Newcomer

Question

Audio problem - incoming audio cuts off for 3 sec every 2 min or so

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
October 28, 2021
17 replies
4 views

This problem has been annoying me for a while now.

I bought a new computer to work from home and it is has decent specs: Ryzen 5700U, 16 GB RAM 4266Mhz, Fast SSD, Wifi6.

My router is also Wifi6 and I have consistent 300Mb download/upload link.

I have not noticed the same problem on other conference solutions.

The problem is (and I am still trying to narrow down the scenario): whenever I am muted, in a zoom conference with more than 2 participants (not one-to-one), every 2 minutes or so I get a blank in audio for about 3 to 5 seconds. Then the audio returns, but that piece of the audio streaming is lost. It only happens to me, and only for audio. The video keeps working during the whole thing (that is why I do not think the problem is my network).

Curious thing: If I hit the space bar to temporally unmute myself for 0,5 sec, then the audio immediately returns. That is why I think it is a problem in Zoom other than in any other piece of my system.

I recently found out I am not alone: https://www.reddit.com/r/Zoom/comments/ijh2hs/zoom_audio_cuts_out_for_a_second_once_every/

But they do not provide a solution, just the space bar workaround.

Please, if someone has any clue on what the problem might be, please let me know. I am thinking about returning this good setup just because of this issue, since it is affecting my work.

Just for the sake of completeness, my setup has a Media Tek Wi-Fi 6 MT7921 card.

Thanks in advance for any reply.

Show previous replies

M

MrV

Newcomer

Updating the Mesh system to the latest version fixed the problem for me. You may want to do the same. For the one I have, they released a fix for this problem, so the problem is on the wifi 6 device.

J

judyk

Newcomer

I am having a similar problem. It started after a zoom update this fall. Whenever I start to speak, no one can hear me for a few seconds. There's no lag - just not picking up the sound. It's a problem in general, but particularly when I'm on podcasts. I've checked it out recording myself - it starts silent and then normalizes after a few seconds. This does not happen when I use the camera app that came on my computer and try recording, so it has to be zoom related. I've adjusted the audio settings in zoom to auto and different levels of background filter - none of those make any difference. I'm on windows 11.

DanHuber

Newcomer

with regards to your issue with sound have you tried turning on 'Original Sound for musicians' in Zoom? its in settings , then Audio. I attached a screenshot. This isn't a solution but a setting in Zoom that turns off all of Zoom's Audio Processing and noise reduction. When you start or join a Zoom meeting you will see the setting in upper left corner of the Zoom window. Then I would do a test recording of yourself or with someone and click that setting. when you click it the change is to original sound : ON. that means your mic is open and the recording and others will hear everything that mic picks up. Speak a few sentences and then click that setting back to OFF and speak for a few sentences more. Then end your recording and play it back and listen to how you sound. im assuming you are using the built in computer microphone or Webcam mic. if so then with original sound ON with a built in computer mic or webcam it should sound very noisy hearing everything in the room. then when you click it OFF should reduce that background noise and only your voice should be heard.

J

judyk

Newcomer

Thank you Dan. I see where the settings are. I've used the mic too recently for the silence to show up at the moment I think. I'll try it later today and see if this solves the problem 🙂

D

Danales

Newcomer

How is this still an issue over 2 years later?! I appreciate DanHuber's efforts to walk people through settings to correct the issue but I don't believe that's the underlying cause. There is a GC process or something similar in the app itself that interrupts Zoom's ability to properly convey the audio on a regular basis.

DanHuber

Newcomer

im confused by this reply, are you saying you are having issues with Audio in Zoom meetings? Or are you just saying this Audio issue is all Zooms fault? Most audio issues can be resolved locally. Zoom is only bringing into the meeting what is being provided. They do have audio processing to eliminate echo but if you are in what Zoom perceives to be a noisy environment it will adjust the level of noise cancellation. You can avoid this by not using built in mic and speakers. Im apart of a Zoom meeting that runs 24hrs a day everyday of the year. Almost everyone uses a dedicated mic and some sort of headphone, or earbud. I have never heard and drop out in audio. if you every want to listen in on that meeting or get assistance with your Zoom setup you can check it out at officehours.global

T

teodorocriscion

Newcomer

Hi! Same issue here.

When I join a call and I am on mute, then the audio goes on and off for 5-10 seconds every ~2-3 mins. Same issue from my iPhone and my Mac. I uninstalled and reinstalled multiple times following the official instructions. I am even using a paid version of Zoom and ask for support. It didn't help.

Internet check. I am using ethernet connection, I used a speediest to check the quality it. All good. Nonetheless, this wouldn't explain why I don't have this issue on Jitsi or Meet.

Audio driver check (and other conflicts). I don't have this issue using other VoIP services. And this wouldn't explain why I have this issue also on my iPhone, anyway.

In my opinion, this is a bug that developers need to solve. If you are experiencing the issue report it as soon as possible. If you find out the solution, please write it here.

DanHuber

Newcomer

when you say you are having the same issue, are talking about using Apple AirPods as your Mic and Speaker inside of a Zoom meeting?

T

teodorocriscion

Newcomer

AirPods, external speakers, internal speakers, in-ear headphones, on-ear headphones, etc. it doesn't make any difference, I already tried. This needs to go to the Zoom IT office urgently.

K

KKG-Shawn

Newcomer

We had a similar problem. Depending on how good your router is, our UDP flood protection was the cause. We found this was doing the same symptoms here. The router listed IP's and port and realized the port was Zoom related, once I up'd the allowable UDP flood packets this problem went away.

T

teodorocriscion

Newcomer

why this should be a connection problem if it works perfectly when my mic is on?

DanHuber

Newcomer

I agree with KKG-Shawn. there seems to be packet loss somewhere on your network. Have you reached out to Zoom Support? if you think there may be a Zoom outage you can check https://status.zoom.us and subscribe, and https://uptime.zoom.us/ for details.

T

teodorocriscion

Newcomer

why this should be a connection problem if it works perfectly when my mic is on?

DanHuber

Newcomer

When your mic is off your not sending up your network. So you’re not using full duplex at that time.

B

Bradford1

Newcomer

I recently upgraded my laptop to 32 GB RAM for this very reason and I am still having audio drop when I perform certain tasks - screen capture from Zoom and paste into One-Note. I have noticed that anytime I interact with a native Microsoft Application (One Note, Outlook, PPT, etc), changes that occur or at the scheduled sync w/ one-drive (auto-save), it creates audio lag in Zoom. Seems like the system resources are reallocated from Zoom to these save processes causing audio drop. On my previous 16gb RAM laptop, this also caused video lag. I've changed sync-settings to manual for One-Note which has helped, but when I jump to Slack and/or copy paste screenshots, audio lag happens immediately for a couple of seconds. We need a way to prioritize Zoom processes when using zoom.

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