How to Disable Chat in League of Legends: 5 Methods That Actually Work
To disable chat in League of Legends, type /mute all at the start of a game, or switch chat off in the Interface section of the in-game options so it stays off. You can also mute single players from the scoreboard (Tab), use /fullmute all to block pings too, or /deafen to block everything and stop yourself from typing. Pings from your team still work unless you mute them.
How do you disable chat in League of Legends?
There are five ways, from a single League match to every game you play. Which one fits? It depends on how much you want to block:
| Method | What it blocks | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Interface options | Chat display (all chat and allied chat) | Until you turn it back on |
| /mute all | Chat from every player | The current game |
| Scoreboard (Tab) mute icons | Chat, pings or emotes from chosen players | The current game |
| /fullmute all and /deafen | Chat and pings; /deafen also stops your own messages | The current game |
| Config file edit | Shrinks the chat box out of sight | Until changed or reset |
Short version first.
The first two cover most players. Both take seconds to set up and neither affects your teammates in any way. The rest are for specific cases, like keeping your duo partner’s messages or making sure you cannot type back.
Method 1: disable chat in LoL from the Interface options
This is the “set it once” option. Open the options during a game (Escape) or from the client settings, go to the Interface section and find the chat settings. Turn off the two boxes that show all chat and allied chat in League, then close the menu.
Chat stays hidden in every game until you switch it back. Pings, the minimap and the kill feed are unaffected, so your four teammates can still warn you about the enemy jungle. In practice that covers almost everything useful: an “enemy missing” ping says more than a paragraph of typing.
Method 2: /mute all to disable chat in LoL for one game
Press Enter, type /mute all, press Enter again. Every player’s chat disappears for the rest of that game. It is quick and reversible (/unmute all brings it back), which suits players who want chat in ARAM but not in ranked.
The catch is remembering it. Type it during the loading screen or before minions spawn, ahead of the first death that might tilt you.
Method 3: mute specific players from the scoreboard
Press Tab to open the scoreboard. Next to each of the nine other champions are small icons to mute that player’s chat, pings and emotes separately. Click the ones you want. This is the best option when you queue with a friend: mute the four strangers, keep your duo.
You can also mute players in champion select from the chat panel. Honestly, if someone starts arguing about picks before the game loads, muting them right there saves the whole match.
Method 4: /fullmute, /deafen and /muteself
Riot added stronger commands over the years for players who want more than /mute all:
- /fullmute all blocks chat and pings from everyone; /fullmute followed by a name does it for one player.
- /deafen blocks incoming chat and pings and also stops you from typing. Your team sees that you are deafened.
- /muteself stops you from typing while you can still read chat.
/deafen and /muteself solve a different problem. Thing is, plenty of players are fine reading flame but cannot resist answering it, and the answering is what gets penalised. If that sounds familiar, these two commands protect your account more than any mute does.
Ping spam is the other reason to use /fullmute. Riot has limited how many pings a player can send in a short time, but a determined teammate can still fill your screen with question marks over a whole game, and every one of them comes with a sound. Muting that player’s pings from the scoreboard keeps the rest of the team’s warnings intact, which is usually better than going fully silent. Question-mark spam is not chat, and /mute all does not stop it.
Method 5: hide the chat box with a config edit
Some players shrink the chat window out of sight by editing League’s settings file. With League closed, open the Config folder in the install directory (by default C:\Riot Games\League of Legends\Config), open PersistedSettings.json in a text editor and lower the chat scale value. Save and start the game.
It works, but it is the least useful method. The options menu does the same job without touching files, and a patch or a settings reset can undo the edit. Keep a backup copy of PersistedSettings.json before changing anything (just in case).
Should you disable chat in LoL ranked games?
For most solo queue players, yes. Typing costs attention in League: every message you write or read in a teamfight is time not spent on the minimap or the next minion wave. Reading an insult early in the game can colour the next 25 minutes of decisions too.
To be fair, chat is not useless. Short callouts like summoner spell timers or a jungler’s planned route genuinely help, and some teams coordinate well. Pings carry most of that information in LoL anyway, which is why muting usually costs very little in ranked. Want to see whether it makes a difference for you? Track your results for a few weeks with chat off; our LoL climb calculator shows what even a small win rate change is worth.
Chat in champion select and the post-game lobby
Champion select has its own chat, and in ranked it is where most arguments start: pick order, bans, someone taking “your” role. You can mute a player from the chat panel in champion select; if they keep going once the game loads, mute them again from the scoreboard. Dodging costs LP in ranked, so muting is usually the better trade.
The post-game lobby is the other hot spot. After a ranked loss, plenty of players vent there, and nothing you read in that window changes the LP result. Real talk: closing the end-of-game screen and queuing again is a perfectly good way to skip it. Reports still work from the match history if you need to file one later.
Does muting protect you from penalties?
Partly. Muting others does nothing to your own record, but not reading flame removes the trigger for typing back, and typing back is what earns chat restrictions and suspensions. Riot’s penalty system looks at what you send, not what you receive.
Disabling chat itself is never a penalty risk. Riot does not punish players for muting, and nobody is required to read chat. If you are already under a chat restriction, our guide on how to check a LoL ban explains each penalty and how long it lasts.
How to undo a LoL chat disable
Reverse whatever you used. Tick the chat boxes again in the Interface options, type /unmute all for the current game, click the scoreboard icons again, or restore the config file from your backup. Commands like /mute all and /deafen only last one game, so the next match starts with chat as your options set it.
Chat and voice are separate systems in League, and changing one leaves the other exactly as it was. If you also use in-game voice with your party, mute it from the voice controls or the scoreboard; text settings do not touch it. Muting doesn’t hide you from friends either: the client’s status menu has no offline option, which is why players look for ways to appear offline in LoL.
Chat settings for younger players
Parents can combine these settings with account-level controls. Turning off chat in the options removes most exposure to strangers’ messages, while the friends list can be limited to known players. Riot’s support site covers parental guidance and account settings; the in-game options above are the quickest first step. For players new to the game, our guide on League of Legends roles is a friendlier place to start than any chat window.
For what it’s worth, once you disable chat in League of Legends, the game gets quieter and, for most people, a bit easier to play well. Pings and the emote wheel keep working with chat off, so you can still call a gank.
FAQ
How do I turn off chat in League of Legends?
Turn off the chat display in the Interface section of the options to hide chat in every game, or type /mute all at the start of a single game.
What is the difference between /mute all and /fullmute all?
/mute all blocks chat from every player. /fullmute all blocks both chat and pings.
What does /deafen do in League of Legends?
/deafen blocks incoming chat and pings and stops you from typing for the rest of the game. Your team sees that you are deafened.
Does /mute all block pings?
No. Use /fullmute all or the ping icons on the scoreboard to block pings.
Can I mute only one player?
Yes. Press Tab and click the chat, ping or emote icons next to that player, or use /mute or /fullmute followed by their name.
Can you get banned if you disable chat in LoL?
No. Muting and hiding chat are normal options, and Riot does not penalise players for using them.
Does disabling chat help you climb?
It often helps by removing distractions and tilt triggers, although results vary by player. Pings still carry the most important information.
