Troubleshooting

Try the following steps, in this order, to resolve many of the common issues that affect problems in your meeting.

1. Check your internet connection to make sure it is functioning optimally.

2. Refresh the web page

3. Close your browser and re-open the meeting

4. Try a different web browser. Chrome is the preferred  browser but SideSpeak works with Edge, FireFox, Safari and others.

5. Clear the browser cookies for SideSpeak: During the meeting, click the 'Lock' icon next to the meeting URL and select 'Cookies' then 'Clear'. For details click: https://sidespeak.com/fix

6. Start a new meeting.

7. Reboot your computer/device and try again.

SideSpeak uses your browser's permissions to use your camera and microphone. The first time you open a SideSpeak meeting, your browser should prompt you to 'Allow' Sidespeak to use these devices. 

The following generic help video shows you how to enable your camera and microphone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkvesOrMKDE

If you are using the MacOS: 

1. Click on the Apple in the top left > select System Preferences.
2. Click on the Security & Privacy section.
3. Click on Camera in the list of options, and tick the box next to your browser to allow access.
4. Repeat Step 3 for your Microphone
5. After doing this, restart your browser for the updates to take effect

1. Make sure you "Allow" SideSpeak permission to access your microphone and camera.

2. Make sure your speaker on your device is not muted. (see below section "Enable 'Speaker' for Mobile Audio")

3. Make sure your SideSpeak session is not muted. Check the toolbar at the bottom, center of your SideSpeak screen for the audio icon and confirm it is not muted.  

If these steps do not fix the problem, try refreshing the web page. Another solution is to use the 'Dial In' option under the top right menu.  

1. Make sure you "Allow" SideSpeak permission to access your microphone and camera.

2. Make sure your camera on your device is functioning properly. 

3. Make sure your SideSpeak camera is not toggled off. Check the toolbar at the bottom, center of your SideSpeak screen for the video icon and confirm it is not off.  

If these steps do not fix the problem, try refreshing the web page.   

If you don't want to use your computer's audio, you can use the 'Dial-in' option to call into the meeting using your phone.  You first must disable your audio in SideSpeak:

To disable your audio, 

1. Prior to joining your meeting, directly under where you enter your name, there is a blue button labeled 'Join meeting'. 

2. Click the dropdown on that button and select 'Join without audio'.  

3. Once you select this option, the audio icon will be disabled. You are muted and unable to hear other participants. 

To join the audio of the meeting via a phone, you can use the 'Dial-in' option, under the main menu located in the upper right of the application. This 'Dial-in' feature is only available if one of the meeting participants is using the Premium edition of SideSpeak.  

Tip: To rejoin with audio enabled, simply refresh the page and select 'Join meeting'

If one of the participants is using the screen sharing feature and it's either blurry or blinking on and off, have that user stop and then restart the screen share. If it continues to be an issue, follow the steps from the "What are some basic troubleshooting steps".

Use the following link to help allow your Mac permissions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UFkSnGu4vebryrUuX5OCLgSMy5vTnHo8/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111512826828156092031&rtpof=true&sd=true