How to Test Zoom Audio and Video Settings

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

Ever been in a web conference call, and frustrated because your mic or webcam isn’t working?You had something important to say and half way through you find out nobody can hear you.

Perhaps you've joined an online meeting and wondered why everybody is so quiet. Are they giving you the silent treatment on purpose? You start to wonder, maybe they're all muted. Is that an accident? Did the moderator forget to unmute their mics?

You can avoid those situations. Before your next Zoom meeting be confident they can see and hear you, and that you can see and hear them.

In this guide, we'll explain the right speaker, microphone, and camera settings. Learn how to select the audio and video devices on your computer. Find out how to change input and output volumes.

We’ll show you how to test your audio and video in less than a minute.

2. Test Audio Before Joining a Meeting (Windows and Mac)

If you haven't enabled the setting to automatically join a meeting by computer audio, you can test your speaker or headset and microphone before joining a meeting.

If You Don't Have a Zoom Account

1. After joining your meeting you'll be asked if you want to join with computer audio or test your speaker and microphone. Click Test Speaker and Microphone.
   

1. A pop-up will display to test your speakers and a ringtone will sound. If you can hear the ringtone, click Yes and move to step 4. If you can't hear it, click No.
   

1. If you selected no you can use the drop down menu to select another speaker in the list until you hear the ringtone.
   

1. If you selected yes then the test will move on to your microphone.
2. Say something into your mic. Make sure your mic is not physically muted by a button if it has one. If you hear a playback of what you said, click Yes. If not, click No.
   

1. Like the speakers, if you clicked no, you'll need to cycle through available microphones until one works. When you hear your replay, click Yes.
   

1. Once your speaker and microphone are working, you can click Join with Computer Audio.
   

If You Have a Zoom Account

Having a Zoom account gives you a little more in the way of testing and settings to control your experience.

1. Log into your Zoom Account.
   

1. Click your Profile Picture and then Settings.
   

1. Select Audio.
   

1. The Audio settings page contains settings for both Speakers and Mic. Let's start with speakers. Click Test Speaker.
   

1. If you can't hear the speaker tone, select another speaker from the drop down or adjust the volume. While this will adjust software volume, you should check your physical speaker if possible.
   

1. Now onto the microphone, click Test Mic.
   

1. Zoom will start recording so you can talk into your mic. When done, click Recording to begin playback. Like with your speakers, if you don't hear it, you should cycle through available devices and adjust the volume.
   

3. Test Video Before and During a Meeting (Windows and Mac)

In order to test your camera and video you'll need to have the Zoom software installed and an account. If you don't have these, don't worry, you can still adjust the video settings while in a meeting.

Before a Meeting

1. Log into your Zoom client.
   

1. Click your Profile Picture and then Settings. This will open an additional window.
   

1. Select Video to gain access to the video settings.
   

1. In the settings window you'll see a preview of what your webcam can see. If you don't see a picture, make sure your webcam is connected. If it is connected, make sure the correct camera is selected.
   

During a Meeting

1. While actively on a meeting you can click the arrow next to Start and Stop video.
   

1. Click Video Settings.
   

1. In the settings window you'll see a preview of what your webcam can see. If you don't see a picture, make sure your webcam is connected. If it is connected, make sure the correct camera is selected.
   

4. Test Audio Before Joining a Meeting (Linux)

If you haven't enabled the setting to automatically join a meeting by computer audio, you can test your speaker or headset and microphone before joining a meeting.

If You Don't Have a Zoom Account

1. If you don't have a Zoom account after joining your meeting you'll be asked if you want to join with computer audio or test your speaker and microphone. Click Test Speaker and Microphone.
   

1. Click Test Speaker. If you hear the test tone you can adjust the volume if it's too loud and move onto testing the mic. If you don't hear the test tone, select another speaker and try the test again.
   

1. For the mic there's no test button but you can check your microphone by watching the input levels as you speak. If the input level isn't moving, there's no audio being picked up. Try cycling through the available microphones until one works.
   

If You Have An Account

1. If you do have a Zoom Account you can access device settings by logging in. clicking your Profile Picture and then Settings.
   

1. 
   
2. Click Test Speaker. If you hear the test tone you can adjust the volume if it's too loud and move onto testing the mic. If you don't hear the test tone, select another speaker and try the test again.
   

1. For the mic there's no test button but you can check your microphone by watching the input levels as you speak. If the input level isn't moving, there's no audio being picked up. Try cycling through the available microphones until one works.
   

5. Test Video Before and During a Meeting (Linux)

In order to test your camera and video you'll need to have the Zoom software installed and an account. If you don't have these, don't worry, you can still adjust the video settings while in a meeting.

Before a Meeting

1. You'll need to log into your Zoom Account.
   

1. Click your Profile Picture and then Settings. This will open an additional window.
   

1. Click the Video tab in the settings window to get to the video settings.
   

1. In the settings window you'll see a preview of what your webcam can see. If you don't see a picture, make sure your webcam is connected. If it is connected, make sure the correct camera is selected.
   

During a Meeting

1. While actively on a meeting you can click the arrow next to Start and Stop video and click Video Settings.
   

1. Click the Video tab to get to the video settings.
   

1. In the settings window you'll see a preview of what your webcam can see. If you don't see a picture, make sure your webcam is connected. If it is connected, make sure the correct camera is selected.