Echo
You hear
Your own voice comes back a moment after you speak, or other people hear theirs.
Echo is almost always someone's speakers playing the call into their own mic, and the person causing it usually cannot hear it.
Likely causes, in order
Check them top to bottom. The room and the mic come first because no setting can remove what a closer mic or a closed door would.
| 01 · Layer | 02 · Likely cause | 03 · Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 01 · Room | Someone's speakers play the call loudly enough for their mic to pick it up | That person switches to headphones, or turns the speakers down and moves the mic away from them headphones |
| 02 · Room | Two devices in the same room are joined to the same call with audio on | Disconnect the call audio on every extra device. Muting it is not always enough one device per room |
| 03 · Room | A loud TV or soundbar plays near the mic | Turn it down or off for the call TV down |
| 04 · Mic | A laptop's built-in mic sits next to its own speakers | Use a headset, which keeps the call's sound at your ears instead of in the room headset |
| 05 · App | Echo cancellation is off, or cannot keep up with the room | In Discord, turn on Echo Cancellation in the voice settings. In Zoom, check Settings → Audio → Advanced → Echo cancellation and try High echo cancellation |
By app
- Zoom
- Zoom's echo cancellation is on by default. On desktop you can set it to Auto, Low or High under Settings → Audio → Advanced. A host can mute the participant causing the echo, or mute everyone and unmute one at a time to find them.
- Discord
- Discord has an Echo Cancellation switch in its voice settings. On mobile, its troubleshooting guide suggests switching Echo Cancellation, Noise Suppression and Automatic Gain Control off and on to see which one changes your sound.
- Microsoft Teams
- Teams has no echo switch. Microsoft says Teams uses AI to tell the sound from your speakers apart from your voice and removes the echo, which matters most when the mic sits close to the speakers.
- Google Meet
- When Meet hears echo, it tries to fix it and puts a red dot on More options; Troubleshooting & help there explains what to change. Google's own tips: lower your speaker volume, mute when you aren't speaking and use a headset.
- Webex
- Webex's echo guide says echo is a participant's received audio being picked up by their own mic or another device in the same room. Mute everyone, then unmute one participant at a time to find the source.
Check it with the test
Play music through your speakers at call volume and run the noise test. If the meter moves with the music, your mic is feeding that sound back into the call.
Run the noise test →Questions
Q.01Why do I hear echo when my own settings look fine?
The echo you hear usually comes from another person: their speakers play your voice into their mic. Ask them to use headphones or turn their speakers down.
Q.02Does muting a second device in the room stop echo?
Not always. Zoom's advice is to leave the call's audio on the extra device, because muting the mic leaves its speaker on.
Q.03Do headphones fix echo?
They fix echo caused by your speakers, because the call's sound no longer reaches your mic. They do not fix echo coming from someone else's setup.
Related problems
Checked against
Vendor help pages and manufacturer guides, last checked :
- support.zoom.com · Managing Audio Echo in a Meeting
- support.zoom.com · Managing Advanced Audio Settings
- support.discord.com · Discord Voice and Video Troubleshooting Guide
- support.google.com · Troubleshoot Video & Audio Quality in a Meeting
- microsoft.com · How Microsoft Teams Uses AI and Machine Learning to Improve Calls and Meetings
- help.webex.com · Troubleshooting Guide for Echo in a Conference