Troubleshooting Tips & Tricks

In the Chrome browser, click on the small circle with your initial and verify that Sync is on.

If it is not, click on that link, be sure you are syncing your CCPS account, allow it to Link data, on the next screen select Yes, I'm in.

Check then to see if your camera and mic are working in a Google Meet.

Note: You may have to exit the Meet and rejoin to see if it works.

Students' cameras will appear frozen if their active tab is not the Google Meet tab. That is, if they click in a new tab in the same browser window, their video freezes. Click here for further clarification.

If you are using the Sphere 2 software for your document camera, then that application is using the document camera. When in Meet, if you attempt to switch your camera to the document camera, it will show up as "camera failed" and a black screen. To fix this, close the Sphere 2 application and switch cameras again. Check out this video for more information about using the Document Camera in Google Meet!

ECHO

Echo is when the sound comes out from the speaker, adn then goes back into the microphone. Often this happens because the microphone and speaker are too close together.

There's one incredibly important thing you need to know: If you're hearing an echo, you're NOT causing the echo.

Surprising, right? In other words, nothing you do will make it go away. You hear an echo when your voice is coming out of the speaker on the other end of the call and then back into the microphone in that same room, so the person (or room) on the other end of the meeting has to change something about their setup in order for you to be able to participate again.

While it may take time, it might be worth it to investigate who is the culprit of the echo.

• The fastest thing to do is have everyone who isn't hearing the echo mute themselves. One of those endpoints is the culprit of the echo.

• Then, have people unmute themselves one by one. You'll figure out who is causing the problem because as soon as they unmute themselves, the echo likely will come back.

• If that person is joining solo, ask them to put their headphones on.

• If the echo is coming from a conference room, the group should check their mic and speaker settings. They may be using two different devices, which often increases the likelihood of an echo.

Once a culprit is identified, there a few things they can do to help:

• Have the participant use headphones, if possible.

• Move the speakers farther away from the microphone.

• Lower the volume of their speakers.

REVERB

Reverb is when sound comes out of the speaker, bounces around the room, and then comes back in to the microphone. This often happens in rooms with lots of hard surfaces. It’s more delayed than an echo and you might describe it as sounding “cavernous”. Reverb generally stems from the room environment. Hard, flat surfaces are the biggest cause of reverb. Most microphones have technology to reduce echo, but the delay caused by reverb may get picked up.

• Move the microphone closer to whomever is speaking.

• Use headphones with built-in microphone, if possible.

• Add acoustical treatments - bookshelf with books, hanging soft fabric, etc.

If other participants are with you in the room that are also in the Meet, have them mute their computer speakers and microphone.

• Try (or have participants try) unplugging your external speakers from the docking port and plugging them directly into your laptop.

• Ask participants to use headphones, if possible.

FEEDBACK

Related to echo and reverb is feedback. If two participants are in near physical proximity, you may experience feedback. Feedback generally turns into a continuous ringing sound. For example, imagine two people are working in an open office floorplan and are both part of the same video call. Let's call these people Jim and Li. Sound from Jim's speakers is picked up by Li's microphone. This then gets sent back to Jim's computer via the video call. Jim's speaker then plays this same sound again. Li's microphone picks up this sound and transmits it again. This keeps happening over and over until this repeated sound turns into a ring. This is called a feedback loop.

• Start by breaking the feedback loop. Have participants mute their microphones. To be extra safe, have both participants turn down their speaker volume. This stops the feedback from being re-transmitted.

Once the feedback loop is broken and the ringing stops, to further prevent a feedback loop:

• Request that participants use headphones, if possible.

• Move. The best solution is for the participants that have caused the feedback loop to separate. If possible, have one person move to a different room. This will stop their microphones from picking up each other in the background.

GENERAL TIPS:

• When presenting anything with audio, mute your microphone.

• Close any browser tabs you don't need.

• Close other apps running on your computer.

• If you're using Wi-Fi, try moving closer to your router.

• Avoid activities that heavily use your internet connection.

OTHER IDEAS:

• Try opening and presenting the file with audio in an Incognito tab (Ctrl + Shift + N).

• Try:

  • 1. on Windows operating system click on the Start button

    2. Open Settings

    3. Click on System - Display, notifications, apps, power

    4. Sound

    5. Recording

    6. You will find the list of devices, and at the bottom there is Stereo Mix

    7. Enable it

Now, as you are in Google Meet and want to let your students to listen your files:

1. Click on the three dots

2. Settings

3. Audio > MIC

4. Select STEREO MIX

Warning: as you select Stereo Mix, your students won't be able to listen to you speaking.

Remember to select back your mic as you finish broadcasting.

GENERAL TIPS:

• Close any browser tabs you don't need.

• Close other apps running on your computer.

• If you're using Wi-Fi, try moving closer to your router.

• Avoid activities that heavily use your internet connection.

OTHER IDEAS:

Try clearing your cookies and cache. Click here to see how!

