Change the sound volume

To change the sound volume, open the system menu from the right side of the top bar and move the volume slider left or right. You can completely turn off sound by dragging the slider to the left.

If you hover over the volume icon in the top bar or the slider in the system menu, the volume can be controlled by scrolling the mouse wheel or touchpad.

Some keyboards have keys that let you control the volume. They normally look like stylized speakers with waves coming out of them. They are often near the “F” keys at the top. On laptop keyboards, they are usually on the “F” keys. Hold down the Fn key on your keyboard to use them.

If you have external speakers, you can also change the volume using the speakers’ volume control. Some headphones have a volume control too.

Changing the sound volume for individual applications

You can change the volume for one application and leave the volume for others unchanged. This is useful if you are listening to music and browsing the web, for example. You might want to turn off the audio in the web browser so sounds from websites do not interrupt the music.

Some applications have volume controls in their main windows. If your application has its volume control, use that to change the volume. If not:

  1. Open the Activities overview and start typing Sound.

  2. Click Sound to open the panel.

  3. In the Sounds section, click Volume Levels.

  4. Use the volume slider for each application to set its volume. Click the speaker button next to the slider to mute or unmute the application.

    Only applications that are playing sounds are listed. If an application is playing sounds but is not listed, it might not support the feature that lets you control its volume in this way. In such a case, you cannot change its volume.