far left position. Note that after that your interlocutors will stop hearing you at all.

Mute the microphone in Ubuntu

We have already told how to disconnect the microphone in Windows on a laptop, but bypassed by the lesser known Ubuntu OS. Although she also has a lot of fans.

To disable the microphone in it, you need to click on the volume indicator in the upper right corner. Before you open a small window in which you can click on the microphone indicator, and it immediately turns off. If you want to select a microphone that you want to turn off, go to "Audio Options". There, on the "Input" tab, all microphones will be displayed. Select the desired one and at the top of the window click on "Mute". Everything, the microphone is off.