TABLE OF CONTENTS



Microphone Troubleshooting

If you are having trouble with your audio, you can check to make sure your operating system permissions are up-to-date. 

  • If you are on Mac OS 10.14 Mojave or earlier and can't access the microphone, check your operating system permissions to confirm that Zoom has access to the microphone. See “Using the Zoom Client” and “Zoom Rooms with Mac OS 10.14 Mojave” for more information.
  • If you are on Windows 10 and can't access the microphone, use the Windows search box to navigate to microphone privacy settings. Switch on the “Allow apps to access your microphone” toggle, and enable access for Zoom.



Test Speaker and Microphone

After checking your operating system, test your speaker and microphone. You will need to first launch Zoom and log in. Use the “Sign In” button to log in and access features. 

  • Sign in using Zoom, Google, Facebook, or SSO. 
  • Go to the home page and click on the settings icon (indicated by a red box on Figure 1).
  • To change your audio settings, do the following:
  • Click “Audio” to test your speaker and microphone. (Figure 2)


Figure 1

Zoom Home page showing New Meeting, Join, Schedule, and Share screen options


  • Click “Test Speaker” to view the sound volume output level. If you can’t hear it, select a different speaker from the menu or adjust the volume. 
  • Click the drop-down menu to change the speaker audio source.
  • Slide the volume dot left or right to adjust the volume.
  • Click “Test Microphone” to view the sound volume input level. Speak into the microphone, and you should see a change in the input level. The sound will record and speak it back to you after you stop the recording. If you do not see a change in the input level, select a different speaker from the menu or adjust the volume.
  • Click the drop-down menu to change the microphone audio source.
  • You can check the box next to “Automatically adjust microphone settings” if you want Zoom to adjust the input volume automatically. 
  • You can check the box next to “Use separate audio device to play ringtone simultaneously” if you want Zoom to use a different device to notify you automatically. 
  • You can check the box next to “Automatically join audio by computer when joining a meeting” if you want Zoom to join audio automatically. 
  • You can check the box next to “Mute My Microphone” when joining a meeting if you want Zoom to mute your microphone automatically. 
  • You can check the box next to “Press and hold SPACE key to temporarily unmute yourself” if you want Zoom to use this volume feature automatically. 
  • You can check the box next to “Sync buttons on headset” if you want Zoom to use controls from a headset automatically. 


Figure 2




In-Meeting Controls

Once you have started or joined a meeting, you can troubleshoot your audio by accessing the meeting controls located at the bottom of the meeting window. Move your mouse in the Zoom window to display the meeting controls. 

  • Check that the “Mute/Unmute” button used to adjust the sound on your microphone is set to “unmute.” 



Additional Support



Adapted from Zoom