VoiceThread Docs / Troubleshooting / Audio/video recording issues

Any microphone or camera should work in VoiceThread, but there are some things that might result in audio or video recording difficulties. Since VoiceThread uses HTML5, checking browser and computer audio settings is a great place to start. Please try all of the workflows below.

Check your web browser’s settings


  1. Click on the menu icon (looks like 3 vertical dots) in the top-right corner of the Chrome window.
  2. Select “Settings”.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Advanced”.
  4. Find the Privacy and Security section, and click on “Site Settings”.
  5. Click on the “Microphone” option.
  6. Make sure the correct microphone is selected from the top of the page.
  7. Make sure no variation of “voicethread.com” appears in the blocked list. If it does, click on the trash can icon next to it to remove it.
  8. Go back to step 4 and repeat this process for the “Camera” option.


  1. Click on the menu icon in the top-right corner of your Firefox window.
  2. Select “Preferences” from that menu.
  3. Click on “Privacy & Security” on the left.
  4. Scroll down to the “Permissions” section.
  5. Click “Settings” next to the Microphone option.
  6. Find voicethread.com in the list and click on it so that it’s selected.
  7. Click “Remove Website” at the bottom of the list.
  8. Save Changes.

Once you’ve removed VoiceThread from your existing list of permissions, you should be able to go back to your VoiceThread window and try recording again.  This time you should be prompted to allow those permissio


  2. Click on “Site permissions”.
  3. Click “Microphone”.
  4. Use the menu to select your preferred microphone.
  5. Navigate back and click on “Camera”.
  6. Use the menu to select your preferred camera.

Safari (Version 14 or later)

Safari’s microphone and camera preferences are dictated by your system settings.

  1. Click on the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen.
  2. Select “System Preferences”.
  3. Click on the sound option.
  4. In the “Input” tab, select your preferred microphone.
  5. Close the window when you are finished.

Settings for your computer


If you are using Mac OS X Mojave or later, you might need to change your system-level security settings with these steps:

  2. Select “System Preferences”.
  3. Click on “Security and Privacy”.
  4. Click on “Microphone” on the left.
  5. Make sure the boxes for any web browsers you see in that list are checked.
  6. Repeat for the “Camera” option on the left.

Restart your computer


Check your network settings

VoiceThread requires certain URLs and ports to be open on your network or allowed in your browser. If one is blocked, this may prevent successful recording. Click here if you are working on a local area network.

Try another internet connection and computer
