Problems with Sign In
Most UNLV employees are provisioned with a Zoom account. However, students do not receive Zoom accounts. If you cannot sign into Zoom, you may not be eligible, or your status has not been updated yet.
To be able to sign into Zoom, you must be an active UNLV employee with a UNLV Mail (@unlv.edu) email address. Students do not receive Zoom accounts, and as such, they should join any meeting as a guest.
Problems with Video
Gray boxes will cover your screen to protect your privacy, and to prevent Zoom tabs (Chat, etc.) from being viewable to Participants. This usually occurs when your Show My Zoom Meeting Window setting is enabled.
We recommend the following solutions:
- If possible, use a dual monitor and share that screen or;
- Share your screen, not individual applications, or;
- When sharing, select Advanced and then select Portion of Screen
Video uses more hardware resources and bandwidth as your device and connection must send your video stream, but also receive your participants video stream. To troubleshoot poor video quality, try the following:
- Confirm your hardware supports sending and receiving video for web conferencing
- Disable other devices on your network, especially ones that are streaming video
- Turn off your video
- Leave and re-enter the meeting
- Try a different device
- Contact your internet service provider for additional tips or recommendations to improve your network quality
Your video will be blocked if another application on your computer is using your camera. Even if your webcam is on and, if you have one, your privacy screen is not covering the camera, your video will still show up black.
To fix this, locate the application that is using your camera, and either:
- Close the application, or;
- Turn off the camera in the other application
New macOS releases have heightened security features. As a result, it may block certain features be default, which you will have to re-enable.
For information on re-enabling features such as the microphone and camera, see Zoom Support’s article on granting macOS permissions for the Zoom client.
Problems with Audio
- Use the Test Speaker and Microphone option in Zoom, accessed by selecting the upward arrow on the Unmute/Mute menu control. You will complete two brief tests to test your speaker and your microphone
If the selected speaker or microphone does not work during the test, select No, Try Another Speaker/Microphone and Zoom will automatically try another option that your device has available.
- Ensure that your microphone is not muted in Zoom. Keep in mind that some devices and headsets also have an external, physical mute button which may be on or off
- Ensure that you do not have another application open on your device that is using your microphone (for example, a voice recording application)
- Unplug your microphone/headset and plug it back in
- Leave and rejoin the meeting, confirming that the correct device is selected for audio
- Check your operating system's Sound Settings and ensure that your microphone has the appropriate permissions to access Zoom
- Attempt to use a different microphone or a different device. If you switch microphones, be sure to select the new one in Zoom. You can do this via the upward arrow on the Unmute/Mute menu control
- Use the Test Speaker and Microphone option in Zoom, accessed by selecting the upward arrow on the Unmute/Mute menu control. Test only your speaker
- Verify if the person speaking is not muted
- Verify your headphone or speaker volume is not muted
- Check if other apps can play audio, such as music or a video
- Unplug and reconnect your headset and/or speakers
- Ask in the Chat if others are experiencing a similar issue
- Leave and rejoin the meeting
- Try a different set of headphones or speakers
- Check for damage in the microphone cable (wired mic) or interference with Bluetooth or a cellular signal (wireless mic)
- Make sure the device joining the Zoom session is connected to a hard-wired internet connection (ethernet)
- Leave and rejoin the meeting
- Try a different microphone or a different device
By default, computer audio is not shared. You must enable this before sharing your screen. To do so:
- Select Share Screen
- When the share window opens, select the Share Sound box on the bottom left of the window. If enabled, it should have a checkmark beside it
New macOS releases have heightened security features. As a result, it may block certain features be default, which you will have to re-enable.
For information on re-enabling features such as the microphone and camera, see Zoom Support’s article on granting macOS permissions for the Zoom client.
If you are still experiencing audio issues, we recommend dialing-in. For steps on dialing in, refer to Dialing-In by Phone.
Need Additional Help?
There are additional troubleshooting tips from Zoom Support.
For additional assistance, please visit the Zoom Knowledge Base for additional articles. You can also contact the IT Help Desk.