Zoom Not Helping Me

[revrachel]

Hey there. So, I am fairly Zoom-savvy and just need a simple question answered (which, strangely, seems to be very challenging for Zoom).

Suddenly, and without warning, the preview box stopped coming up before starting my meetings. I like to be able to see what my hair is doing before the room opens. And it was working fine until a couple of days ago.

I have gone into all of the settings. The box is checked for that feature to work. I have signed out, re-started, un-clicked and re-clicked, and I have even asked my laptop (sweetly) to cooperate with me. No luck.

So, forum, can anyone help with this? (understanding that I may never see the response because they make everything so much more complicated than it needs to be. Please try anyway. Thanks!).

[storyhub]

It is not clear exactly how you are viewing the "preview box". Just as a guess look to see if "hide self view" is checked. That would be in settings > video > My video - after "Hide non-video participants".

[revrachel]

Thanks. It's not checked. In fact, what IS checked is the preview! That's what is so frustrating. I have checked what I always had checked and it suddenly just stopped doing it. Thank you for trying, though. I appreciate it.

[storyhub]

There are a number of possible factors. Check to be sure you have the right camera selected. Assuming a Windows OS, check to be sure that the OS is allowing Zoom to access the camera by using the windows camera app. Check to be sure another app doesn't have control of the camera. If you still can't find an answer and would like one-on-one assistance please message me and let me know. As a motion picture producer, production sound mixer, broadcast and A/V engineer I know that some "simple" problems are not as simple as we think they should be. I can usually trace the problem remotely.

[revrachel]

Hi. Nothing changed from when I started using it to when the preview box disappeared. I didn't change cameras, I am a simple mac user who uses zoom for a lot of my work. And I don't change or mess with settings once I get them where I want them. So....Not sure what to do now except keep asking Zoom to help. They sent an email instructing me to un-install and re-install Zoom (which, honestly, made me nervous). I did it and, still no preview box. Ack!! 🙂

[storyhub]

Obviously, something changed. Often updates to the OS or updates to Zoom can change things. The obvious choices call for reinstalling the latest version of Zoom and making sure the OS is the latest version and checking to make sure Zoom has permission to access the camera. If your mac is more than 2 years old there are things that can effect your experience. It is possible that files are corrupted and need cleaning.  Without actually having all the details all Zoom or anyone else can do is make guesses. Most likely this is a permissions issue with the MAC - not Zoom, and Zoom doesn't have permission to use the camera or another app IS using the camera.  But of course this is a guess because you have not indicated that you have checked the permissions or other apps using the camera. Apple OS has very tight security measures to prevent unauthorized access. Often times that makes the experience frustrating. You may want to contact Apple or your authorized reseller.

[RN]

Hey @revrachel I see the ticket has been opened with our Zoom Support agent and recommend continuing the conversation to get this escalated up the chain if there is a potential bug. I have flagged your discussion to the agent for reviewing of replies and suggested troubleshooting steps. Thank you!

[RN · Accepted solution]

Solution within the discussion Is there a human at Zoom?