• Try presenting your "entire screen". Some teachers are finding that this option is now allowing system audio to be shared.

• Try presenting the window or application and moving your speakers closer to your microphone.

Only the Host of the Google Meet session has the rights to the Host controls, which include the abilities of muting and removing students. To ensure that you are the Host of a Meet session, you must be the first adult to click the link. This does not mean the first to join the Meeting by clicking the Join button. You literally must be the first one to click the link, which launches the meeting ID for that session, deeming you the Host.

No matter who clicks "record" and no matter who is the primary teacher, the recordings that occur during a Google Meet session will go to the Host of the Google Meet session. To ensure that you are the Host of a Meet session, you must be the first adult to click the link. This does not mean the first to join the Meeting by clicking the Join button. You literally must be the first one to click the link, which launches the meeting ID for that session, deeming you the Host.

To change the ownership of a Google Meet recording, the current "owner" of the recording needs to:

• Go to their Google drive to the Google Meet Recordings folder.

• Locate the recording, right click on it, and click Share

• Change the ownership to the desired user.

The desired user should then see it in your Google Meet Recordings folder.

Meet doesn't have any way to know that the host has verbally told everyone that they are recording, so in an abundance of caution, they remove participants who can't see the indicator that recording has been turned on.

That being said, if a student or viewer has a slow internet connection and the recording light does not show up for them in time, they will get booted from the session. They can rejoin with no issue because when they go to rejoin they are notified that "This meeting is being recorded", but unfortunately, this is a safety measure through Google that can't be rectified.

Save your PowerPoint presentations in the cloud; either in your OneDrive or Google Drive. Open the presentation from the Drive in a Chrome tab. In Google Meet, present a Chrome tab and select the tab containing the presentation.

• Some teachers have reported that they don't see the kids' names when they are on extended view and have their mouse on the second screen. So, if the Meet is on the laptop screen and you're moving the mouse around on the second screen, kids' names aren't appearing. When you bring the mouse back over the Meet, the names appear.

• Check out this resource created by Media Specialist, Jennifer Yohe, for some great tips with using the Doc Camera.

Make sure that your camera is turned on and your computer and browser are able to access the camera so you are visible.

Enable camera access on macOS Mojave and later:

On computers using macOS Mojave version 10.14 or later, you must allow camera access for your Chrome or Firefox^® web browser. Otherwise, Meet won’t include video from your device.

1. Go to System Preferences Security & Privacy.

2. Select Privacy Camera.

3. Check the box for the application used for Meet (Google Chrome or Firefox).

Allow Google Chrome to access your camera:

On computers using Chrome, you must allow the browser to access your camera.

1. Enter chrome://settings/content/camera in the Chrome address bar.

2. Disable the setting "Ask before accessing."

3. Under "Allow," delete https://meet.google.com:443 if present.

4. Refresh the Google Meet page and grant camera access when prompted.

More options:

1. Check that your computer’s camera is connected, turned on, and pointing towards you unobstructed.

2. Check if your camera functions in other apps, like FaceTime in MacOS or the Camera app in Windows 10.

3. Close any other application that might be using the camera, then reload Google Meet.

4. Restart your computer or your Google Chrome browser.

You can change the setting to allow Meet to use your camera and microphone; click on the camera icon in the address bar (omnibox) when in a Meet and select the "Always allow" option.

If audio or video is poor, try the following:

• Use a headset with a microphone.

• Make sure Meet is set to the correct camera, microphone and speakers. Headsets may use the built-in microphone.

  • 1. Change your computer’s video and audio settings

    2. Change your mobile camera or audio for Meet

• Disconnect external monitors.

• Make sure your bluetooth headset works with Meet. Some bluetooth headsets work well for normal audio calls but poorly with Meet.

• Update your headset or camera to the latest firmware.

If your computer is old or network performance is poor, join without video or switch to a different device.

• Turn off the video

• Join from the Meet mobile app

• Dial in from a phone

• Use a phone for audio in a video meeting

When you share a window in Meet, the drop-down menus in the shared window don’t display in the meeting. Share your entire screen instead of a specific window.

If a computer uses incompatible video adapters or video drivers, it can cause browser issues. Update the computer's video adapters and video drivers to the latest version. Check out this information on getting the Dell Command Updates.

When you share a window in Meet, such as a Microsoft PowerPoint, the slideshow opens blank to other viewers. Presentations in 'Play' or 'Slide Show view' open in full screen mode, but you share only a window. Share your whole screen before you open a presentation in Play or Slide Show mode.

First, try to see if click the "F4" key on your keyboard will unmute the mic. If not, try:

1. At the bottom of your computer, click where it reads, "Type here to search"

2. Type: "control panel", then click on Control Panel

3. Click on Sound, then the Recording tab

4. Right Click on Microphone Array

5. Select Properties

6. Levels

7. Click on speaker icon to unmute