Hosts: Audio & Video Issues

1. Your browser blocks access to your audio or video. Make sure that the browser has granted permission for audio and video on our site. If you've already launched the session, this is usually notable as you are able to use at least chat, maybe audio or video, but at least one of those features isn't working.
   • Refer to our browser-specific troubleshooting steps by clicking the name of the browser you are using below. 
     • Chrome (Mac or Windows)
     • Firefox (Mac or Windows)
     • Safari (on Mac only)
     • Edge (on Windows only)
2. Your computer is using Windows 10 and needs additional settings configured. Review the Windows 10 required settings for camera and mic. 
3. Your company's firewall is blocking Handshake and/or Twilio (who we use for video). We need to be unblocked. Review the required firewall and network settings or share them with your IT department for additional assistance.
4. Something else specific to your setup is causing a problem. Follow the steps in the System Troubleshooting section. 

To confirm whether the changes you've made to your setup resolved the issue/s, you may use our Test Video guide. 

Browser specific troubleshooting

Chrome (Mac or Windows)

Open Chrome. Navigate to Preferences, then click on Security and Privacy from the menu on the left of the page. From the list of options, click on Site Settings, then scroll down to Permissions. From this section, you can manage camera and microphone settings overall and per site.

• Double-check that the correct Camera or Microphone device are selected from each of the respective dropdown menus.
  • If the expected device isn't listed, make sure any external devices are configured for your computer.
• Our main site should be listed under "Allowed" in order for video and audio to work: https://app.joinhandshake.com:443

Chrome > Preferences > Privacy and security > Site Settings: 

Site Settings > Permissions: 

Site Settings > Permissions > Camera: 

Site Settings > Permissions > Microphone: 

Firefox troubleshooting (Mac or Windows)

Open Firefox. Navigate to Preferences, then click on Privacy & Security from the menu on the left of the page, then scroll down to Permissions. From this section, you can manage camera and microphone settings overall and per site. Make sure the following options are not checked:

• Camera > Settings: "Block new requests asking to access your camera" 
• Microphone > Settings: "Block new requests asking to access your microphone" 

Firefox > Preferences > Privacy & Security > Permissions:

Safari troubleshooting (on Mac only)

Handshake should function normally in Safari on both Mac and Windows. However, Twilio only supports Safari on Mac. Read more about Twilio's support browsers here. 

Open Safari. Navigate to Preferences, then click on Websites, the third icon from the right at the top of the pane. Follow the steps below, based on the behavior experienced:

• Unable to use microphone: Click on Microphone from the left menu, locate the joinhandshake.com list item, then click the dropdown menu and select Allow.
• Unable to use camera: Click on Camera from the left menu, locate the joinhandshake.com list item, then click the dropdown menu and select Allow.
• No sound output from session: Click on Auto-Play from the left menu, locate the  joinhandshake.com list item, then click the dropdown menu and select “Allow All Auto-Play”.
  • If the setting is on "Stop Media with Sound" or "Never Auto-Play", the sound is automatically restricted. To help quickly solve this while you're in the session, select Allow in the permission pop-up window. 

Safari > Preferences > Websites > Camera: 

Safari > Preferences > Websites > Microphone:

Safari > Preferences > Websites > Auto-Play: 

Edge troubleshooting (on Windows only)

Handshake should function normally in Edge on both Windows and Mac. However, Twilio only supports Edge on Windows. Read more about Twilio's support browsers here. 

Open Edge. Navigate to Settings, select Site Permissions on the left side, and then select Camera or Microphone.

For both options, make sure that:

• "Ask First" is selected as default.
• the correct camera or microphone device is selected in the drop down menu.
• the joinhandshake.com site is allowed (not blocked).

To read more on these settings, refer to Windows camera, microphone, and privacy. 

Note: if you are using Edge on Windows 10, you may also need to follow the steps below for Windows 10, in addition to changing Edge settings.

Windows 10 required settings for camera and mic

Windows has its own privacy settings for microphone & camera that are independent of the browser. In most cases, this is turned off by default. 

There are two settings pages:

• Settings > Privacy > Microphone
• Settings > Privacy > Camera

Both pages have two toggles:

• Allow apps to use my microphone/camera (used for built-in Microsoft apps from their app store)
• Allow desktop apps to use my microphone/camera (used for things like browsers and Zoom)

The second toggle (for desktop apps) can only be enabled if the first is enabled, so you will need to turn both toggles on in both places for your browser to be able to access their mic and camera.

If you are having issues connecting your AirPods on Windows 10, follow the steps below: 

• Open the Windows Device Manager.
• Click the View tab and select the ‘devices by type‘ option.
• Once there, open the Human Interface Devices and locate the 2 AirPods entries below:

1. (Name) AirPods Audio/Video Remote Control HID
2. (Name) AirPods Hands-Free Call Control HID

• For each of the above entries, right-click and select Properties.
• Click the Power Management tab and uncheck the box next to Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

If the Airpods do not appear under Human Interface Devices, follow the alternate steps below: 

1. Open the Windows Device Manager and click on Bluetooth.
2. Right-click Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth and click the Power Management tab.
3. Uncheck the box next to Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. 

Note: You will need to have administrator access to the computer in order to adjust these settings.

System Troubleshooting

If you're still experiencing audio or video issues after confirming that your browser preferences are configured correctly, follow the steps below to further isolate the cause. 

1. Confirm the hardware is working as expected: 

• Confirm that your speakers and volume control both work.
  • Test the sound and microphone by using another platform or application through your device.
• Confirm that your device can play video.
  • We recommend testing this by watching a video on Youtube (or other known good site).

2. Make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection. Use the Twilio Network Test to determine if your browser can successfully access the required Twilio resources: https://video-diagnostics.twilio.com/.

• If you're experiencing video issues while using blurry background, try turning blur off to improve performance.

3. Refresh the page and re-launch the video session. 

4. Fully quit and restart the browser.

5. Restart your computer. 

6. Try a different supported browser.