How to mute NC700 microphone when paired to computer

[matt13316]

Is it possible to mute/un-mute the microphone on the NC700 using the button on the headset when it is paired to a computer?  When I have it paired to my Macbook,  the button that is indicated in the manual as the mute button calls up Siri instead of muting.  I'd like to be able to mute the microphone while using my computer audio in applications such as WebEx,  Zoom, etc.   I can mute using the apps themselves,  but that requires me to always be in front of my computer to mute/un-mute.  What I need is the ability to be able to walk away from the computer a short distance and still be able to mute/un-mute the microphone from the headset.   Is this possible today,  and if not is it possibly something that could be implemented via a firmware update in the future?  

[Keith_L]

Hi matt13316,

I would be happy to help with this.

You are correct that it is possible to use a button to mute the microphone on the headphones. From my testing, this works seamlessly with mobile devices on calls. However, this may not work with your computer and VOIP programs like WebEx and Zoom at this time. It does depend on the hardware and software in use as to what control is possible from the headphones.

I did try this with teams on my Windows 10 laptop and it did not work. It may be possible to get this working with other computer configurations and other software, but we do not have any definitive information on what this will work with, at this time.

Thank you for your feedback on this though, I have passed this on to our development team as something to look into, and potentially add further compatibility for in the future. I'm sure other users would also like for this feature to be available on VOIP software on their computers as well.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions for how you would like to see this implemented, or other features you would like to see, and I will pass your suggestions along as well.

[matt13316]

Thanks for getting back to me.  To be clear,  i'm not asking to have the Bose control the mute function on the external software.  That would be nice, but it seems like that would possibly be a more challenging implementation.   What I am looking for is the ability to mute the mic on the headset itself,  regardless of the mute state of the external software.    The mute should occur by pushing a button (or perhaps a double-click of the button?),  and an audio notification should be played when doing so - "muted",  "un-muted",  or something similar.   Currently the mute button as it is shown in the manual calls up Siri when connected to a Macbook via bluetooth.  If I had to disable that feature via the app to get mute to work, that would be acceptable.   Thanks for passing along the suggestions.  

[ROGR]

Did I just pay 419€ for headphones what cannot be muted on computer? Make that mute function to be on headphones end. 

[Spatula]

@Keith_L 

How do we track this or get feedback from the product team on whether or not they plan to address this? I bought the Bose NC700 primarily for work call on WebEx, and not being able to mute from the headset is pretty bad. I'd gladly give up the assistant button for a consistent way to mute. Having the button mute some of the time and call up the assistant the rest of the time was just a poor decision. It would be one thing if the mute button actually interacted with the device and enabled the applications mute functionality, but it doesn't do that--which is obvious when using the headset with a mobile phone, hitting mute does not engage mute in the phone app. This means that it mutes at the headset, not at the application. Just let us mute whenever we want to mute. I'd rather it mute the application because otherwise I have no way of knowing I am muted without hitting the button again and listening to whether it says its muting or umuting, but I'd take something over nothing.

There may not be a lot of traction on this thread, but a quick google search will turn up a lot of people frustrated by this (lack of) functionality.

I'm not a robot

[RYD]

Please please fix this.  Thank you

[DDL]

I just bought the NC700 and I find them sub-optimal for video conference use. I need to be able to un-mute, say something, and go back on mute once again. I may not always be sitting in front of a computer to interact with a video conferencing client. The absolute last thing I need from my headphones is a button that triggers a voice assistant - just let me disable that feature entirely.

In order to mute, I do not need the headphones to cleverly interact with the PC software at all - just please let the mute button enable/disable the mic locally on the headphones. Some audible feedback indicating the state change from mute to un-mute and back would be great - as long as it doesn't cause the audio from the conference to cut out.

Please update this thread with an indication from the development team as to whether:

1) this feature request is feasible

2) this feature is actually likely to get implemented with an upcoming firmware change

I've ordered the Sony 1000MX3 as an alternative, but I've been a fan of Bose headphones since my first QC set... so I'll wait for a response right up until my Amazon return window closes 🙂

[Hikari]

I totally agree, the ability to have one button dedicate to mute on PC/MAC is much more useful than Cortana/Sri.

If Bose is targeting business professionals for the NC700. I think it is very important to give us the option to mute with a physical button.

If creating a setting option on the app to give us the choice to choose between Mute/Assistant too difficult.  At least make it default to Mute when connect to PC first.

[Hikari]

I think I am going to follow suit as well, I am also a big fan of Bose, but this is an important feature for me.

[hometown9]

Bose - please fix the issue of having no operable mute button when connected to a computer.  That makes no sense, especially when many of your customers are using the headphones for business calls.  It requires you to always have the mute on your computer ready, else you run the risk of a  'hot mic' when on a business call.  Please!!