Share Screen with Sound, Do Not Want To Hear Audio On Sharing Device - Using Mac

[Jason_Estey]

I have a scenario where 2 laptops are in the same space, one is hosting and the other is presenting a video with audio. The hosting laptop is connected to the room system, so any audio coming from the host computer will be amplified to the room. This includes any audio that the presenting laptop screen shares.

So to avoid an echo, it would be ideal for the presenting laptop (MacBook) to screen share with sound, but not output audio to the laptop. I want the laptop to only output audio to Zoom. But the volume of the screen shared audio seems to be tied with the laptop output volume. If I mute volume output on the MacBook, the screen shared audio is muted. In the Zoom meeting if I "Leave Computer Audio" the audio is still heard both through the laptop speakers and the screen share.

What I really need in Zoom is a "Select a speaker: None" option. The fix right now is to plug in headphones.

Is there a way to screen share with audio but not output audio to the computer (specifically a Mac)? Thanks!

[Ray_Harwood]

Hi, @Jason_Estey,

I don't think you can get Zoom to stop that audio from traveling from the sharing computer to the other computer, and you're correct, there's no way to stop the receiving Zoom computer from outputting at all (I'd also occasionally like a "no speaker" selection), but I'd think you could turn the speaker volume all the way down.

I'm not a "Mac person", though I have a Mac Mini for testing.  I found this Apple article which might help you -- it worked for me:

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/adjust-the-volume-mchl1f98810b/mac 

[Jason_Estey]

Hi Ray,

Unfortunately I'm trying to mute the audio from the outputting/sharing computer, not the receiving computer. While screen sharing with audio, if I try to mute or lower the outputting computer's speakers the shared audio is also muted or lowered. Strangely this happens even if the audio output is set to ZoomAudioDevice in System Preferences>Audio>Output. If I switch the output to MacBook Pro Speakers (the built-in speakers) the shared audio isn't heard at all from the receiving computer. But also strangely, sometimes when I've tested screen sharing with audio ZoomAudioDevice doesn't show up as an output option in System Preferences. Yet the receiving computer still hears the shared audio. In those cases the output is set to MacBook Pro Speakers.

BTW I'm using macOS Catalina v 10.15.7. It's possible later OS versions don't have this issue.

So far I found one workaround: the advanced video share option does have independent audio control. While sharing a video using this feature, I can mute the sharing computer's speakers and the shared audio is still heard on the receiving computer. But that only works if I'm sharing a video file. Sharing computer audio, or a presentation that has video/audio in it, will continue to have a problem.

Jason

[JoeDGS]

I found that I could get this to work by muting the MacBook Pro Speakers device in Mac system preferences. So in total the setup on the sharing computer is:

1. Share screen

2. Check "Share Sound"

3. Make sure the program that's being shared has ZoomAudioDevice as the output device

4. Go to Mac system preferences and mute MacBook Pro Speakers. Do not mute ZoomAudioDevice

[hayduke]

Sadly, I don't seem to be able to get this solution to work. The program being shared (Keynote) doesn't seem to have a program-specific output device setting, and in system settings, when I unmute/mute the ZoomAudioDevice it unmutes/mutes the macbook speakers and vice versa.

[sarahfox]

I have a new Lenovo laptop and I am having the same issue. My old HP would mute computer output but still share the sound in the zoom meeting. Any ideas for a windows based computer?

[M_L]

Hi,

Experiencing the exact same issue here in September 2024.
First laptop running Win10: Share screen with sound>Mute speakers>sound continues being shared in the meeting as expected.
Second laptop running Win11: Share screen with sound>Mute speakers>also mutes the sound being shared in the meeting, which is problematic.

I couldn't test another laptop running Win11 to see if this might be a OS version issue or something else.
Did you ever find a workaround?

[Jason_Estey]

M_L, I'm sorry you're experiencing that. It's not a fix for all screen sharing situations but if you need to present an .mov or .mp4 file, using the Screen Share>Advanced>Video file option plays videos that are not heard on the device screen sharing but are heard on all other participating devices. But I never found a solution for screen sharing with audio the standard way. The screen sharing device will always play the audio, and as soon as I mute the screen sharing device it mutes the audio in the screen share.

[Lesliec2]

I am having a similar issue with the audio output to zoom participants is coupled with audio output on the host computer. In my case, I am sharing stereo sound quality music played at high volume. Did you ever find a way to uncouple this? 

[zgoldberg]

Tagging in here to say I am also looking for a solution to this problem (Windows 10). I am in a hybrid meeting environment with multiple users on Zoom and in-person. We have one host laptop that is running/hosting the Zoom meeting and using an Owl Pro camera as the panoramic camera, microphone, and speaker. Some attendees are in-person but also signed onto the Zoom meeting on their personal laptops. These laptops have muted microphones and audio outputs to avoid echoes and feedback with the Owl camera. Attendee A wants to screen/audio share a game from their personal laptop to the Zoom meeting for everyone to play together. They can share the screen, but the audio does not seem to play from the Owl speakers if Attendee A's laptop audio is muted. However, un-muting their audio makes the sound play from *both* the Owl and Attendee A's laptop. How do we prevent this, and only have audio play from the Owl?

[NHPRzoomone]

Hello we have had the same issue over the last few months with audio being played out of the sharing laptop's speakers causing echoes in the same room as sharing. I have found that plugging in a 3.5mm to 1/4 ich adapter makes the PC think that headphones have plugged in and the audio follows that headphone jack port. I have also plugged in a mini to xlr adapter which is not connected to anything and the audio stops playing out of the sharing speakers but continues to be shared with zoom meeting attendees. Hope this helps.

[ahsports]

Thank you for this!  I was just in the same situation and came across this suggestion.  Realized there was a 3.5mm cable within arm's reach, plugged it in, got exactly the result I wanted!