Make it easier to use
🔊 Adjust volume and turn off distracting sounds
Make calls louder, reduce notification noise, or silence your device when you need quiet.
Which device are you using?
Pick one and the steps below will use the right words for you.
📱 A quick heads-up
This guide is written for phone, tablet, and computer. Choose that device above to follow along — or look at the related guides below for your device.
Your device makes many different sounds — calls, alerts, music. Learning where the controls are helps you stay in charge of the noise.
✅ What you need
- Just your device
Step by step
- Press the volume buttons on the side of your device to raise or lower all sounds at once. Click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen and drag the slider up or down.
- To control ringtone and alert sounds separately, open Settings and look for Sounds or Sounds & Haptics. To control individual sounds, open Settings and look for Sound (Windows) or System Settings → Sound (Mac).
- To silence your phone quickly, flip the small switch on the side (iPhone) or press a volume button and tap the bell icon (Android). To mute everything quickly, press the mute key on your keyboard (often marked with a speaker and a line through it).💡 Silencing your phone does not turn it off — calls still come in, they just will not ring aloud.
- To stop individual apps from making noise, open Settings, then Notifications, and choose which apps can make sounds. To control app notification sounds, open Settings and look for Notifications or System → Notifications.
💡 Helpful tips
- If you can't hear calls, check two things: the volume buttons on the side, and whether the silent switch (iPhone) is flipped on.
- Bluetooth earbuds or headphones can make calls and videos much easier to hear.
- There is no one master volume — calls, media, and alerts each have their own level, so check the right one.
Once you find the volume controls, adjusting them takes just a few taps or clicks. There is no wrong setting — adjust until it feels comfortable for you.