Guides / Zoom audio or screen share not working: quick fixes

Last reviewed 5 Oct 2026

Zoom audio or screen share not working: quick fixes

Nobody can hear you on Zoom, or screen share shows black? Device, permissions, host settings and firewall checks, from the user's laptop to the Zoom admin.

"They can't hear me." "My screen share is black." These two Zoom tickets eat the first five minutes of half the meetings in the country. Zoom itself is rarely the cause. The laptop, the operating system's permissions and the meeting's own settings usually are.

Is it Zoom?

If you can join the meeting and see other people, Zoom's service is working. A real incident shows on the Zoom status page and usually stops people joining at all. Zoom's own test meeting at zoom.us/test checks your audio and video without bothering anyone.

Audio: user steps

1. Did you join audio? If the bottom-left button says "Join Audio", you are not connected to sound at all. Click it and choose computer audio.
2. Muted twice. You can be muted in Zoom and by a hardware switch or headset button. The host may also have muted everyone on entry.
3. Pick the right device. Click the arrow next to the microphone icon and choose the microphone and speaker you are actually using. Docking stations and monitors with speakers love to steal the default.
4. Operating system permission. On a Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, and allow Zoom. On Windows: Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone, and allow desktop apps to use the microphone.
5. Another app has the mic. Teams, a browser tab or a softphone can hold the microphone. Quit them.
6. Dial in. The meeting invite has phone numbers. When computer audio will not cooperate, a phone call is the quickest fix.

Screen share: user steps

1. Host settings. If the share button is greyed out or says the host disabled it, only the host can change "Who can share?" in the meeting's sharing options.
2. Mac permission. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording (shown as Screen & System Audio Recording on newer macOS). Allow Zoom, then quit and reopen Zoom. Without this, other people see a black screen or only your wallpaper.
3. Share the right thing. Sharing a single window that is minimised or on another monitor can show black. Try sharing the whole screen.
4. Video sound. To share a video with audio, tick "Share sound" when you start sharing.
5. Update Zoom. Old clients get odd sharing bugs and some accounts require a minimum version.
6. Linux. Wayland desktop sessions have had screen-sharing limitations with some Zoom versions; an X11 session is the usual workaround.

Network checks

Choppy audio and shares that freeze while video stays live usually mean packet loss or a firewall forcing Zoom over a slower path. Zoom's documented network requirements include outbound TCP 443, 8801 and 8802 and UDP 8801 to 8810. If UDP is blocked, Zoom falls back to TCP and quality drops. Test on a phone hotspot; if the problem vanishes, it is the office network. A VPN that sends all traffic through head office adds delay too; see VPN connected but not working.

Admin-level checks (Zoom web portal)

• Account settings. Admins can lock screen sharing, computer audio and other options at account or group level. A setting locked on for the account overrides what a user chooses.
• Dashboard. On plans that include it, the Zoom dashboard shows live and past meetings with per-participant audio, video and share quality, which tells you whether it was loss, jitter or the device.
• Managed devices. Check that your device management pushes the Mac privacy permissions Zoom needs, and that Zoom updates are not blocked.
• Zoom Rooms. Room systems have their own audio device settings and firmware. A room failing while laptops work is a room problem.

When to escalate

Escalate to Zoom when many users across different networks cannot join or share, and the status page shows an incident. Include meeting IDs and times with time zone. For one laptop, it is device, permission or network: stay at the desk.

Related status pages

• Zoom
• Amazon Web Services

Related guides

• Teams video calls freezing: outage or network?
• VPN connected but no internet or can't reach internal sites
• How to tell if a service is down or it's just you

FAQ

Why can't people hear me on Zoom?

Most often you have not joined computer audio, you are muted in Zoom or on your headset, the wrong microphone is selected, or the operating system has not given Zoom microphone permission.

Why does my Zoom screen share show a black screen?

On a Mac, Zoom needs Screen Recording permission in Privacy & Security. Quit and reopen Zoom after granting it. Sharing a minimised window or a window on another display can also show black.

Why is the Zoom share screen button greyed out?

The host has limited sharing to the host only, or your account admin has disabled screen sharing. The host can change who can share in the meeting's sharing options.

Is Zoom down?

If you can join and see other participants, Zoom's service is working. Check the official Zoom status page if many people cannot join at all.