Audio Cuts Out Intermittently

[corydeburd]

I'm hoping someone can advise me on how to troubleshoot an audio issue. 

I have an issue where every so often my Zoom audio will cut out for 1-3 seconds although the video continues. While not frequent, it means I can miss key pieces of information.

(a) This is not a standard connectivity issue -- the video continues without lagging or interruption

(b) This is not a standard speaker/audio source issue -- it lasts only a few seconds and it does not occur on other programs, only on Zoom

(c) This is not an issue with the speaker's audio -- it occurs across a range of meetings I'm in and I'm the only one who experiences the loss

What can I do to troubleshoot?

[RN]

Hey @corydeburd have you tried to Testing audio before Zoom Meetings and seeing if your microphone is cutting out in the playback when testing? Have you been Managing any advanced audio settings that may have been messing with your input audio? Let's start there! Looking forward to your reply! 

[corydeburd]

Thanks for this

• There are no issues during audio testing
• However, the actual audio issue affects < 1% of audio, so perhaps a few seconds of dropped audio in a half hour call. I have not tried to run the testing for 30 minutes or so
• Both the advanced options are set to "auto"

Let me know what you recommend

[RN]

@corydeburd gotcha, can you share whether you are using windows or mac? Thinking we could try updating audio drivers. And, are you using any external speaker/microphone? Or are they internal microphone/speaker (same as system) option? 

[corydeburd]

Answers

• Windows
• Sometimes external, headphones
• I can try updating the drivers

Questions

• I can update the drivers
• If the problem persists, would it be appropriate to re-post here? It's a long-standing issue so not sure this will fix it but I can try
• Is there anything else I can try?

[RN]

Hey @corydeburd yes, let me know if updating your audio drivers to what's available at the Windows system level and suggested when updating your audio drivers. 

[corydeburd]

OK got it. I will try this. It may be a while before I can confirm whether this helped or not because it requires a long meeting to test. But I will come back to this thread eventually with the result.

To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical of it being an audio driver issue as no other programs are affected so this seems like a bit of a Hail Mary, so if you have anything else in mind, that would be great and I can try both.

[RN]

@corydeburd lets try that! If not, we can try to Run CleanZoom to remove Zoom completely - which including any configuration files, run CleanZoom on your device.

1. Download and run CleanZoom.
   Note: Use of the clean uninstaller will completely remove the Zoom desktop client, as well as the Zoom plugin for Outlook. The Outlook add-in, Chrome/Firefox extensions, and Google Workspace add-on are unaffected.
2. Once completed, download Zoom from our download center and reinstall. 

[corydeburd]

After a few months of testing, I can confirm neither updating the drivers nor reinstalling Zoom helped. I did notice the issue primarily occurs in group calls.

Can you/anyone suggest a diagnostic?

[StellaF]

hoping you get a reply to this!  I am having exactly the same problem.  I have done all the above, got a new laptop and upgraded my internet service.  Still loosing audio intermittently on group calls. 

[StellaF]

I also see that there are almost 1000 people who have viewed your topic.  Seems we are not alone. ZOOM I hope you can help!

[corydeburd]

Yes, I really hope it can be looked into other than the "try all the generic solutions of reinstalling etc."

[scottprenda]

I've had the same issue for almost 3 years. It's usually in group calls and happens about 1-2% of the time.