Academic Technology Launchpad: Audio / Video Troubleshooting

General Audio and Video Troubleshooting Tips

Browsers

• Ensure you are using a supported browser
  • Recent versions of Chrome and Firefox tend to work best with our College's systems
  • Simply switching browsers fixes a large number of audio / video issues
• When you join a session, the browser may prompt to allow access to your microphone and camera. You must select allow in order for audio / video to function correctly. Check the browser’s microphone and webcam settings to make sure the correct input is selected and that nothing relevant is blocked
• Clear your browser history and cache. We recommend clearing for All time, if possible. After clearing, close and reopen the browser before trying again or, even consider doing a full restart of your computer
• Confirm computer audio / camera settings
  • On a PC, navigate to Start>Settings>Privacy>Camera and microphone. Make sure it is set to allow apps to access them
  • On a Mac, check the sound input settings. If you are having trouble hearing your class, check the sound output settings. If you are having camera issues, check that the app is allowed access to your camera

Network Connection

• Verify you have a strong internet connection. The application may give you some indication of connection status. If you have a poor connection, you may have trouble hearing, seeing, or sharing anything
  • If you have a poor connection, explore possible internet / WiFi options available to current students
  • View additional tips to improve your internet connection

Camera

• Many laptops, including many College-loaned laptops have a physical shutter that can be pushed open and shut. Sometimes this gets accidentally pushed shut. Make sure webcam shutter is open

If you are still having audio trouble, consider trying on a different device (if available), or call into your session until you can get the audio functioning properly

• There will be a unique phone number and PIN listed that you can use to phone into the session. Here's an example from Blackboard Collaborate: