Others hear themselves
You hear
Someone says they can hear themselves whenever you are unmuted.
If others hear themselves when you unmute, the echo is on your side: your speakers, a second device or your sound driver sends their voices back.
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 | Your speakers play the call and your mic picks it up | Use headphones, or turn the speakers down and move the mic away from them headphones |
| 02 · Room | Another device in the room is in the same call with its audio on | Disconnect the call audio on every device but one; muting the extra mic leaves its speaker playing one device |
| 03 · Room | You joined by phone and by computer, and both have audio | When you dial in by phone, leave the computer audio on the computer one audio source |
| 04 · Mic | Loud headphones leak sound into a nearby, sensitive mic | Turn the headphone volume down, or use closed headphones that keep the sound in closed headphones |
| 05 · System | Your sound driver records what you hear and sends it along with your mic | In your sound driver's mixer, make sure the mic is the only thing being recorded mixer |
| 06 · App | Echo cancellation is off, or a music mode has switched it off | Turn echo cancellation back on, and use music modes only with headphones echo cancellation |
By app
- Zoom
- Zoom's High-fidelity music mode turns off echo cancellation, and Zoom advises turning echo cancellation off only when you use headphones or play an instrument. A host can mute participants one at a time to find the source.
- TeamSpeak
- TeamSpeak's test: turn your speakers or headset to 0% and ask whether you still echo. If you don't, your speakers reach the mic; if you do, your sound driver is recording what you hear.
- Webex
- Webex recommends using the mic and speakers of one device per room and muting the rest, playing the call through headphones, and moving your mic or headset further from the speakers.
- Google Meet
- On eligible Workspace plans, Adaptive Audio merges laptops in the same room so they don't feed back into each other; Google warns that turning it off may cause echo or a howling noise.
- Discord
- Discord has an Echo Cancellation switch in its voice settings.
Check it with the test
Play a recording of someone talking through your speakers at call volume during the first step. If the noise floor jumps, your mic hears the speakers, and that is the sound others get back. Run it again with headphones on and compare.
Run the noise test →Questions
Q.01Why can't I hear the echo myself?
Because it is made of other people's voices. Your speakers play their voices, your mic picks them up, and they hear themselves a moment later.
Q.02I wear headphones and they still hear themselves. What next?
Turn the headphone volume down and check that only one device in the room has call audio. If it continues, TeamSpeak suggests checking that your sound driver records only the mic.
Q.03Doesn't echo cancellation handle this?
It helps: Teams runs it without a switch, and Zoom lets you set it to Auto, Low or High. Microsoft notes that removing echo is hardest when the speaker and mic sit very close together, which is why headphones are the reliable fix.
Related problems
Checked against
Vendor help pages and manufacturer guides, last checked :
- support.zoom.com · Managing Audio Echo in a Meeting
- support.zoom.com · Setting Up Professional Audio for Zoom Meetings
- support.zoom.com · Managing Advanced Audio Settings
- support.teamspeak.com · When I Talk I Am Producing Echoes. How Can I Fix This?
- help.webex.com · Troubleshooting Guide for Echo in a Conference
- support.google.com · Use Adaptive Audio in Meet
- support.discord.com · Discord Voice and Video Troubleshooting Guide
- microsoft.com · How Microsoft Teams Uses AI and Machine Learning to Improve Calls and Meetings
- help.rode.com · Is It Possible to Avoid Sound Bleed in Microphone and Speaker Setups?