It’s 2021 and Zoom remains the de facto choice for small businesses and organizations to hold digital meetings. If you encounter audio delays during calls, your upcoming Zoom meeting may be wasted. Many users faced this issue and in this post we will fix Zoom audio lag on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
There are many factors that affect audio latency in Zoom. It’s hard to pinpoint a single cause of audio lag in Zoom. We will start with the most basic troubleshooting trick and then move on to advanced methods to fix the problem.
1. Use a Faster Internet Connection
One of the main culprits behind Zoom audio lag on Windows is a sloppy or slow internet connection. Zoom is a resource-hungry app, it requires a good amount of bandwidth to have smooth video meetings.
If you are working with single digit internet speed, you may encounter video errors as well as audio lag. Attendees can see your face perfectly, but the audio comes after a significant delay.
Anything can lead to confusion and errors during ongoing Zoom calls. Make sure you are working with a fast internet connection. If there is another app consuming internet bandwidth in the background, pause it during the Zoom meeting.
2. Check Your Laptop Microphone
Is your windows laptop microphone working? You might want to double-check before starting a Zoom meeting. Zoom gives an option to control the microphone in Settings. Here’s how you can test it.
Stage 1: Open Zoom on Windows.
Step 2: Click on the Settings gear at the top.
Stage 3: Go to the sound menu.
Step 4: Select your default microphone and click the Test Microphone button.
3. Use External Microphone for Better Sound Quality
If you’re really working with a faulty microphone in Windows, it’s time to replace it with a dedicated microphone.
The market is full of third-party microphones to be used on Windows machines. This type of investment makes sense for power users who make frequent Zoom calls throughout the day.
Remember to change the default microphone from the Zoom Settings menu after installing a new microphone in Windows.
Open Zoom Settings and go to Audio. Select the default microphone from Microphone and start the Zoom meeting.
4. Check the Bluetooth Connection
Trying to make Zoom calls with Bluetooth headphones? You may want to check the Bluetooth connection. An unreliable Bluetooth connection can cause audio lag in Zoom meetings.
Before starting a zoom meeting, make sure the Bluetooth connection is working properly. If you run into Bluetooth connectivity issues in Windows 11, check out our dedicated guide.
5. Update Microphone Drivers
Outdated microphone drivers can interfere with audio lag in Zoom. You need to update the drivers to the latest version from the Device Manager menu. Here’s how.
Stage 1: Press the Windows key and open the Device Manager menu.
Step 2: Expand the Audio inputs and outputs menu.
Stage 3: Find the Microphone of your current device from the menu.
Step 4: Right click on it and update the microphone drivers to the latest version.
6. Check Headphone Microphone
In the fourth method, we asked you to check the Bluetooth connection on your Windows laptop. Now you need to check the microphone of the headset. A broken headset microphone can cause audio lag during Zoom calls.
To make sure the headset microphone is working as expected, you can call someone and ask the other person if they can hear you well. If yes, you are ready to proceed with Bluetooth headphones. If not, you need to change the input device for Zoom calls.
7. Suppress Background Noise
The Zoom Windows app has an option to eliminate background noise. It can filter out distracting sounds to improve sound quality. Paper crackling, keyboard binding, fan noise, etc. such as background noise will be filtered out to give you a better experience.
Stage 1: Open the Zoom app and click on the Settings cog at the top.
Step 2: Go to the sound menu.
Stage 3: By default, Suppress background noise is set to Auto. Select Loud and it will remove any background noise.
Participants will only hear your voice and not other random noises during calls.
8. Update Zoom
Zoom regularly updates the app with new features and bug fixes. You may be using an outdated version of Zoom that is causing audio lag and other issues.
Open Zoom and click on the profile menu at the top. Check for updates and install the latest version of Zoom to fix bugs.
Enjoy Smooth Audio Experience in Zoom
Zoom audio delay may force you to look for alternatives. But the audio lag issue is caused by other factors, you will continue to encounter the same lag in other video calling apps. Check out the above cheats and fix audio lag in Zoom.
