As a tech writer with over 5 years of experience using iPhones, I often get asked how to mute videos on an iPhone. Whether you want to watch videos without annoying sounds or remove audio from your own recordings, muting videos on an iPhone is easy and straightforward. In this detailed guide, I’ll walk you through the various methods to mute videos using built-in apps on your iPhone.
Table of Contents
Why Mute Videos on iPhone
Here are some common reasons you may want to mute videos on your iPhone:
- Remove background noise: If a video you recorded has distracting background sounds, muting it removes the unwanted audio. You can then add a soundtrack or voiceover if needed.
- Privacy: You may wish to share a video but don’t want others hearing the original audio. Muting it protects people’s privacy.
- Watch videos silently: Whether at work or in public, you may need to watch videos with the sound off. Muting allows silent viewing.
- Add new audio: Removing existing sound lets you overlay your own audio like music or narration.
- Shorten length: Muting the start and end of a video effectively trims it to the desired length for sharing.
Using the Photos App to Mute Videos
The iPhone’s built-in Photos app makes it easy to mute videos in just a few taps:
- Open the Photos app and find the video you want to mute.
- Tap Edit in the upper right corner.
- Select the speaker icon in the upper left corner. This mutes the video.
- Tap Done to save the muted video.
The speaker icon will now show a line through it to indicate the video has no audio. You can repeat the steps to restore the original sound if needed.
Muting Videos with iMovie
Apple’s free iMovie app provides advanced video editing right on your iPhone. With iMovie, you can mute entire videos or only mute sections:
- Open iMovie and create a new project.
- Tap the + button and select your video from the Photos library.
- Tap the clip in the timeline, then select Detach Audio > Mute from the menu.
- Tap Done. The video is now muted.
To mute just parts of a video:
- Tap the scissors icon to split the video at the desired start and end points.
- Select the section and tap Detach Audio > Mute.
- Tap Done and save.
These steps let you precisely control which parts have audio and which parts are muted.
Muting Videos in Third-Party Apps
In addition to Apple’s own apps, third-party video editors for iPhone also let you remove audio:
- LumaFusion ($30): Used by professionals, LumaFusion is the most powerful iPhone video editor and ideal for precisely muting video clips.
- InShot (Free): This full-featured editor makes it simple to mute entire videos or split and mute custom sections.
- Videoleap (Free): Videoleap from Lightricks provides advanced editing tools including quick video muting.
The benefit of third-party apps is they generally offer more precise editing capabilities than the built-in options. However, you need to purchase or download them first.
Muting Videos on iPhone While Recording
If you want to mute videos as you record them directly on your iPhone, that’s easy too:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Control Center > Customize Controls
- Tap the + icon next to Screen Recording
- Open Control Center and tap the Screen Recording button
- Start recording your video
- Tap the red bar at the top and disable Microphone Audio
Now your videos will record silently with no audio captured. Pretty handy!
Removing Audio from Existing Videos
Perhaps you already have videos saved in your Photos library that you want to remove the audio from. Just follow these simple steps:
- Open the Photos app and select the video
- Tap Edit then the speaker icon
- Tap Done after the speaker disappears
- Choose Save Video
The original video stays intact but a new muted version is saved. Now you can message or share that version with no sound.
Adding New Audio to Muted Videos
A common reason for muting a video is to overlay your own soundtrack or voiceover audio. There are a couple easy ways to do this:
With iMovie:
- Import the muted video into your iMovie project
- Tap the + button and select Audio
- Choose a song from your music library or record a voiceover
- Line it up with your video and adjust the volume
- Export and save
With LumaFusion:
- Import your muted video
- Tap the + icon and select Audio
- Choose your audio file and add it to the timeline
- Sync it perfectly with the video
- Export and save
It takes just a few minutes to overlay new music or narration to make engaging, professional-looking videos!
FAQs About Muting Videos on iPhone
Here are answers to some common questions about muting videos on an iPhone:
How do I mute videos on Facebook?
- Open the Facebook video, tap the screen, and select the speaker icon to toggle sound on or off.
Can I mute videos on YouTube?
- Yes, just press the iPhone volume down button while a YouTube video plays to mute it.
Where are muted videos saved?
- Muted videos saved in the Photos app are stored in your Camera Roll or Albums like any other photo or video.
Can I get the sound back after muting a video?
- Yes, use the steps above to access the Edit screen in Photos and tap the crossed-out speaker icon to restore audio.
What’s the easiest way to mute an iPhone video?
- The simplest method is using the Photos app editor. Just tap Edit, the speaker icon, and Done.
Conclusion
I hope this comprehensive guide covered everything you need to know about muting videos on your iPhone! With built-in apps like Photos and iMovie, third-party editors, and easy recording techniques, you have all the tools to remove audio from iPhone videos in just minutes.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m always happy to help fellow iPhone users master their devices!
