Why is my Blue Yeti Microphone Mute Button Blinking Red

Author: Tosh Lubek Published: 9th May 2023

The Blue Yeti microphone has a mute button, which can be useful if you are on a live stream or work call and want to temporally mute the microphone.

This short article explains all you need to know about the Blue Yeti’s mute button.

Where is the Blue Yeti microphone mute button

The Blue Yeti’s mute button is located on the front of the microphone, between the Blue logo badge and the headphone volume control dial.

Why is my Blue Yeti mute button light blinking red

If you see the Blue Yeti mute button blinking red it means the microphone is muted and will not send a signal to your computer or to your headphones.

How to mute or unmute a Blue Yeti mic

The procedure is the same, whether you want to mute or unmute a Blue Yeti mic.

To mute the mic and stop hearing yourself, press the Blue Yeti’s mute button once. You will hear a mechanical click, the red light on the mute button will blink red, and the Blue Yeti will be muted. You will know that the Yeti is muted because the red light on the mute button will continue to blink and draw attention to itself.

To unmute the mic press the Blue Yeti’s mute button once. You will hear a mechanical click, the red light on the mute button will stop blinking red, and the Blue Yeti will be unmuted. The microphone will again send a signal to your computer and your headphones.

Why is my Blue Yeti red light on all the time

Do not worry if your Blue Yeti red light is on all the time. This is normal and shows that the microphone is connected to your computer using the USB mic cable and that the Blue Yeti microphone is receiving power.

You can also make the Blue Yeti’s mute button shine red all the time by connecting the mic to a power bank or other similar power source. As when the Yeti is connected to a computer, the red light indicates that the microphone is receiving power.

However, the Blue Yeti will not function properly when connected to a power bank, even if you only want to hear yourself on headphones. The Yeti must be connected to a computer or mobile device to be activated and ready for use.

How to turn off my Blue Yeti mic

Although the Blue Yeti has a mute button it does not have an on/off switch.

You can mute the microphone output at any time by pressing the mute button once. However, if you need to turn off the Blue Yeti your only option is to disconnect the microphone from your computer by unplugging the USB mic cable.

Be careful how you unplug the USB cable from the USB socket on the base of the Blue Yeti. The mini-USB socket is soldered directly onto the Yeti’s circuit board and a repeated or excessive sideways force when removing the mic cable can damage the socket or connection. If you leave your Blue Yeti permanently set up and need to switch it off, you are less likely to do damage if you unplug the USB cable from the computer.

Why can’t I hear audio from my Blue Yeti

If you do not hear any audio from your Blue Yeti the first thing to check is whether the mic has been muted. As mentioned above, this will be the case if the mute button on the front of the microphone is blinking red.

Assuming the Blue Yeti is not muted, ensure your headphone or speaker volume is not set to zero. This can be done using the headphone dial on the front of the Yeti or the monitor dial on your exterior sound card/interface (if you have one).

The next thing to check is the mic gain. If the mic gain dial on the rear of the Yeti is set to minimum (fully turned counterclockwise) you may not hear any audio from the mic. Adjust the gain dial so it is in the 12 o’clock position and test the setup again.

If you still do not hear any audio, go into your computer’s sound settings and ensure the Yeti is selected as your microphone input and that the microphone volume is not at zero. Try moving the volume slider to about 50%.

Another option is to turn your computer off and on just in case the machine needs a reboot.

If you have tried all these options and still can’t hear any audio the problem may be the mini-USB socket on the base of the Yeti or a fault on the circuit board.

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