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Troubleshooting your Microphone & Camera
Troubleshooting your Microphone & Camera

Camera or microphone not working? Try this!

Katharine Bacon avatar
Written by Katharine Bacon
Updated over a week ago

Help! I can’t hear/can’t be heard!

  1. Check your microphone

    Are you accidentally on mute? Make sure that the microphone icon in your meeting is grey and not red. Click the caret icon on the microphone to make sure the correct microphone source is selected from the list.

  2. Check your speakers

    Do you have the correct speakers set up for your meeting? Click on the caret icon on the microphone in your meeting to make sure the correct speaker source is selected from the list.

  3. Check that your permissions are set correctly.

    If you accidentally declined permissions, refresh your browser to request them again.

    There are three places where you can restrict Camera and Microphone access:

    1. the Operating System (Windows or Mac),

    2. the web browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge),

    3. individual websites or browsing sessions.

    - You will need to allow Camera and Microphone access at all levels.

    - If your microphone isn't working then try to re-request permissions. If that doesn't work, check that you haven't blocked permissions from the browser or from your operating system.

  4. Check the volume on your system

    Is your computer, tablet or mobile device volume turned all the way up?

  5. Check your network indicator

    Is your connection working? Hover over your video tile and check the color of the wifi signal icon. If it is green your connection is strong, orange is low, red is worst and grey is no signal.

Help! I can’t see/can’t be seen!

  1. Do you have the right camera selected?

    Is your camera off? Make sure that the camera icon in your meeting is grey and not red. Click the caret icon on the camera to make sure the correct camera source is selected from the list. You can switch between your laptop's default camera, if you have one, and any external webcam plugged in.

  2. Does your camera preview show up?

    When you click on the caret icon on the camera you should see a preview of yourself show up. If the preview is not there then you may need to select a different source of double check permissions.

    • Note: Preview should also appear on the pre-meeting join screen.

  3. Check your network indicator.

    Is your connection working? Hover over your video tile and check the color of the wifi signal icon. If it is green your connection is strong, orange is low, red is worst and grey is no signal.

  4. Check other meeting participant's network indicator.

    Hover over other's video tile and check the color of the wifi signal icon. If it is green your connection is strong, orange is low, red is worst and grey is no signal.

    • Note: we only display 12 videos on for meetings above 12 people

    • Note: we turn off video to save bandwidth if someone is experiencing network issues

Help! I'm still having issues

  • Try restarting your computer. Sometimes turning it off and on again really does work.

  • You might be blocking webcam and microphone access at the operating system level.
    On MacOS, navigate to System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Privacy Tab. Check to make sure you've given Camera and Microphone access to your web browser.
    On Windows, click Start → Settings → Privacy. Check to make sure you've given Camera and Microphone access to your applications.

  • Check your browser permissions as well.

  • If you see the error message "Could not start media source. Timeout occurred!"

Click on the lock (or info) icon in the top left corner of your browser URL bar and reset your camera and mic permissions.

Other FAQs

  1. Can I use an external webcam?

    Yes! You can switch between your computer's default camera and any external cameras you have plugged in.

  2. Can I use an external microphone?

    Yes! You can switch between your computer's default microphone and any external mics you have plugged in.

  3. How do I change my camera settings on Chrome?

    1. Check to make sure you gave permission for this page to access your webcam. In Chrome you can do that by clicking the lock button directly to the left of the URL. If you do not see a camera icon, this might mean you have blocked camera access at the browser level or operating system level.

    2. Try clicking the Allow Access button at the top of this page to prompt the browser to enable Camera access.

    3. You can also navigate to chrome://settings/content to change your default Camera and Microphone settings.

  4. How do I change my camera settings on Safari?

    1. In the URL bar at the top of your browser, the Camera icon will be to the right of the URL. Click the Camera icon to open the Camera permissions. If you do not see a camera icon, this might mean you have blocked camera access at the browser level or operating system level.

    2. Try clicking the Allow Access button at the top of this page to prompt the browser to enable Camera access.

    3. You can also navigate to Safari Preferences (Command + , on Mac) and click on Websites. There you can change your default Camera and Microphone settings.

  5. How do I change my settings on mobile?

    Read this article.

  6. What is Vowel?

    Vowel is a meeting platform that helps you and your team work better together. You can record your meetings to go back and review important conversations and decisions. After your meeting is complete, Vowel will save your recording to your dashboard and also generates a variety of share options for you to use.

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