Echo in video chat: how to find the cause and stop it
Echo almost always happens when one person's speakers play the other person's voice loudly enough for their own microphone to pick it up and send it back. The quickest fix is headphones on the side that causes it, so the first job is working out which side that is.
1. Work out whose side causes the echo
The person who hears the echo is usually not the person causing it. If you hear your own voice a moment after you speak, your partner's speakers are playing your voice and their microphone is sending it back to you. If your partner hears themselves, the loop is on your side.
| What happens | Where the loop is | Who should change something |
|---|---|---|
| You hear your own voice delayed | Your partner's speakers and mic | Your partner (headphones or lower volume) |
| Your partner hears their own voice | Your speakers and mic | You |
| Both of you hear echo | Both sides use loud speakers | Both, starting with headphones |
| A hollow, metallic sound but no repeat | Usually a weak connection or a Bluetooth mic | See steps 4 and 5 |
2. Use headphones on the side with the loop
Headphones are the most reliable fix because the other person's voice goes into your ears instead of into the room, so your microphone has nothing to send back. Wired earphones, the ones that came with your phone, or any Bluetooth earbuds will do.
- Plug in or connect the headphones before you start the chat
- Reload the page so the browser uses the new audio device
- Speak a few words and ask your partner if the echo has gone
- If it hasn't, the loop is probably on the other side; check step 1 again
3. No headphones? Lower the volume and add distance
On a laptop or phone speaker, volume is the main lever. A quieter speaker means less of the other voice reaches the microphone.
- Turn the speaker volume down until you can hear clearly but not loudly
- Don't place the phone face down on a table; the table can carry sound to the mic
- Move away from bare walls and glass, which bounce sound back
- Avoid external speakers placed right next to the computer's microphone
4. Check the microphone and speaker pairing
Echo often appears when the microphone and the speakers are two different devices that don't know about each other, for example a webcam microphone with separate desk speakers. Google's Meet help warns that mismatched microphone and external speaker devices might cause an echo, and the same principle applies to any video chat in a browser.
Choose devices that belong together: the headset's own microphone with the headset, or the laptop's built-in microphone with its built-in speakers. On a Mac you pick the input in System Settings › Sound › Input (Apple Support). On Windows, the sound settings let you choose the input and output devices; Microsoft's guide to fixing microphone problems walks through it. In Chrome on a computer you can also set a default microphone under Settings › Privacy and security › Site settings › Microphone (Google Chrome Help).
5. Bluetooth headsets: the special case
Bluetooth headsets solve echo in most cases, but they can bring their own quirks. When the headset's microphone is in use, many headsets sound flatter than when you listen to music, and some phones keep using the built-in microphone while the sound goes to the headset.
- If your voice sounds distant, check which microphone is selected; it may still be the phone or laptop mic
- If the headset keeps disconnecting, charge it and forget then re-pair it
- If only one earbud is in, make sure it is the one with the active microphone, if your model works that way
- As a test, try wired earphones; if the problem disappears, the Bluetooth link is the cause
6. Quick tests before your next chat
You can check most of this without a partner. Our webcam and mic test shows whether the browser is using the microphone you expect: speak and watch the meter, then tap near the speaker and see if the meter jumps. If it reacts strongly to sound from the speakers, the room is likely to cause echo.
If the meter doesn't move at all, the problem isn't echo; see microphone not working. For a better setup overall, including where to place your phone and light, read our camera, light and sound guide.
7. If the sound cuts out instead
When the audio drops or freezes rather than repeating, look at the network first. Follow chat stuck on loading or cutting out, and if it only happens on mobile data, see Wi-Fi works but mobile data doesn't.