Troubleshooting Recording Issues
Recording issues can occasionally occur due to a variety of reasons, including hardware limitations, permissions, or misconfigurations. This section aims to identify problems that may occur while using the desktop recording client, explain their causes, and provide helpful information to resolve them.
Microphone Input
Low Sound or Muted Sound in Recordings
Sometimes we encounter recordings with low or muted sound (the presence of sound data/track is confirmed by ffprobe).
We can consistently replicate such recordings by:
- Using the virtual Microsoft Teams Audio Device on macOS as a microphone input source (it gets installed with Teams on macOS)
- Using the built-in MacBook Pro Microphone on a powered MacBook laptop that’s connected to an external monitor and has the lid closed
- Using an external HyperX SoloCast microphone device that’s muted through its own mute touch button
- Muting microphone devices through the mute key on a Logitech keyboard
As a result, we’ve implemented a microphone input volume check in our recording client (initial changelog, initial blog post). The recording client evaluates the selected microphone immediately upon entering the recording preview or when the device is changed. If audio input is detected, the device is marked as having input and the evaluation ends. If no input is detected within 15 seconds, a warning message appears: ‘Your microphone is muted or the volume is too low.’ In this state, the recording client will continue to re-evaluate the connection every second until sound is detected.
Note: Currently, a selected device is marked as HAS INPUT if we detect input from it. Such devices are not re-evaluated again. If the mute event happens after our evaluation, the warning message is not shown. This will change in the near future so that devices are continuously evaluated.
Hardware & permission problems
Red Microphone Icon Appears: No Input Devices Available
Cause: The onended event is triggered because the input device (microphone) is disconnected, and no other input devices are available.
This scenario might occur on systems without an integrated microphone, such as:
- Mac Minis (no built-in microphone).
- Windows PCs or laptops where all input devices have been disabled or removed.
When this happens, the red microphone icon will appear.
Red Microphone Icon Appears: Permissions Revoked
Cause: The onended event is fired when camera or microphone permissions are revoked during the recording process, regardless of the number of available devices.
If permissions are revoked while recording, the desktop recording client will indicate this by showing the red microphone icon.
Red Microphone Icon Appears: No Hardware Microphone Detected
Cause: This issue occurs when there is no hardware microphone available on the system. It can be differentiated from the other scenarios in which the red microphone icon appears by the fact that the message “Connect a microphone or camera with microphone to record audio or video” is visible.
Example:
- Windows PCs with no physical microphone connected or configured.
In such cases, the red microphone icon will appear in the desktop recording client’s interface as the system cannot detect an active audio input device.