Zoom Test

How to test your setup before a Zoom call

1. Close Zoom, Teams, Meet and any other app that might be using the camera, so the browser can open it.
2. Press Start camera and mic and allow both when the browser asks. If you have more than one camera or microphone, pick the one you will use in Zoom from the menus.
3. Look at the preview: you should be centred, at eye level, with light on your face. The lighting check tells you if the picture is too dark or the window is behind you.
4. Speak normally and watch the microphone bar move. Press Record 5 s and play back to hear how you sound.
5. Press Play test sound and answer whether you heard the chime. When all four checks are green, you are ready to join.

What the results mean

The checklist turns green item by item:

• Camera: the browser opened the camera and shows a picture. A resolution of 1280 x 720 or more is HD, which is what Zoom sends when HD video is enabled. A frame rate under about 15 fps looks choppy, usually because of low light or a busy computer.
• Lighting: the brightness of the centre of the picture, where your face usually is. Between about 25% and 85% is fine. A bright background with a dark centre means a window behind you.
• Microphone: the bar should jump to about half way when you talk at a normal volume. If it hits the end, you are clipping; if it barely moves, raise the input volume or move closer.
• Speakers: you heard the chime from the device you will use in the meeting.

This page tests your devices, not your internet connection or Zoom itself. Zoom also offers its own test meeting at zoom.us/test.

Look and sound better on Zoom

Put the camera at eye level: stack the laptop on books so you are not looking down into it. Sit an arm's length away with your head and shoulders in the frame and a little space above your head. Face the main light source, such as a window or a lamp behind the screen, and avoid sitting with a window behind you. For sound, a headset or earphones with a mic beat a laptop microphone, because they stay close to your mouth and stop echo from your speakers. Turn off fans and close the door, and use Zoom's noise suppression setting if the room is noisy.

Test each device in more detail

If one item fails, test it on its own: the webcam test shows resolution and frame rate options and lets you take a snapshot, the mic test has a waveform, echo cancellation switches and longer recordings, and the sound test checks left and right speakers. The same checks work before Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Skype or any other video call.

Common problems and fixes

Camera is busy or shows a black picture

Close Zoom and every other app that may use the camera, including the Zoom desktop app running in the background (check the system tray or menu bar). Then press Restart. On laptops, check for a privacy shutter or a camera key (often F8 or F10) that turns the camera off.

Permission was blocked

Click the camera or lock icon in the address bar and allow the camera and microphone. On Windows, also check Settings > Privacy & security > Camera and Microphone; on a Mac, System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera and Microphone, and allow your browser and Zoom.

Microphone works here but not in Zoom

In Zoom open Settings > Audio and choose the same microphone that worked here, then use Test Mic. Turn off "Automatically adjust microphone volume" if your voice keeps fading, and make sure you are not muted in the meeting (Alt + A on Windows, Cmd + Shift + A on a Mac).

Others hear an echo

Use headphones, or lower your speaker volume. Echo happens when your microphone picks up the meeting audio from your speakers. In Zoom, keep echo cancellation on under Settings > Audio.