Video conferencing apps like Zoom give you the ability to chat with anyone, anywhere, even if you’re chilling outdoors. If you’ve experienced some audio issues while you were chatting up your friends and family, you’re not alone. Here are seven Zoom audio hacks for when you’re outside if your volume needs a boost.
As the weather is getting warmer, you may be trying to soak up the sun while hopping on a video call. Unfortunately, audio quality is usually affected outside, with a noticeably lower sound. One reason this is true is due to an increase in background noise while you’re outside. Even if you’re in a quiet spot, something as subtle as the wind can affect how you’re hearing your audio, whether you’re on your laptop of smartphone. To help you out, here are some hacks you can use on your next outdoor call:
Outdoor audio hacks for Zoom on your phone
You may be more likely to use your phone before your laptop if you’re headed outside for a video call. Once you’ve hopped on your Zoom call, you’ll probably notice that it’s harder to hear the audio.
1. Use headphones.
If you’ve already got your phone turned all the way up, and still have trouble hearing, you may want to try using headphones. Headphones make it easier to hear the audio of a call, and most should have a decent built-in microphone for chats.
2. Minimize background noise.
If you still have trouble hearing, make sure your outdoor location isn’t so loud it’s distracting to you. Sometimes, even with headphones on, the sound of traffic, construction, or even children playing nearby can overcome the barrier between your headphones. If you feel your spot is too noisy for you to hear well, consider relocating to a quieter spot.
3. Make sure your volume is up.
While this hack seems way too obvious, it’s really easy to mess up the volume on your smartphone since the buttons are located on the side. Click the up button on your iPhone or Android device and see if the volume quality improves.
Outdoor audio hacks for Zoom on your laptop
If you’ve taken your laptop outdoors and found the perfect spot to video call from, you may notice you’re having trouble hearing the call as well as if you were inside.
4. Check your laptop’s audio settings.
A quick fix is to check your audio settings on your computer, such as your volume level or speaker settings. Sometimes, you may fix the audio quality in a quick click. On PC, you can check your settings by going to your Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Adjust System Volume, or type in "sound" in your search bar. This will bring up settings. If a simple change — such as checking if you’re using the correct audio output or adjusting your volume — doesn’t work, you can try selecting "Troubleshoot." This may resolve the issue. On Mac, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Sound > Output. From there, check to see if your sound is too low, that the mute box is not selected, and if your Mac is using the built-in speakers as your audio output.
If none of those fixes work, you might have to contact your computer support.
5. Use your laptop’s headphone jack.
If that doesn’t help, try using headphones. Headphones will eliminate the background noise so you can hear better, but won’t necessarily improve the audio on the other end of the call. You should make sure you’re using headphones that have a decent built-in microphone to ensure those on the other end will hear you.
6. Try a Bluetooth speaker with a mic.
If you have a laptop with Bluetooth capabilities, you can use a Bluetooth speaker. Connect the speaker and the laptop and make sure it’s set for all audio. Most Bluetooth speakers allow for calls and include a built-in mic. Surprisingly, even cheaper Bluetooth speakers can outdo the volume of your laptop’s sound.
7. Make sure you’ve given Zoom permission to use your audio.
If you’ve recently downloaded Zoom and the first time you’re using it happens to be outside, you may not know why you’re having audio issues. When you’re going through the download process, there’s a chance you may not have given the application permission to use your computer audio. To fix this go straight to the Zoom app. Click your Profile > Settings > Audio. Next, check the box "Automatically join audio by computer when joining a meeting" if it is unchecked. If it was already checked, you’re experiencing a problem for a different reason.
After you’ve improved the sound quality on your end, you may want to make sure you’re making it easier for those on the other end of the call to hear you, rather than background sounds. To do this, try to choose a spot outside that isn’t too noisy or too windy. To minimize distracting background noise while you aren’t speaking, you can also use Zoom’s push to talk feature on your laptop, which will mute you through the call. To unmute yourself to talk, push and hold the spacebar. You can enable that on your laptop by going to your Profile Picture > Settings > Audio and check the box that says "Press and hold Space key to temporarily unmute yourself."
Try these hacks to hear your Zoom call better next time you’re video calling from outside. If you’re still stumped on how to improve your audio, check out Zoom’s audio help page.
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