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Emma Giles, Co-Founder January 17, 2023

Before you enter a space you'll see our Lobby screen giving you a chance to make sure your camera and microphone are working.

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Aren't seeing your camera and microphone working as expected on this page?

Troubleshooting Guide

This is a list of likely camera and microphone troubleshooting solutions to try.

1. Close Related Applications

Other applications, like video conferencing tools, could be using your microphone and camera. This can prevent SoWork from being able to access them.

Make sure applications like Zoom, Google Meets, or any other video conferencing application that uses your camera and/or microphone are closed.

2. Mac Troubleshooting

For Macs, you may need to enable camera and microphone permissions.

  • Go to System Preferences
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  • Select Privacy & Security
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  • Select 'Camera' and check the box for Chrome (and the SoWork app)
  • Select 'Microphone' and check the box for Chrome (and the SoWork app)

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3. Windows Troubleshooting

  • In Windows, your permissions should be turned on by default. To make sure you have given access, open your Settings
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  • Select Privacy and look under App Permissions in the left-hand toolbar
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  • Make sure Chrome and SoWork have access to your microphone and camera

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✨ This issue can occur either when your OS updates, or the SoWork app updates. If you notice you have lost your ability to screen share after an update, check your permissions first!


4. Browser Troubleshooting

Ensure your Chrome browser is up to date. Click the 3 dot menu in the top right, then Help, then About Google Chrome to check for updates.

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5. Give SoWork Permission to Access Your Camera and Microphone

  • Select the "lock" 🔒 icon in Chrome near the URL of the page
  • In this menu make sure both Camera and Video permissions are toggled 'on'
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  • Hard refresh your browser by holding the Shift key and clicking refresh


6. Check Your In-App Settings

  • Select the same Camera, Microphone, and speaker inputs you use in other apps (like Zoom).
  • Head to the Help icon (looks like a "?"), click Audio and Video and make a selection.
  • If you don't see the Help icon, click the three dot icon and look for "Get Help".

You may need to select different microphone and camera options to test and find the right one. Refresh the browser once you do so.

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Ensure your microphone is not muted and your camera is not turned off by clicking the icons underneath your video tile.


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7. Hardware

Ensure you headphones and mic are plugged in and on.


Still having trouble? Are your audio and video permissions not being detected in the desktop app as expected? Try these steps:

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✨Close and quit the SoWork app.


✨Open your System Preferences and go to Security and Privacy.

✨Uncheck SoWork from BOTH the camera and microphone areas, THEN allow them by checking the box again.

✨Reopen the desktop app.


Need more help?

Chat with us live by clicking this icon at the bottom right of the page

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