The whole world has been flipped upside down lately and many of us are faced with using new technology. While there is a big learning curve that comes along with this, we are also immensely grateful that we have the means to stay connected! We run our energetic and expressive online dance classes through Zoom - an online video sharing application. We're sharing some of the most common troubleshooting tips and tricks for Zoom so that we can all enjoy our social dis-dancing classes :-)
These solutions for using Zoom on a laptop or computer device- These camera and audio settings can't be changed in the same way as on a mobile device - please scroll to the bottom of the article to see suggestions for using Zoom on a phone, iPad or tablet!
Tech Trouble #1: My Camera Isn't Working (The Teacher Can't See Me)!
Find the 'camera' icon on your Zoom application and click the arrow icon to see more options. Click on the Video Settings option. (Also ensure that there is NOT a red line across the 'camera' icon - if there is, just click the 'camera' icon to start your video.
In the Video Settings, ensure that the camera setting is on your device's camera option (in this case the camera option is "FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)". Your device's built-in camera will be the best way to share your video. You can click here to check out another article on the Zoom Help Centre website about your camera settings.
Tech Trouble #2: I Can't Hear The Teacher And/Or The Teacher Can't Hear Me!
Find the 'microphone' icon on on your screen and click on the arrow to open the audio options. Click on the 'Audio Settings' to open your audio options.
If You Can't Hear The Teacher: Click "Test Speaker" and follow the prompts to test if you can hear the audio. Ensure your speaker option is correct - in this case my speaker is "MacBook Air Speakers" (my laptop's normal system speaker). You may have headphones plugged in or your device might be connected to a bluetooth speaker and this might be affecting your audio. We recommend using your device's system speaker - click on the arrows next to your 'speakers name' to select your system's speakers instead. Make sure your speaker volume is all the way up!
If The Teacher Can't Hear You: Click "Test Mic" and follow the prompts to test your microphone. We recommend having your microphone be your device's normal system (not headphones or an external microphone) - in this case my microphone system is the "MacBook Air Microphone". Our Teachers mute everyone's microphones while we are talking through moves and playing the music (to avoid any distracting background noise), but we turn them back on during drink breaks so that we can talk and catch up, but there is also a group chat option.
Also ensure that the "Join audio by computer when joining a meeting" option is selected to make sure that your audio is always ready to go for future classes.
Tech Trouble #3: The Video Is Blurry And/Or The Audio Is Echoing!
These problems are usually caused by the internet connection you are using. Your device might need to be closer to your wifi source or you might need to close other websites or apps that might be using the wifi on your device and slowing it down.
Tech Trouble #4: The Video Is Freezing And/Or The Audio is Really Delayed!
This problem is also unfortunately caused by poor internet connection - it can slow down the quality of the class video and audio. It is normal for a small delay with the class audio and for the occasional freeze in the video, but if you have persistent delays with video/audio please contact us after the class!
Tech Trouble #5: My Zoom Microphone/Camera Is Not Working On My Phone, iPad or Tablet!
When you use Zoom for the first time on your mobile device you will be prompted to allow Zoom to access your device's microphone, speakers and camera - ensure that you allow Zoom to access all of these features in order to see, hear and talk to us during the class! You can check/change these settings in your device's Privacy Settings.
Click here to see more articles on the Zoom Help Centre website about troubleshooting common problems for your device.
Sometimes all we can do is log out of the Zoom class, turn our device off, count to 10, turn our device back on and take a deep breath before we open the Zoom class again... We hope this helps and always please feel free to contact us. Adjusting to these new programs and relying on technology can be really hard, but be proud of yourself for leaning into these changes and doing your best - we are so grateful you're here!
