05-12-2021 02:40 AM
I am a new to using Webex, and was hired to teach a class. Most students are on their computers with video and audio. A few are on their cell phones. We are experiencing heavy echoing/feedback the entire hour. Can anyone tell me how to eliminate the strong echo? Everyone is bothered by this noise and some can't hear me. Thanks!
Solved! Go to Solution.
05-13-2021 06:01 AM
@lizmiller
I think you are close to a solution of your issue.
The echo happens as soon as the audio from the speaker= audio output (Notebook, Phone, Tablet..) is picked up by the microphone (= audio input), which ends up in a loop.
If all attendees (incl. the host) use a headset or at least headphones, this will also reduce (perhaps even eliminate) the issue since the Audio-Output/speaker can not be picked up by the microphone any more.
Or try muting all attendees (= remotely disabling the attendee´s microphones) and unmute only those individuals who are invited to speak.
For situations where an attendees is not able to click "unmute" her-/him-self you may consider using "moderated unmute" (mentioned earlier..).
05-12-2021 02:48 PM
I assume that you know why/how this echo is generated.
Therefore it has become best practise to mute all attendees in meetings with a large audience . (Host feature)
Although Cisco reasonably decided to disallow the host to "force unmute" an attendee, this feature was heavily requested by certain groups. That´s why Cisco implemented "moderated unmute":
https://help.webex.com/en-us/uox10y/Enable-Moderated-Unmute-Mode-for-Cisco-Webex-Meetings
https://help.webex.com/en-us/ngv1kufb/Webex-Unmute-Someone-Directly-in-Moderated-Unmute-Mode
05-12-2021 03:20 PM
05-13-2021 03:00 AM
I found some sources giving more details on this (not Webex-related!) issue:
2018: https://help.webex.com/en-us/WBX32569/Echoing-is-Heard-in-the-Teleconference
2020: https://help.webex.com/en-us/WBX64076/I-m-Hearing-an-Echo-of-My-Voice-in-the-Audio-Conference
also found several YT-Videos, here are 2 of them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0sf2ZuQKGM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vbpoNP0Mpk
The ugly high pitched sound you hear in the first video is the worst case of audio feedback - in your case you are experiencing just an echo - because of a some lag (caused by the internet).
BTW: what do your students need the cell-phone for it they are already connected via webex on the computer?
to replace a missing webcam and/or missing microphone on the computer at home?
05-13-2021 05:34 AM
05-13-2021 06:01 AM
@lizmiller
I think you are close to a solution of your issue.
The echo happens as soon as the audio from the speaker= audio output (Notebook, Phone, Tablet..) is picked up by the microphone (= audio input), which ends up in a loop.
If all attendees (incl. the host) use a headset or at least headphones, this will also reduce (perhaps even eliminate) the issue since the Audio-Output/speaker can not be picked up by the microphone any more.
Or try muting all attendees (= remotely disabling the attendee´s microphones) and unmute only those individuals who are invited to speak.
For situations where an attendees is not able to click "unmute" her-/him-self you may consider using "moderated unmute" (mentioned earlier..).
05-13-2021 06:31 AM
Thank you, Fritz! You perfectly explained what is going on. Now I know. The headset solution is ideal, but I teach borderline income students who may not be able to afford headphones, and their employer is unlikely to consider providing them. I'll suggest your excellent solution to the school and see if they can make "computer with headset" part of their responsibility in deciding to offer this class to their limited-English students (it is free to the students).
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