Last Updated on May 17, 2026
Computers have been around for as long as most of us can remember and we all use them for different purposes such as browsing the internet, sending emails, editing photos, working on documents and so on. But one thing that is very common to do on the computer is listen to music, go on video sites such as YouTube and TikTok, and watch movies and TV shows.
When watching videos and playing music, often you will need to turn down or mute the volume to do things such as take a call or talk to someone who comes over to your desk. This involves either going to the volume shortcut on the taskbar or turning down the volume on the speakers themselves. But if you want to be able to quickly mute and unmute your volume, you can set up some keyboard shortcuts to do so. In this article, we will be showing you how to create mute and unmute volume keyboard shortcuts.
1. Download the NirSoft Application
You need to download a free app called NirSoft SoundVolumeView to create these system triggers. This tiny utility reads the current volume levels for all the sound components on your computer. It gives you the power to mute and unmute them instantly from outside the standard Windows settings. You will most likely want to download the 64-bit version unless you are running an older 32-bit version of Windows.
2. Identify Your Primary Sound Device
After you download and unzip the software folder, run it by double clicking the SoundVolumeView.exe file. A large grid will populate with your system audio components. You must find your active sound device in this list. Look for the entry labeled Speakers to find your output hardware. Verify the listing says Device right next to it to confirm your selection.
3. Generate the Desktop Shortcuts
The application can build dedicated executable files for your audio commands. Right click on the speaker device in the grid. Choose Create Desktop Shortcut from the pop-up menu. Select the Mute option to send the first file directly to your desktop. Repeat this exact same process and choose Unmute this time.
4. Relocate the Shortcut Files
Now you have these mute and unmute shortcuts sitting on your desktop. Rename them if desired. Move these files to a permanent storage folder right now. Doing this early prevents breaking the shortcut links if you decide to move them later. Double click the Mute shortcut to test it and instantly kill the volume from your PC.
5. Access the Shortcut Properties
We want to bypass double clicking these icons entirely. Right click on the first shortcut file you just moved. Choose Properties from the context menu. Look for the Shortcut key box located directly on the Shortcut tab. Click inside this blank text box to prepare it for your custom keyboard input.
6. Assign the Key Combinations
Assign your shortcut by actually pressing the keys instead of typing out the letters. Common combinations include Ctrl + Alt + [key], Ctrl + Shift + [key], or Ctrl + Shift + Alt + [key]. We will use Ctrl + Shift + M for mute and Ctrl + Shift + U for unmute in our example. Pick a combination that does not conflict with an existing keyboard shortcut. Click the OK button to save your new bindings.
Now when playing music, videos or anything else with sound, we can now press the configured shortcut keys on the keyboard to mute the volume whenever needed.
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