Troubleshooting Video Calls

If you're having trouble connecting to a video call, these steps should help.

Problems with video connectivity

First Steps

For some users, we've found that having another video conferencing program open like Skype or Google Hangouts can cause Mindbeat to be unable to access the camera and microphone. If you have other programs open it's possible that this is what's causing the problem - try closing them and refreshing Mindbeat's video call page.

If you're still unable to connect, one "catch-all" solution to try is to clear your browser's cache and cookies and to restart your device.

Instructions for clearing your cache and cookies for our supported browsers are linked below:

Check your system and browser settings

If the above doesn't solve your problems you can try the below.

Confirm the Microphone/Camera settings for your browser

Below are instructions to confirm the configuration for you browser - however if you find that these settings are correct or are inaccessible, you might first have to confirm your system settings - explained further below.

Google Chrome

Microphone and Camera defaults can be accessed in a number of ways in Chrome, but the easiest is to paste the following links into your URL bar:

Camera:  chrome://settings/content/camera

Microphone:  chrome://settings/content/microphone

From these areas, you can manage the default cam/mic for Chrome, and also whitelist or block websites from accessing your cam/mic! For the smoothest experience, you'll want to have appear.in listed under the Allow section.

Mozilla Firefox

In Firefox, you can also use a URL link to get to your privacy settings. Start by going to  about:preferences#privacy, and then looking under the Permissions section. Here you can adjust which websites are allowed to use your camera, and you'll want to see appear.in listed as Allow.

To adjust which camera or microphone you're using in Firefox, you'll need to go into an appear.in room. From here, click on the icon that's just to the left of your URL bar, and you'll have a dropdown menu where you can select the camera you want to use.

Opera

In Opera you can get to settings by typing " settings" into your URL bar. From here, click on Websites in the left hand menu list. Then scroll down to the Microphone and Camera area, and use the dropdown menus to select the default devices. You can also adjust your permissions preferences and set up Exceptions as necessary.

Confirm the Microphone/Camera settings for your operating system

MacOS 10.14 (Mojave)

In MacOS Mojave, Apple has introduced some system-level privacy controls for your mic and camera. These are great for privacy, but it is possible that your browser was mistakenly blocked from accessing your mic and cam. You can check on this and allow your browser to access your mic and cam from the Security & Privacy section in your System Preferences. To access these settings, do the following: 

  1. Click on the apple in the top left > select System Preferences
  2. Click on the Security & Privacy section
  3. Click on Camera in the list of options, and tick the box next to your browser to allow access
  4. Repeat step 3 for your Microphone
  5. After doing this, restart your browser for the updates to take affect

MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and earlier

If you use an older version of MacOS, there are not system level controls for your camera, and instead MacOS will default to the settings on the application level. However if your mic selection isn't sticking, there is a system level control of your mic. You can access this by clicking on the Apple in the top left corner of the screen and selecting System Preferences. From here, click on Sound and then select the Input tab. This area will list all input devices that are available, and you can set the default as necessary.

Windows

In Windows 10, you're able to set a default Mic, but there are also system-level Camera permissions on what applications can access your camera. For either of these settings, the first thing to do is open up your system settings by clicking on the Start menu and selecting the Settings gear.

Default Mic

You can adjust the mic settings by typing "Mic" into the search bar and going to the Sound settings. Scroll down to Input and use the dropdown to select the proper input device

Camera Permissions

Camera permissions can be accessed by typing "Cam" into the search bar. These settings are under your general Privacy settings, but search is the easiest way to access them. From here, be sure that your browser has permission to access your camera.

Most problems are caused by your internet browser not allowing Mindbeat to access your device's camera and microphone.

Still not working?

It might be that you're using an out-of-date or unsupported browser. There are links below that walk you through updating your browser if you don't know how to: 

If you're not using one of the supported browsers above, try switching to one. We can recommend Google Chrome as a fast, safe and reliable browser.

Still need help? Contact Us Contact Us