How to change the sound on a muted TikTok video

Did TikTok mute one of your posts, and are you deciding whether to appeal or replace its sound? Start by reading the video’s notice: the reason and who added the sound affect the options available. If TikTok lets you replace it, you can adjust another sound for that post and review it before continuing.

Check the reason and who added the sound

In the app, open the muted video and tap View details at the bottom. TikTok says whether it removed the sound for a copyright claim, a Community Guidelines violation, or both. If you did not add the original sound, you may not get a separate notification; the details appear on the video.

Also check whether you added the sound yourself. If TikTok removed an original sound you added, the notice may offer an appeal for that sound. That request is different from changing the song on a published video. Its outcome may affect multiple videos that use your original sound.

Choose whether to appeal or replace it

For an original sound removed for violating the Community Guidelines, TikTok describes an appeal. While it reviews the appeal, videos using that sound remain muted. If TikTok approves the appeal, it says it will restore the sound on those videos; if it rejects the appeal, they will stay muted and you will not be able to replace the sound.

If you added the original sound and TikTok removed it for copyright, you may be able to appeal from the notice. Videos using your sound stay muted while that appeal is reviewed. If you cannot appeal, TikTok lets you choose another sound for the affected video. For a sound someone else added, follow the replacement option in your video’s notice; the general help page does not offer that same appeal. Check that Change sound appears before continuing.

Change the sound on an eligible video

1. On the muted video, tap the notice or View details and confirm that the reason allows a replacement.
2. Tap Change sound and choose an available track. You can trim it and adjust the volume.
3. Play the video to check the segment, audio level, and how the sound fits the visuals.
4. Tap Post. When replacing an original sound removed for copyright, you may also see Save sound changes, and TikTok may require approval before applying the change.

Reopen the affected video and check whether the change was saved and the sound plays. TikTok updates only that post; repeat the process for each video you want to change. Replacing a sound does not show that a copyright claim was removed or necessarily restore the original audio.

If neither an appeal nor replacement option appears, return to the notice and use the alternatives available for that case. For the full paths, see TikTok Help on a sound removed from a video and a sound you added to TikTok. To choose music for future videos, see the guide to commercial music for Instagram and TikTok.