Annoying Sound from Headset When Muted
This support article is for both macOS and Windows users that are experiencing issues in which their headset is emitting an annoying beeping or other sounds when they are muted using the MuteMe application / button. This issue primarily impacts Windows customers may impact macOS customers as well.
We learned a short while ago that there are a handful of products out on the market that do not handle Operating System (OS) mute functionality well and either emit a one time or continuous audible tone when the operating system changes conditions or is it a state of mute. Both macOS and Windows employ similar methods to mute input (microphone) audio at the OS level which mutes the microphone for any application or program that maybe used on the computer. Some devices however fail to conform to the standards and emit some type of tone or audible notification when the operating system signals that it is muted.
Why does this only happen when I use this headset with my MuteMe
This issue exists with the headset or device and is not an issue with MuteMe even though this is likely the first time in recent memory this issue has presented itself.
There are three different ways your microphone can be muted.
- It can be muted physically at the microphone itself,
- it can be muted at the operating system or
- it can be muted in the application.
When you use your favorite conferencing application and press the mute button the software is only muting at the application layer and really only preventing your voice from being broadcasted. This is how they can display that message when you talk and your mic is still muted (because the application didn't really mute the microphone only stopped your voice from being broadcast).
MuteMe however mutes at two levels, at the OS level and the application level and for some reason certain headphones do not handle muting at the OS level as eloquently as possible. This is why when you use a different microphone or speakers there is no sound emitted.
Workarounds
There are a handful of workarounds users could try on based on their configuration and applications. These solutions although not as elegant as a option to turn off the sound by the manufacturer of the headset in question, could still work for a majority of users and use cases.
Smart OS Level Mute:
Software version 0.12.0 and above have a feature to disable OS level mute when a meeting is detected. This feature is enabled by default. To enable go to our application and click on "Microphone Settings" > and ensure the checkbox for "Disable OS level microphone control when in a meeting" is checked. That should for all applications that have level three support automatically disable OS level mute controls and prevent the beeping or other annoying sounds.
Application Level Sync:
To completely disable OS microphone control and rely only on the application sync to Mute and Unmute yourself in the conferencing applications do the following:
To disable OS mute for a particular headset or microphone you would go to our application and click on "Microphone Settings" > then click on the little chevron icon to expand the controls next to the headset in question > then uncheck the box "Control this microphone with MuteMe".
This should prevent the audible sound from occurring because the microphone is now no longer being muted at the operating system level and is only being muted at the application level.
Using a Different Microphone
Change the default input microphone to a different microphone in your conferencing application and use the headset for audio out only. This would also require disabling OS level mute on that particular headset.
Solutions
The only real solution to this problem is having the manufacturer issue a firmware update or software update that ensures that the device in question has the ability to handle operating system mute.
Devices With Known Issues:
- Aftershokz Headsets
Last Updated: 9:56 AM - PST - September 14, 2022
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