Is this muting situation possible?...

[KeyWrangler]

After an overly chatty user is muted by the moderator, can the user then unmute him/herself by clicking their Unmute button? 

And/or, is it possible that the moderator-muted user is automatically unmuted by voice actuation (and then muted again)?

[RN · Accepted solution]

Hi @KeyWrangler the user is not able to unmute based on voice activation. Can think that the user was using keyboard shortcuts to mute or unmute themselves?

You can also use push to talk if you want to unmute yourself by holding the spacebar.

• Windows: Alt + A 
• Mac: Shift + Command + A

Otherwise, when you are muted, your are muted; meaning, others are not able to hear you unless yourself or a host/co-hosts with pre-approved consent to be unmuted, unmutes the microphone. 

[RN]

Hi @KeyWrangler the host or co-host can individually mute or mute all participants that are already in the meeting, as well as new participants joining the meeting. 

To Mute: 

1. Click Participants located in the meeting controls
2. You then have the options:

1. Individually mute the participant (limitation the participant can unmute themselves after the host mutes them)
2. The host or co-host can mute all participants that are already in the meeting, as well as new participants joining the meeting. 
   1. Click Mute All.
      1. (Optional) Check Allow participants to unmute themselves if you would like participants to be able to unmute at any time during the meeting.
      2. 

Hope this helps! 

[KeyWrangler]

Thank you. It helps somewhat, but misses a key point of my question, which involves voice-activated unmuting:

Restating:

After being muted by the Moderator, can the user then be automatically unmuted by voice-activation, not requiring the user to manually unmute himself (that is, by clicking)?

In other words, is it conceivable that the user (seeing himself muted) said something aloud to himself, not intending it to be overheard, but nevertheless -- because of voice-activated unmuting -- it was heard by all? 

During some meetings, obviously people are unmuted (or at least highlighted) as they speak, but I am unfamiliar with the voice-activation feature's specific capabilities.  Possibly in this case, the Moderator is also unfamiliar with that capability, if it exists.

[RN · Accepted solution]

Hi @KeyWrangler the user is not able to unmute based on voice activation. Can think that the user was using keyboard shortcuts to mute or unmute themselves?

You can also use push to talk if you want to unmute yourself by holding the spacebar.

• Windows: Alt + A 
• Mac: Shift + Command + A

Otherwise, when you are muted, your are muted; meaning, others are not able to hear you unless yourself or a host/co-hosts with pre-approved consent to be unmuted, unmutes the microphone. 

[KeyWrangler]

Although my immediate question seems answered, further detail on voice activation will help me understand more fully.

Assuming settings/permissions allow the Moderator to mute any user, but the user can then "manually" unmute him/herself ...

• When unmuted, the user's image is not "highlighted" until the user speaks. I take this to mean that the highlighting is achieved by voice activation? 
• When the user stops speaking, the highlighting ends, although the user will remain unmuted until he/she or the Moderator re-mutes that user. 

Do I understand correctly?

[RN]

Hi @KeyWrangler correct, as to the same if you were muted and you were to speak, you would be prompt'd that you are muted, i.e.: (see attachment) 

To your point, yes, the highlighting around a speaker is an indicator as to them speaking or having input. 

Based on my experience, there are instances where the highlighting persists even when there is no input or the participant is muted, and it continues until the next speaker starts talking.

[RN]

@KeyWrangler was also able to capture the highlighting which seems to appear after 3+ participants in a meeting. Hope this example further explains 🙂

Here are the output/input settings as well experiences may vary depending on input volume, output volume, microphone, etc. 

 

[RN]

Also want to mention @Frank_TB's reply as well @KeyWrangler 

[Frank_TB · Accepted solution]

What you are calling voice actuation  is actually just an open, unmuted  microphone that is not hearing any sound input or the sound is so low that zoom ignores it or supresses it as part of it's noise suppression ability. An open microphone will be heard once it reaches a certain threshold. 

Muting is a binary state. You are either muted or not muted. If you are muted you will never be heard.  If you are unmuted and don't make any noise that Zoom can detect you will not be highlighted. If you are unmuted and you make some kind of sound that Zoom detects you will light up.

Let's not confuse muting with nose suppression. It's considered a best practice to always mute yourself when you are not speaking.

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/203024649-Muting-your-microphone-when-joining-a-meeting 

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360046244692-Configuring-professional-audio-settings-for-Z... 

Regards

If my reply helped, don't forget to click the accept as solution button!

[KeyWrangler]

Thanks to all. All questions clarified.  The end-issue was whether or not the user intended to be heard, or thought he was still muted.  From these responses, he would have had to manually click "unmute" (or use a shortcut) -- it was not merely voice activation -- so unless it was a mistake out of confusion, his statement was meant to be heard.

Although I don't rule out user confusion.  I'll never know. Neither party was me.