Common Video Conferencing Problems (and How to Fix Them)

by Philip Bell

In this blog, we’ve extensively discussed the undeniable advantages of video conferencing. By facilitating real-time, face-to-face communications with suppliers, employees and customers, video conferencing enables substantial savings of money and time that help boost the profitability and success of an organization.

However, even with these benefits in mind, many organizations still struggle when it comes to getting the most out of their existing online video conferencing meetings, often due to various problems encountered during normal use. In this blog post, we’ll discuss commonly encountered video conferencing issues, and how you can solve them in order to best use this revolutionary communication technology.

When end users are not familiar with the video conferencing tools they’re using, they’ll commonly encounter various issues during live online conferences. In some cases, users may even avoid using a communication system altogether due to unfamiliarity.

To ensure that you feel confident when using video conferencing software, we recommend you – and anyone else using it – take the time to familiarize yourself with the system once it has been deployed. To ensure that end users understand everything about the system before they begin using it, they should thoroughly read through the solution’s Frequently Asked Questions.

Before any live video conferencing sessions are conducted using a new system, execute a dry run of the system to ensure that users understand how it works. This will help your team understand how to use every feature to facilitate the most effective, efficient and convenient communications, every time.

Inadequate bandwidth and network connectivity issues can make for a poor online video conferencing experience. Some of the main signs of such issues include choppy audio, a video feed that keeps freezing up, screen sharing failure and extended, unexplained delays.

To fix such issues, you can start by checking the internet connection speed and bandwidth requirements of the video conferencing solution you’re using. Afterwards, confirm whether your internet connection can meet the vendor's requirements; you can ask your IT department or provider about this. You can also ask IT technicians to check whether any of the cables, routers or other equipment being used may be responsible for any experienced network issues.

Lack of sufficient bandwidth and other network-related issues are probably some of the most common video conferencing problems experienced by users.

If users cannot see or hear each other when using a video conferencing solution, then it’s of little use to your organization. Delays in the system, echoing audio or even just too-low volume can all render the solution unusable.

To fix such problems, start by ensuring that users have the right equipment in hand. For instance, noise cancellation equipment will go a long way towards minimizing any audio disruptions associated with background noise. Anyone using a computer should have a headset, earbuds or a recommended microphone to minimize echoes. Check all connections, including headset and camera, to ensure that all cables are securely connected to their respective ports.

For comprehensive troubleshooting of video and audio problems, it is also recommended that you check detailed system performance statistics. The right solution should make it easy for IT staff to get a comprehensive system performance record whenever necessary.

Integration Issues

Today, employees rely on a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops, for daily use, including online video conferencing. If the solution you’re using does not integrate well with these devices, end users may abandon it altogether. Users expect to enjoy the same experience across every device they use, otherwise they may find their video conferencing solution to be impractical.

Before adopting a video conferencing solution, we recommend you find out about its compatibility with the your existing devices and any other supported applications, such as calendars, file transfer and messaging – if not included in the solution itself. By making sure a vendor's video conferencing solution is compatible with existing devices, you can avoid many of the more common video conferencing problems that users experience.

System and Functionality Issues

Every system experiences a few problems here and there. However, if some issues repeatedly occur every time the system is in use, making it necessary for end users to keep reaching out to IT for help, they might be discouraged from using it regularly. These delays seriously reduce the noted benefits of video conferencing.

It it is important to ensure that the video conferencing software you’re using is always up to date on all devices. Newer software versions often eliminate known bugs that cause recurring problems. If you are using a browser-based online video conferencing solution, this should not be an issue, as these types of systems are always operating on the latest version of the software and do not require you to do any updating or patching of your own.

Training end users to solve common issues on their own also helps eliminate unnecessary delays. We recommend you adopt a monitoring system that allows users to flag glitches immediately when they are found, alerting IT staff to act without delay.

Security Issues

Security is a major concern when it comes to just about all high-level communications within an organization. Online video conferencing solutions are used for text, audio and video communications, as well as file transfer and application sharing. All these operations are highly sensitive, thus creating major security concerns for all involved.

When choosing a video conferencing solution, it is recommended that you find out more about the security protocols used by the solution. Are they in line with the current standards? Find out whether the service provider offers regular security updates or supports the latest encryption technology. Most importantly, you should have a qualified team of security experts overseeing the installation and subsequent upgrades of the selected video conferencing solution.

Summary

Setting up a video conferencing system across an entire organization requires an investment. If the workforce adopts the solution and uses it to the fullest, your organization stands to gain much more in returns than the initial cost. However, if a substantial part of the workforce does not use the system, due to any one of the above issues, you may not see the ROI you hoped for.

With the above solutions to the most common video conferencing problems in mind and in practice, the only thing that might be needed to maximize adoption of the system by workers is a shift in organizational culture in favor of online video conferencing.

We think that MegaMeeting addresses many of the above issues, especially given our browser-based nature. Contact us today to set up a demo and see for yourself.

MegaMeeting solves the biggest challenges of modern video conferencing. For users, it is an all-in-one platform that delivers both video conferencing and webinars in a single, simplified interface. For attendees, it is 100% browser-based, making it highly accessible; joining a meeting is instantaneous from a single click. For enterprises, it is highly customizable, with white-labeling options for a private branded solution. For developers, it is API-driven and easy to integrate.

Powered by WebRTC, Node.js, React, and GraphQL, it is a cutting-edge platform that is fun and easy to use for users and developers alike.