Troubleshooting Article - Webcam and Microphone Issues

Overview

This article explains how to troubleshoot Webcam or Microphone issues you might be experiencing. Symptoms may include:

• Camera or Microphone not recognized or not working at all
• "The camera is not allowed" error message
• Other attendees cannot hear you

Troubleshooting Flow

Instructions

Kindly follow the Troubleshooting Flow above based on the symptoms experienced and the results of various checks.

Run External Test

Microphone and Webcam recognition and functionality depend on your computer's Operating System and the Browser. First, check if the device works anywhere else using the external test, independently of Jigsaw.

1. Close Jigsaw session
2. Visit https://www.onlinemictest.com/ for the mic test or https://www.onlinemictest.com/webcam-test/ for the Webcam test.
3. If the test fails - try the troubleshooting steps from that testing page and in this article.
4. Try another Browser to see if the issue is related to a particular browser you are using.

Ensure that Device is Enabled

Click the lock at the top of the URL to see if the device is enabled. If it isn't - enable it.

Then refresh the connection - Jigsaw has a quick troubleshooting tool for you to use in a session.  The Refresh My Connection tool will reset your connection to your Jigsaw session without you needing to exit and return. Try to refresh your connection settings. 

Reset Site Permissions

Try resetting your site permissions. While in a session select the padlock in the top left corner and select the "Reset Permissions" button:

and then toggle everything back on:

Chrome will prompt you to reload your browser - do that and test your device again and see if it works. 

Clear Browser Cache

Try to close everything else and clear the Browser cache. The exact steps depend on the Browser you are using.

For example, the fastest way to get rid of the cache data in Google Chrome is the option "Clear Browser cache" with the following shortcut:

1. Press the keys [Ctrl], [Shift], and [Del]. Be sure you press all the keys at once.
2. A new window opens: "Clear Browser cache".
3. Here you can select in the upper dropdown-menu, for which time period you want to delete the cache data. You can select between "last hour", "last day", "last week", "last four weeks" or "all".
4. If you want to delete all cache data, select "all".
5. Check the box in front of"Images and Files in Cache".
6. Submit your selection by clicking the"Delete Browser data"Button.
7. Reload your site.

Contact Jigsaw Support

Before opening the ticket, make sure you tried the rest of the troubleshooting steps and ensured that the device is working on https://www.onlinemictest.com/ (Mic) or https://www.onlinemictest.com/webcam-test/ (Webcam) - if it isn't, the problem is in your environment, and Jigsaw support won't be able to help with this.

Open the ticket sharing the following information with Jigsaw Support to allow us to analyze the issue:

• Device type: Windows/Mac and Operating System info
• Browser version
• A detailed description of what the issue is:
  • Do you receive any specific error messages? 
  • What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• Screenshots of the device passing the third-party tests on your computer.

<supportagent>

Practically all the Microphone/Webcam issues are local and not related to Jigsaw. Still, these a common requests and we should know the potential root causes and the troubleshooting steps.

The usual root causes are:

• The browser doesn’t have permissions
• Another app using it
• OS privacy (MacOS common)
• Driver issue
• Hardware issue

The troubleshooting workflow is defined in this article and essentially can be summarized as:

1. Check if the device works anywhere else.
2. Check Browser and OS Permissions.
3. If it isn't working anywhere - this is Driver or Hardware issue.

If the support ticket is open without any indications that this Troubleshooting Guide was used to diagnose and fix the issue - share it with the requester.

</supportagent>

Verify if another App is Using the Device

Sometimes the Webcam or Microphone can be in use by another application. There can be various symptoms for this, for example:

• The "camera not allowed" message is displayed. Usually, this message is seen when another program has claimed the Webcam as "in use" - Operating Systems only allow one program to access the Webcam stream at a time, and Browser just cannot claim it anymore;
• The red icon in session also may be a good indicator for this (though, not always):

Any application that monopolizes your Webcam or Microphone could conflict with Jigsaw Interactive. Some examples can be Zoom, Teams, Skype, and Discord. Do you have any of these running in the background? If so, you may need to fully close the application and see if the device can come up upon joining a session.

Jigsaw doesn't actually "recognize" cameras or microphones, it uses whatever devices are presented by and given permission to by your browser, which gets those from your Operating System. Refer to the following steps to check the Privacy settings depending on your Operating System.

Windows Privacy Settings

Here's how you can check if there are any programs currently accessing the device.
1. Click on the magnifying glass icon next to your Start menu and type "microphone privacy settings" or "camera privacy settings". The rest of the steps will be based on the Microphone example, but these will be the same for the Camera.

2. You will see the suggestion to open the corresponding configuration window:

3. Please select it to open, and the configuration screen will pop up. At the bottom of the screen, there is a list of programs that have accessed your Microphone and the last time they did so. Do you have any programs that show a yellow "Currently in use" tag? If yes - that what is monopolizing the device:

If this isn't the Browser you are using to join the Jigsaw session, try closing the program and reconnecting to Jigsaw.

For the Microphone, you can also try to Release Mic Control.

macOS Privacy Settings

Starting in macOS 10.14 (Mojave) there have been additional privacy controls built into the OS to control what programs can access items like the Microphone and Webcam. When these permissions are not granted before joining a session, the result can be the inability to access these devices by the browser for session use.
These options can be found in the Security & Privacy settings in System Preferences:

1. Click on the Apple icon and select System Preferences:
​

2. Click on Security & Privacy:

3. Scroll down to the Camera and Microphone settings. Double-check that the browser is listed under both and that it has a checkmark by its name:

4. If the browser does not have a checkmark, click the lock icon and then make the changes. Once these permissions have been applied Devices should work in the session.

Hardware or Driver issue

If the device is not passing the external tests and Operating System Privacy Settings show that it is not in use by any application, this is a strong indicator that this is either a Hardware issue or a Driver issue. Jigsaw Support won't be able to help you with these kind of issues.

1. Try a different Microphone or Webcam, if possible.
2. Check and update Device drivers.
3. Reboot your computer.

If nothing helps - seek help from your company IT team for assistance or, if this is your own computer, reach out to a local technician to help you with the problem.