Troubleshooting Video Calls
If you're having trouble connecting to a video call, follow these steps:
First Steps
- Close Other Video Apps:
Programs like Skype, Zoom, or Google Hangouts may block access to your camera and microphone. Close any other video conferencing apps and refresh the Mindbeat video call page.
- Clear Browser Cache and Cookies:
If problems persist, clear your browser’s cache and cookies, then restart your device.
Instructions for clearing cache and cookies:
Check Your System and Browser Settings
If the problem continues:
Browser Microphone/Camera Settings
Google Chrome
- Paste the following links directly into your Chrome URL bar:
- Camera: chrome://settings/content/camera
- Microphone: chrome://settings/content/microphone
- Ensure Mindbeat (appear.in) is 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:
- Click on the apple in the top left > select System Preferences
- Click on the Security & Privacy section
- Click on Camera in the list of options, and tick the box next to your browser to allow access
- Repeat step 3 for your Microphone
- 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.
Deadault 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:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Opera
- Microsoft Edge - This browser is updated automatically when you update Windows
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.