How to Fix Common Google
Hangouts Problems
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced people throughout the world to stay inside their homes. And the video conferencing apps such as Google Hangouts have been very useful to continue with the work and keep in touch with family and friends. Although the classic Google Hangout and Hangout Meet for business experienced an increase in the users through this time, however, it seems that the users are recently experiencing certain problems with the app. So, here we are with the workarounds to fix some of the common issues that are being faced by the users.
Unable to Send Messages
If there have been times that you were trying to send a message but it didn’t go through and showed a red error icon with an exclamation mark, here are a few things to try.
- Check to ensure, if you are connected to the internet or not.
- Try to sign out of Hangouts, and then sign in again.
No Notification Sound When Receiving a Message or Call
Have you missed an important call or a message on Hangouts because there was no notification sound when you received that? If yes, there is a simple workaround for this bug that seems to have worked for smartphone users. Here is what to do:
Step 1. Navigate to the app and tap on the hamburger menu at the top left corner.
Step 2. Tap on Settings followed by the primary account name.
Step 3. Select Messages under the Notifications section, and then go to the Sound settings.
Step 4. Open the notification sound section and change the alert tone. You should now be able to get notification alerts.
If you are facing the same problem with incoming calls, then repeat the same steps until you reach the Notification section. In this section, this time, select Incoming calls instead of Messages. In case, you are facing the same problem on a computer, try to uninstall and then install the Hangouts Chrome extension back again.
The Camera Isn’t Working
It has been noticed that a lot of users have been facing issues with that camera which gets stuck during a video call. Here are a few fixes that you can try to get rid of this issue.
- For some users, merely updating the browser to the latest version has worked.
- Updating the video drivers has also worked for a lot of users.
- Simply, using a browser other than Chrome has worked for many. That said, remember that the Firefox only supports Hangouts Meet and not the classic extension. That means you will have to use Microsoft Edge for the classic Hangouts extension.
Browser Freezes on Screen Sharing
A lot of users have come across a frozen web browser while sharing screens with others. Although there could be many reasons for the occurrence of this issue, however, it is commonly a problem with video/audio drivers. So, updating the drivers could be your best bet to get rid of this bug. Here is how you can update your drivers on Windows:
Navigate to Start > Device Manager > Display Adapters > Update Driver.
Choppy or Pixelated Video
A stuttering or pixelated video can be caused due to a slow Internet connection. Also, video calls require a lot more data as compared to audio calls. So if you are facing issues with the quality of the video, lowering the video settings might be a good idea. Here is how to adjust video settings on Hangouts
Step 1. First of all, to get to video settings, you need to make a call.
Step 2. While on call, take your mouse over the call window until the call controls show up.
Step 3. Select the cog icon to open the video settings.
Step 4. Now, click on Bandwidth.
Step 5. Here, you will get two options to adjust the video quality of both the incoming and outgoing streams. Those are: HD (720p) and SD (360p). Select the lower setting if you want to save data or the internet connection is poor. Please know that by doing so, you won’t see the best video, but the video won’t lag and the audio will be stable.
These were the fixes to the common issues that are being faced by the users on Hangouts. All of the aforementioned fixes seem to be working for a lot of users. However, you will find the app working at its best only after a software update.
Source:- Fix Common Google Hangouts Problems
