A guest may see an “Error Accessing Microphone or Webcam” message in the green room or upon entering the Recording Page. This article explains what causes the error and how to troubleshoot it.
In this article:
What This Issue Looks Like
The error appears as a pop-up on the green room or the Recording Page with one of the following messages: “Error accessing microphone or webcam" or “There was a problem accessing your mic or camera.”
Who This Affects
This error most often affects the 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 (most often the 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: Enable Microphone and Camera(*) Access in the Browser
If the guest is in the green room:
Click the site settings icon to the left of the Zencastr URL in the browser’s address bar.
Set Microphone and Camera* to Allow or toggle on.
If you don’t see these options in the dropdown, click Site Settings to open the full settings list in a new browser tab.
In the settings list, find Microphone and Camera* and change both to Allow.
Refresh the page to apply the changes.
If the guest is on the recording page:
Click the site settings icon to the left of the Zencastr URL in the browser’s address bar.
Set Microphone and Camera* to Allow or toggle on.
If you don’t see these options in the dropdown, click Site Settings to open the full settings list in a new browser tab.
In the settings list, find Microphone and Camera* and change both to Allow.
Refresh the page to apply the changes.
If you changed permissions while on the recording page, you’ll be taken back to the green room. Click Join to re-enter the recording page.
2. Step Two: 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, 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: Check Your Microphone and Camera(*) in Zencastr Settings
If the guest is in the green room:
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.*
Click Join to proceed to the Recording Page.
If the guest is on the recording page:
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.*
Click Done.
4. Step Four: 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: 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.