Webinar screen share - Audio not sharing | Community
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BPLAV
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May 23, 2022
Solved

Webinar screen share - Audio not sharing

  • May 23, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 1 view

Just had a very strange and show-stopping bug in Zoom Webinar.

Summary: Screen sharing refused to share audio playback, even when "share audio" was absolutely checked.

 

Details: In practice session, checked screenshare to make sure tech was set. Played fullscreen video on second monitor through VLC. Shared full second monitor, not application. Zoom settings from the web portal included the new "Enable HD video for screen shared video." Both checkboxes from the screen share menu were checked - share audio and optimize for video clip. Everything worked fine, video looked and sounded good to the other panelists. We took a break for 10 minutes until we were ready to broadcast, and I ended the screenshare. After a 5 minute intro, I popped up screenshare, made sure boxes were checked, and started the video. We immediately started getting comments that nobody could hear audio. I checked the zoom share menu, and the little speaker icon that means "audio is being shared" was checked. I stopped share, double checked that boxes were correct, and re-shared. Still no audio.  Re-shared, but with "optimize for video clip." Still no audio. Stopped share, checked video player's audio settings and made sure the audio device was the same as what Zoom was using, reshared, still no audio. Also tried stopping the cloud recording in case that had something to do with the issue. At this point,in desperation, we just had to play the video through our speakers loudly, and let the unmuted microphone pick up the audio.

Anyone have ideas about why screen shared audio broke? Any other hidden menu settings that might allow one to set what audio source is being sent with shared content?

If it matters, zoom version is 5.10.4

I'll do more troubleshooting after this webinar is over and update this if I find any answers.

    Best answer by Ray_Harwood

    Hey, @BPLAV –

     

    One thing to check – if you can. When sharing audio, I believe Zoom shares only the audio from the Default Desktop audio device.  If VLC audio is going though another device, or is muted or set to very low volume on the default, it might not be heard.  Check your Volume Mixer application (on Windows - not sure if there’s a similar app on Mac) to see these settings.

     

    I have experienced this a number of times – confusion as to why some audio isn’t working,  getting frustrated even to the point of rebooting — only to remember that I was previously listening through headsets or something else earlier, and once I reset the app audio to the default System output, everything was fine. 

    That might not solve your problem, but thought it was worth mentioning.

     

     Also, consider using the third tab on Screen Share with Share Video. I’ve found it works very well for most situations – once you try it and understand the controls. 

    3 replies

    Ray_Harwood
    Community Super Champion | Customer
    Ray_HarwoodAnswer
    Community Super Champion | Customer
    May 23, 2022

    Hey, @BPLAV –

     

    One thing to check – if you can. When sharing audio, I believe Zoom shares only the audio from the Default Desktop audio device.  If VLC audio is going though another device, or is muted or set to very low volume on the default, it might not be heard.  Check your Volume Mixer application (on Windows - not sure if there’s a similar app on Mac) to see these settings.

     

    I have experienced this a number of times – confusion as to why some audio isn’t working,  getting frustrated even to the point of rebooting — only to remember that I was previously listening through headsets or something else earlier, and once I reset the app audio to the default System output, everything was fine. 

    That might not solve your problem, but thought it was worth mentioning.

     

     Also, consider using the third tab on Screen Share with Share Video. I’ve found it works very well for most situations – once you try it and understand the controls. 

    B
    Newcomer
    BPLAVAuthor
    Newcomer
    June 6, 2022

    99% sure this was the fix - can't be entirely sure this was the issue but I couldn't recreate the problem any other way - appreciate the notes!

      A
      Newcomer
      AmirTechTALK
      Newcomer
      July 11, 2025

      Solved  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Hey everyone, I had the same issue and found the cause — it's related to screen sharing settings.

      When "Multiple participants can share simultaneously" is enabled, sharing sound gets disabled.

      Here are two ways to fix it:

      Option 1:

      • In the Zoom meeting, uncheck the "Multiple participants can share simultaneously" option.

      Option 2:

      1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.

      2. Go to Settings in the navigation menu.

      3. Click the Meeting tab.

      4. Under In Meeting (Basic), find Screen sharing.

      5. Make sure it’s enabled, then check:

        • Under "How many participants can share at the same time?", select "One participant can share at a time" instead of multiple.

      Hope this helps!

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