Managing the always-on microphone for Contact Center

<body>
<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Contact Center agents can configure whether their microphone is always on, or only active when on a call. This provides the following advantages:</p>
<div class="article-banners">
<div id="docs-wmp-link">
<a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5411234991258-plan" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What's my plan?</a>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="addon_contact-center">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>Add-on</strong>
</td>
<td>Contact Center</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

</div>

<div class="body">

<p class="p">Contact Center agents can configure whether their microphone is always on, or only active
when on a call. This provides the following advantages:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="always_on_microphone__ul_azl_k3s_xgc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Improved battery life:</strong> Prevents unnecessary battery drain by
turning off the microphone when not on a call.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Enhanced productivity:</strong> Agents experience fewer interruptions due to
headset issues.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Cost savings:</strong> Prolongs the lifespan of wireless headsets, reducing
replacement costs.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Before you turn on this setting, consider the following </p>
<ul class="ul" id="always_on_microphone__ul_hzl_k3s_xgc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">In some cases, turning on this setting might lead to wireless headset
battery drain.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Turning on this setting might affect music or video audio quality when not
on a call.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ksr_xjs_xgc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Turning the always-on microphone on or off</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can turn the always-on microphone setting on or off from agent settings.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To turn the always-on microphone on or off</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_ksr_xjs_xgc__ol_czl_k3s_xgc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">In Contact Center, click the profile button (<img class="image" id="topic_ksr_xjs_xgc__image_zlg_mzw_xgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cc_settings_icon.png" width="20">), then click <strong class="ph b">Agent settings</strong>.<p class="p" dir="ltr"><img class="image" id="topic_ksr_xjs_xgc__image_sqg_cjs_xgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cc_always_2.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">In the Audio settings section of the Agent settings page, choose one of the
following settings for <strong class="ph b">Always on microphone</strong>:<ul class="ul" id="topic_ksr_xjs_xgc__ul_fzl_k3s_xgc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Enabled:</strong> The microphone remains active at all
times.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Disabled:</strong> The microphone activates only during
calls.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Choose the setting based on your headset type and usage
behavior.</p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ksr_xjs_xgc__image_xjn_2js_xgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cc_always_1.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<script id="docs-schema-markup" type="application/ld+json">{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "TechArticle",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9811375161754-Managing-the-always-on-microphone-setting-for-Contact-Center",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9811375161754-Managing-the-always-on-microphone-setting-for-Contact-Center",
"headline": "Managing the always-on microphone for Contact Center",
"description": "You can configure the microphone setting to be always on or active only during calls to manage battery life, headset lifespan, and audio quality in your contact center agent settings.",
"articleSection": "Using Contact Center",
"datePublished": "2025-10-10T01:28:00+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-04-15T20:12:06.770298+00:00",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9811375161754-Managing-the-always-on-microphone-setting-for-Contact-Center"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk",
"url": "https://www.zendesk.com"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk"
},
"isPartOf": {
"@type": "WebSite",
"name": "Zendesk Help",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us"
},
"about": {
"@type": "SoftwareApplication",
"name": "Zendesk"
}
}</script>
</body>