A host or guest may see a “Permission denied” or “Permission denied by system” error message when entering a Recording Page. This article explains what causes this error, who needs to troubleshoot it, and what troubleshooting steps to follow.
In this article:
What This Issue Looks Like
The error message appears as a pop-up that says "NotAllowedError: Permission denied" or "NotAllowedError: Permission denied by system." It shows up on the Recording Page.
Who This Affects
This error can affect either a host or a guest. It happens before a recording has been started when Zencastr tries to access the participant’s microphone and, if needed for the recording mode, their camera.
What Causes This Error
Zencastr needs microphone access for all recording modes, and camera access for the Record Audio, Show Video and Record Audio and Video modes.
This error appears when Zencastr is unable to access a participant’s microphone and/or camera.
This most frequently happens when:
The browser has not been granted access permissions to the microphone and/or camera. (See step 1)
The browser has not been granted microphone and/or camera access in the computer’s system settings. (See step 2)
The participant recently updated their browser or operating system, which reset permissions. (See steps 1 and 2)
Less frequently, this might happen when:
The wrong microphone and/or camera is selected in the participant’s Zencastr settings. (See step 3)
Another application, like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, is already using the camera, and the computer doesn’t allow multiple apps to access it at the same time. (See step 4)
There is an issue with the microphone and/or camera itself. (See step 5)
Who Should Follow Troubleshooting Steps
The troubleshooting steps below should be completed by the participant (host or guest) who sees the error message on their screen. If you're a host helping a guest with this issue, ask the guest to complete the steps on their own device and browser.
Troubleshooting Steps
Note: If the recording is in the Record Audio, No Video mode, camera access is not required. Any step that involves the camera is marked with an asterisk (*) and can be skipped if you are using this mode.
Try in this order:
1. Step One (Host or Guest) Enable Microphone and Camera(*) Access in the Browser
Click the site settings icon next to the Zencastr URL in the browser’s address bar.
Set Microphone to Allow or toggle on.
Set Camera to Allow or toggle on.*
Refresh the page to apply the changes.
2. Step Two: (Host or Guest) Allow Microphone and Camera(*) Access in System Settings
Click the Apple menu on your computer.
Select System Preferences.
Click Security & Privacy.
Click the Privacy tab.
On the left, click Microphone.
Ensure that the browser you are using—Chrome, Edge, or Brave—has microphone access turned on.
On the left, click Camera.*
Ensure that the browser you are using—Chrome, Edge, or Brave—has camera access turned on.*
Restart (close and reopen) your browser for the changes to take effect.
Click the Start menu on your computer.
Select Settings.
Click Privacy.
On the left, the participant locate Microphone.
In the middle, under ‘Allow apps to access your microphone’ toggle this to On.
Under ‘Choose which apps can access your microphone’, locate the browser you are using—Chrome, Edge, or Brave—and toggle it to On.
On the left, locate Camera.*
In the middle, under ‘Allow apps to access your camera’ toggle this to On.*
Under ‘Choose which apps can access your camera’, locate the browser you are using—Chrome, Edge, or Brave—and toggle it to On.*
Restart (close and reopen) your browser for the changes to take effect.
3. Step Three: (Host or Guest) Check Your Microphone and Camera(*) in Zencastr Settings
Click Call Settings in the top right corner of the Zencastr recording page.
Under Microphone, make sure the correct microphone is selected.
Under Speakers, make sure the correct speaker/headphones are selected.
Under Camera, make sure the correct camera is selected.*
4. Step Four: (Host or Guest) Close Other Applications Using the Camera(*)
Close apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams that may be running in the background and using the camera.
5. Step Five (Host or Guest): Test the Microphone and Camera(*) In Another Browser-Based App
To test that the microphone and camera* are functioning normally, open another browser-based app, such as Google Meet, and check that they can be selected as inputs and are working.
Still Having Trouble?
If the error persists after trying the steps above:
Try using another supported browser such as Chrome, Edge, or Brave
Contact Zencastr Support via chat or email.