Guide: How to remove the red microphone icon on macOS

Important: I am not affiliated with any of the manufacturers, brands, services, or websites listed on this page and this is my personal experience.  If you find this helpful and want to say thanks, please buy me a coffee or take a look at my book on Amazon. It keeps this page ad-free. Thank you!

If you’re on a Mac and you have a random red microphone with an x next to it, like that pictured below, don’t panic!

macOS Red Microphone Icon

The culprit is the Logitech Options software. If you hit F9 on your keyboard the red microphone icon should auto-magically disappear. Hit F9 again, and it will come back (but I am guessing you don’t want it back, which is why you are here).

While you’re here, if the F9 shortcut bothers you you should think about customizing Logitech Options. If you launch Logitech Options and click on your keyboard, you will get something like this (I use the MX Mechanical Mini).

If you use your mouse and click on the F9 key, you can customize the function. I would recommend mapping as many of the keys back to the default macOS combinations, but that’s just me. If you’re after ideas, I did remap F10 on my external keyboard to stage manager/mission control.

Hope this helps someone else!

Important: I am not affiliated with any of the manufacturers, brands, services, or websites listed on this page and this is my personal experience.  If you find this helpful and want to say thanks, please buy me a coffee or take a look at my book on Amazon. It keeps this page ad-free. Thank you!

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