Blurry background/unexplained autofocusing on M1 MBP | Community
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ryamauchi
Newcomer
January 19, 2022
Question

Blurry background/unexplained autofocusing on M1 MBP

  • January 19, 2022
  • 8 replies
  • 0 views

Hello:

 

On a 2021 14" M1 Macbook Pro running a fully patched instance of macOS 12.1, I have an issue where the background is blurry and if there is more than one person on camera, Zoom will randomly try to  focus on  that person in the background.

 

I have verified and/or tried the following already:

 

1.  Virtual background is turned off (and therefore, the blurred effect is disabled).  

2.  Playing around with various video settings including "HD, "Touch up my appearance", and "Adjust for low light".  Also tried the disabling the de-noise and hardware acceleration under advanced video settings. 

3.  Lighting  in room is confirmed as good.

4,  Zoom is updated to 5.9.1 (and apparently automatically updated to ensure compatibility with the M1 chip version).

5.  Basic Mac troubleshooting included macOS updates, restarting, Disk Utility.   (And one can no longer reset the NVRAM/SMC on M1 Macs anymore). 

 

Issue also occurs if external camera is used instead of built-in FaceTime HD camera. 

 

**By comparison, video in FaceTime and Photo Booth apps indicates the blurriness issue does NOT occur. Video is in crisp HD**

 

I also tried creating another user account on the Mac;  lo and behold, the issue does NOT occur.  

 

I've uninstalled Zoom, re-installed, and rebooted but issue persists.

 

This is clearly a local user account-specific issue. 

 

Am seeking advanced troubleshooting  tips without having to delete the Mac user account. 

 

The Zoom Uninstaller does a pretty good job of removing all related files in the these folders:

 

  • ~/Library/Caches
  • ~/Library/Logs
  • ~/Library/Cookies
  • ~/Library/Saved Application State

I've also configured Finder to show all hidden files but didn't spot any other Zoom-related files. 

 

Any additional suggestions are appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

      8 replies

      A
      Newcomer
      AlexLane
      Newcomer
      January 24, 2022

      I have the same problem here...

      R
      Newcomer
      ryamauchiAuthor
      Newcomer
      January 26, 2022

      I tried updating to Zoom v5.9.3 today but that didn't fix issue either

      M
      Newcomer
      MikeGoh
      Newcomer
      January 27, 2022

      I have the same issue, M1 Mac.  Blurry video on facetime camera, second camera or even virtual camera.  I tried another zoom account, issue presist.

       

      On virtual camera, if I have text, it would be unreadable.  Below is the screenshot, with OBS virtual cam, can see the blur clouding.  Same setup on Intel Mac Mini, no issue.   Zoom is on Version: 5.9.3 (4239) M1 version

       

      R
      Newcomer
      ryamauchiAuthor
      Newcomer
      January 31, 2022

      FYI, updating to  macOS 12.2 did not resolve this issue.

       

      I've also opened a ticket with Zoom support directly but have been very disappointed with their responses: 

       

      1. I've been asked twice to provide screen captures of video settings even though I felt I described the issue thoroughly already.
      2. I had to wait on average 24-48 hours for Zoom to respond.
      3. When responses arrive, they are at least 7-10 hours ahead of business hours in my time zone (PST).

       

      As this was an issue I was troubleshooting for very a high-level VIP in my organization, I just created a new local user account on that user's Mac.   The video issue did not recur, thankfully.  

       

      I wish Zoom support provided more advanced support on-the-fly rather than follow what seems like scripted response protocols. 

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      J
      Newcomer
      JohanStahre
      Newcomer
      April 11, 2022

      Hi

      Problem: I had the same issue with a MacBook Pro M1 2021, with Zoom, Teams and another viewereven behaving differently.

      Solution: In the Control Panel, choose video effects and un-toggle portrait mode - problem solved 🙂

      Regards, Johan

        V
        Newcomer
        VRSJ
        Newcomer
        April 6, 2023

        This worked.

        M
        Newcomer
        MikeGoh
        Newcomer
        April 12, 2022

        Awesome ... finally resolved the mistery!

         

        https://support.apple.com/en-my/guide/mac-help/mchlff01c919/mac 

          J
          Newcomer
          JenRice
          Newcomer
          January 11, 2023

          Finally!

          A
          Newcomer
          Atmosphere
          Newcomer
          June 8, 2022

          yeess! finally !!  thanks a lot! 

            R
            Newcomer
            robinpokorny
            Newcomer
            January 17, 2023

            Quick learning I just had.

            When you use Canon EOS WebCam Utility there are no Video Effects options in the Control Center when I was having calls in Zoom.

            The solution was to switch to build-in camera in Zoom, then changing the video effect in the Control Center and then switching back to the Canon camera in Zoom.

            For some reason, it remembers the settings.

              J
              Newcomer
              josesol
              Newcomer
              April 7, 2023

              Thank you! This is the solution i have been looking for!

              H
              Newcomer
              handerson
              Newcomer
              January 8, 2025

              **By comparison, video in FaceTime and Photo Booth apps indicates the blurriness issue does NOT occur. Video is in crisp HD**

              I also had this condition, which means that the "Portrait" option was not selected in the MacOS options, and that was not the solution for me. 

               

              The actual solution, for me, was to toggle "Portrait Mode" in Zoom's settings, which is separate from the "blur" virtual background, and lives just under the "touch up my appearance", "Mirror my video", and "Adjust for low light" settings in Background & Effects.

               

               

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