When things go wrong, what do you do? Don’t panic! This lesson has got you covered.
Pre-event Checklist: Download the printable checklist
Potential Sources of Issue:
A troubleshooting guide is easily accessible by clicking on the Help icon in the beta captioner.
Poor Audio Quality/No Audio
How to troubleshoot:
- Confirm you have the right microphone input selected
- Open the audio visualizer and monitor the input
- Test before and throughout your event
- Increase or decrease the volume of the microphone input
- If you can, get a compressed audio feed (this helps especially with dynamic speakers)
Still experiencing issues?
If the above steps do not improve the audio feed, next try quitting out of Chrome entirely, wait 10 seconds, then re-open Chrome and log back in.
Poor Internet Connection
Ensure you have good internet by following the steps below:
- Get a wired ethernet connection for internet (this is HIGHLY recommended so you won’t be impacted by wi-fi issues)
- Run a speed test on the internet at the venue–you want at minimum 1 Mbps upload and download speed. However, note that once the event begins, the traffic on the wi-fi network will likely be a lot higher and this can also impede the internet speed. This is why we highly recommend an ethernet connection.
- Use your cellphone as a mobile hotspot
Other potential issues:
Issue: The speaker is changing between languages.
Solution: If they continue to speak in one language, change the language the captioner is listening for. If they are constantly switching languages, do your best to summarize their point.
Issue: The software feels like it’s slow.
Solution: Turn off browser extensions (such as Grammarly) that may interfere with the beta captioner.
PRACTICE:
Play the trace “Handling poor audio quality” to practice dealing with lower quality audio when all else fails. Then take the quiz to test your understanding for troubleshooting.