If the volume icon in the taskbar corner overflow shows mute even when the Sound is playing on Windows 11, see this guide for the fixes.

This post lists 8 ways you can Mute or Unmute Sound Volume in Windows 11/10 - Via Keyboard, Taskbar icon, Game Bar, Settings app, etc.

Click the "Volume" icon in the notification area and slide the master volume upward to increase volume of all programs. Click "Mixer" in the Volume icon pop-up to access individual controls.

Right-click the "Volume" icon on the taskbar. Click "Playback devices" to display the Sound dialog box. Click the "Playback" tab. The icons for speakers and headphones should display on the list ...

Right-click the volume icon again and choose Open Sound settings (Windows 10) or Sound settings (Windows 11). For Windows 10, find Related Settings in the window that opens, then click on Sound ...

You can either drag the sliders back up, or try this technique: Right-click on the volume icon again, select Open Sound settings, and scroll down a bit until you can click on App volume and device ...

Click the volume icon in the menu bar and choose Soundflower (2ch). You can also make this selection in the Sound System Preference pane.

Users new to Macs don't need to sweat learning microphone, equalizer, and sound settings. Here's a quick tutorial describing each sound element's location and operation on a Mac.

You can make your headphones louder in a handful of ways — from adjusting your device or app volume settings to basic headphones maintenance.

Maybe there was something weird going on with my audio levels. And right before I was about to bury myself in Windows 10's sound settings, I remembered that damn Windows 10 volume mixer.