Frequently Asked Question

Audio issues in zoom meetings present themselves in specific ways.  

• An echo is heard by all
• An echo is heard when a specific attendee speaks
• A specific attendee sounds distorted

This tutorial will deal with possible solutions for each of these issues.

An echo is heard by all:

This is caused by feedback, a microphone on someone's device is picking up the sound of the meeting from the same device's speakers.  The solution for this is for the specific attendee to use headphones.  Turning down the volume on the attendee's speakers generally does not fix the issue as if the attendee can hear the sound so can the microphone.
Attendee solution: Use headphones
Meeting organizer solution: Turn off the attendee's microphone.

An echo is heard when a specific attendee speaks:

This is caused by feedback, a microphone on someone's device is picking up the sound of the meeting from the same device's speakers. The solution for this is for the specific attendee to use headphones. Turning down the volume on the attendee's speakers generally does not fix the issue as if the attendee can hear the sound so can the microphone.
Attendee solution: Use headphones
Meeting Organizer solution: Turn off the attendee's microphone, and have them use the chat feature.

A specific attendee sounds distorted:

This issue has two causes.

• The computer has run out of processing power to digitize and transmit the attendee's voice
• The computer has run out of bandwidth to transmit the attendee's voice 

The computer has run out of processing power:

Attendee Solution: Have attendee quit all applications running on the computer besides zoom, especially any web browsers such as chrome.  Chromebook users should close all other tabs open on the Chromebook.  This should end whatever application or chrome tab is using up all the machine's processing power.  If the problem persists the attendee should leave the meeting, reboot their computer, and connect to the meeting again.

In the long-run solution, the attendee should make sure the computer is completely up to date and in the case of Windows computers running anti-malware/virus solutions such as the free Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Security built into Windows 10. Attendees should also consider removing all nonessential software from their computers.

Meeting organizer: This is on the client-side, there is really nothing that can be done from the organizer's perspective.  

The Computer has run out of bandwidth to transmit the attendee's voice:

There are a large number of possible causes for this.  We will break this down into three primary issues.

• The attendee's Internet connection lacks the bandwidth
• The attendee has many other devices streaming in the household
• The attendee has a wifi problem

The attendee's internet connection lacks the bandwidth: We can verify the problem but we are unable to fix the problem.  If the attendee is using a cell phone or cellphone modem they need to move to a different location, perhaps outside or on the opposite side of the building.  If the attendee is using broadband to their home they can test to see if there is enough bandwidth using the internet speed test https://www.speedtest.net/ you are looking for 6mb down and 2mb up at a minimum.  Even the slowest broadband providers in the northern California area are well above this, testing bellow the attendee should contact their ISP and report a bandwidth problem.

Attendee solution:  Test bandwidth and contact ISP if they lack bandwidth.
Meeting organizer: This is on the client-side, there is really nothing that can be done from the organizer's perspective

The attendee has many other devices streaming in the household:  Have the attendee look around the home and think about any device that is using bandwidth.  These can be any other video conferences, any television streaming services, or video game systems including phones in use.  They should turn all those devices off and see if it fixes the problem.

Attendee solution: Reduce the number of internet devices turned on in the household.
Meeting organizer: This is on the client-side, there is really nothing that can be done from the organizer's perspective

The attendee has a wifi problem:  The attendee is connected to wifi but still experiencing problems.

1. Have the attendee move their workstation (Hopefully a laptop) closer to the wifi base station (Often the cable modem)
2. Have the attendee turn the wifi service on their device off and on again.  This will reset the connection to the best possible connection the devices are capable of.
3. Have the attendee turn the wifi base station (or cable modem) off and on again.
4. Have the attendee switch to a wired connection.  A long ethernet cable and USB ethernet adapter plugged directly into their laptop and or Chromebook will remove the wifi network from the picture and guarantee full access to the available bandwidth coming into the home. USB ethernet adapters run about 12 dollars on amazon, and 30 ft ethernet cables are also around 15 dollars.

Attendee solution: Reset devices switch to wired connecting
Meeting organizer: This is on the client-side, there is really nothing that can be done from the organizer's perspective