If you use Zoom, Google Meet, or any other video conferencing app, it’s likely that at one point you may find yourself frantically trying to figure out why your mic is muted or your camera isn’t working. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of checking the mute or camera buttons on your app — but if that doesn’t work, you may need to manage the permissions for audio and video on your operating system or browser.
The good news is that these permissions aren’t too difficult to manage, no matter which OS or browser you’re using. You can grant permissions to the sites that need it while blocking any others that you don’t trust enough to have access to your camera and mic. Below, we cover how to manage permissions for macOS, Windows, and four of the best-known browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox.
(By the way, if you have problems with video, one of the first things you may want to do is check that your webcam lens cover is open — you’d be surprised how often you might forget to do that.)
If your audio and video settings aren’t set properly in your operating system, they won’t work for any apps, so if you’re having a general problem, it’s a good idea to check there first.
If none of these solutions solve your issues, here is how to check the settings in your browser.