Basic Video Conference Troubleshooting Guide

Basic Video Conference Troubleshooting Guide

This guide is intended to be used as a quick reference to what to do in the case something goes wrong during a web conference. 

Relates to: 
Issue and solution:
General Recommendation 

  1. Zoom is in the process of developing materials to help people transition to teleworking and distance learning. Please see the following from Zoom 
    1. Support during the COVID-19 pandemic > https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/covid19.html
    2. Tips and Tricks for Teachers Educating on Zoom
  2. Zoom works well with large numbers of participants. Your campus account supports 300 participants per call. Meeting time period can not exceed 24 hours.
  3. To avoid background noise mute all users by default. Users can turn on their audio when they are ready to talk. 
  4. Always start the conference early so that everyone has an opportunity to check and make sure their audio, video, and network is working properly. 
  5. Seeing everyone on the call is a great feature and makes this conference more personable. However, when the call is having performance issues, turn off the video to see if there is improvement.
  6. Refer to Conferencing with Technology: The Do's & Don'ts guide https://desk.zoho.com/portal/sdsuapex/kb/articles/con
    1. If you have errors or problems that can't be resolved within a minute, contact IT immediately for help. It's preferred to use the ticket system by submitting a Tech Support Needed ticket. If for whatever reason please email APEXITSUPPORT@sdsu.edu 
Audio
No Audio or too low audio: 
  1. Check the audio settings
  2. Test the audio using the audio testing tools.
  3. Everyone on the call should check their audio settings before the start. 
  4. If the participant(s) don't hear you, check your microphone settings and level. Verify you are not on mute. 
  5. Have everyone use noise cancelling headphones or headsets. 
  6. Mute all users by default
  7. Try moving to a more private location.
Background Noise: 
This is a sign of background noise or feedback noise from a participant or you. (If the participant can hear it, the noise is likely coming from you. If you can hear it then it's likely another participant.
  1. If participants hear feedback (hissing, whistling, popping or crackling) replace headset or microphone. 
  2. If you hear feedback (hissing, whistling, popping or crackling) replace headset or microphone. 
  3. Public spaces (coffee shops, libraries, parks, shared offices, while driving, etc.) are not good locations for audio communication. 
Choppy Audio: 
  • This is a sign of little to no internet access or a bad headset. 
  1. Test headset
  2. If user is on wireless, try relocating to connect better. 
  3. Connect to a different network (if possible).
  4. Connect to a wired network (if possible). 
  5. Disconnect and re-connect the device to your network. 
  6. Restart computer/mobile device. 
  7. (If allowed by IT or network owner) Reboot the network device.   
Video
No video:
  • Check camera settings
  • Test the camera using video testing tools. 
Video freezing, long delay, choppy audio, sharing failure, and low or no network errors: This is a sign of low or no network access. 
  • If you don't need video, turn off camera to reduce load on the network and improve call quality. 
  • If user has poor quality, relocate to another area to improve connection. 
  • Connect to a different network (If Possible)
  • Connect to a wired network (If Possible)
  • Disconnect and reconnect the device from the network. 
  • Restart computer/mobile device. 
  • If allowed, restart network device 
  • Uncheck the "enable HD" option in video settings to lower network demand. 
  • Ensure that no other network processes are running on your device at the time of your call (Google Chrome open or any other apps)
Zoom for Admin: 
Host/Co-Host or Alternative Host: 
  • Co Host or Alternative Host can be added to the conference directly or via the Zoom application. 
Calendar Zoom invite: 
  • The best way to invite participants is through the Zoom Scheduler Chrome Extension found here. Where you're able to adjust schedule times and dates on the fly through Google Calendar. 
  • Otherwise, use the Zoom app itself to schedule meetings.
Sharing a Screen and Audio:

How to share your screen: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362153-How-Do-I-Share-My-Screen-

Controls not working: 
  • If the screen controls on Zoom do not work to move a PowerPoint or other documents, click inside the document and use the controls on the keyboard. 
Sharing documents and applications: 
  • If there's a problem with sharing a document on Zoom, consider adding it to the Academy shared drive.
Breakout Rooms: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476093-Getting-Started-with-Breakout-Rooms
Video Download and Transcription of Meetings: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115004794983-Automatically-TranscribeCloud-Recordings-
Video Conference Software or Service Issues: 
Web conference stuck at login: 
  • The host must login first
  • If you are the host and you see the image to the right, click and login at the bottom of the message. 
Web conference host error message: 

  • Contact local IT and send the error message to them for a resolution.

  • Restart the call or feature or computer or mobile device   

All else fails, contact IT by submitting a ticket via Zoho Desk (Tech Support Needed)

Alternatives | Features | Max Number of Participants on the Call:
  • Zoom (SDSU personnel) | Webcam, audio, sharing up to 300 participants (BEST OPTION)
  • Google Hangout | Webcam, audio, sharing 
  • UberConference | Audio, sharing | 50 for free | 100 using paid account
  • Skype | Webcam, audio, sharing 


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