Echo or feedback in the call
People hear themselves echo back, a shared video plays twice, or there’s a howl. It almost always comes from one person’s speakers. Here’s how to fix it.
An echo happens when one person's microphone picks up the call coming out of their own speakers and sends it back. The person who hears the echo isn't the cause. It's coming from someone else.
Piano Gather lets more sound through than Zoom does, so the piano isn't filtered, and that means an echo is more noticeable too.
The fix: headphones
The surest fix is for everyone, or at least the person causing the echo, to wear headphones. Any wired headphones or earbuds will do.
Check the Headphones switch
The Headphones switch turns off echo cancellation. That sounds better when you really are wearing headphones, but if you're on speakers with it on, everyone else hears an echo.
- On speakers: Headphones off.
- Wearing headphones: Headphones on, if you like.
Web browser
It's on the setup screen, and under A/V → Using headphones in the call. If you see Headphones mode is on, but your mic is … the built-in one, click Turn it off unless you really are wearing headphones.
Mac or Windows app
It's on the setup screen, and under A/V → Using headphones in the call.
iPad or iPhone app
It's on the setup screen, and under A/V (Call settings on an iPhone) as Headphones (AEC). It starts off at every call. Choosing Earpiece instead of Speaker also stops echo, but it's quiet.
Bluetooth headsets
Bluetooth earbuds and headsets (AirPods and similar) cause echoes more than anything else when their microphone is used. The delay over Bluetooth is too long and too uneven for echo cancellation to keep up.
Web browser
Set your Microphone in A/V to your computer's own mic or a wired mic, and keep the Bluetooth headphones only for listening.
Mac or Windows app
The app already uses your computer's own microphone when Bluetooth headphones are connected. If you switched to the headset's microphone yourself, switch back in A/V.
iPad or iPhone app
The app can't separate the two, so disconnect the Bluetooth headphones and use the Speaker with Headphones off, or use wired headphones.
Sharing a video or sound
If you share anything with sound, wear headphones and turn the Headphones switch on. This covers a YouTube video in the Asset queue, a screen share with sound, or a browser tab with its audio.
On speakers, the video plays out loud in your room and your microphone picks it up, so everyone hears it twice: once from the share and again, a moment later, through your mic. Echo cancellation can't remove it, and you won't notice it yourself, because it sounds perfect at your end.
Web browser
While you're sharing a tab's sound with your microphone on and the Headphones switch off, the call warns you: You're sharing sound on speakers, so your mic picks it up too and the room hears it twice. Either put on headphones and click I'm wearing headphones (it turns the switch on for you), or mute yourself while the video plays.
Mac or Windows app
While you're sharing a video on speakers, the player warns you: You're on speakers, so your mic picks this video up and the room hears it twice. Either put on headphones and turn Using headphones on under A/V, or click or mute it here to silence the video on your computer only. The room still hears it once, properly, but you won't hear it yourself.
The warning goes by the Headphones switch, not by what's plugged in, so if you're already wearing headphones, just turn the switch on.
iPad or iPhone app
You can only share your screen when the host invites you, and it's shared without sound, so this doesn't come up.
A PDF or a silent screen share makes no sound, so it's fine on speakers.
A short echo when someone joins
Echo cancellation takes a few seconds to tune itself each time someone joins, switches microphone, or changes the Music mode or Headphones setting. A brief echo right then is normal and should die away. If it doesn't, it's speakers.
Finding who it is
Ask everyone to mute. Then have people unmute one at a time. The echo comes back when the person causing it unmutes.