What you need to know
- PowerToys has an experimental feature that lets you mute your microphone or camera with keystrokes.
- The feature works regardless of which camera you use.
- The feature is available in the Experimental v0.22.0 of PowerToys.
PowerToys has a handy new feature that allows you to easily mute your microphone or video. The feature is currently in the Experimental v0.22.0 of PowerToys, which you can install for free through the app's GitHub page. The feature also requires that you're on Windows 10 version 1903 or later.
Even if you grab the best webcam for Windows PCs you won't want to appear on it all the time. With the new feature for PowerToys, you can mute your microphone or "mute" your webcam, regardless of the app that you're using.
The team behind PowerToys has worked on this feature since early this summer. The feature allows you to mute your microphone, camera, or both, with a keystroke. When you're camera is in use, and the feature is enabled, you'll see a dialog on your screen to let you know if your microphone and camera are on.
To use the feature, you need to set your camera to "PowerToys camera." This still uses your hardware of choice, which you can set up in the PowerToys app. The PowerToys GitHub page explains how the feature works, including how it works behind the scenes.
Tools that make life just a bit easier
PowerToys has a growing set of useful tools, including a feature that lets you mute your camera or microphone with keystrokes.
