Using your microphone and camera in Proton Meet

Proton Meet lets you control how your camera and microphone work before and during every call. You can choose which devices to use, manage permissions, and adjust your settings to suit your environment.

If something isn’t working as expected, you can also quickly troubleshoot common issues related to device access and permissions.

• Allow camera and microphone access
• Select audio and video devices
• Test your camera and microphone
• Toggle your camera and microphone
• Switch camera modes on mobile
• Troubleshooting

Allow camera and microphone access

When you join or host a meeting for the first time, you might be asked to allow Proton Meet to use your camera and microphone.

• Select Allow to enable audio and video.
• If you choose Block or ignore the prompt, you won’t be able to turn on your camera and/or microphone during calls.

Grant camera and microphone access later

If you didn’t allow camera and microphone access when you first joined a call, you can enable it in your browser settings:

1. Click View site information (🔒, ℹ️, or similar icon) next to your browser’s address bar.
2. Toggle on the Camera and Microphone settings.
3. Refresh the page for the changes to take effect.

Select audio and video devices

Before you join a meeting, the Audio and Video panels show which camera and microphone will be used during the call.

• Click Audio to switch to another microphone.
• Click Video to switch to another camera.

You can change your camera, microphone, or speaker anytime during a call. Just open the Audio 🎙️ or Video 📹 menus again and select a new device.

Tip: If participants can’t hear or see you, make sure your browser has permission to access your devices and the correct microphone or camera is selected. For example, on Mac, you must allow browser access in System Settings.

Test your camera and microphone

To check how you sound and look before you join the call, toggle on Microphone 🎙️ and Camera 📹.

If you don’t want to share video and audio as soon as you join, keep your camera and microphone disabled before you click Start meeting.

Toggle your camera and microphone

For your privacy, audio and video are disabled by default when a meeting starts. To turn them on before joining a call, click Microphone 🎙️ and Camera 📹.

During a call, use the same buttons in the navigation bar to turn your microphone and camera on or off.

Switch camera modes on mobile

On mobile, you can switch between the front and back camera by tapping the camera switch button.

Before joining a meeting, this button appears next to the Camera 📹 button.

During a meeting, you’ll find it in the top-right corner.

Troubleshooting

Having trouble with your camera or microphone? See how to fix device and permission issues in Proton Meet.

Check browser permissions

When you join a meeting, your browser should ask for access to your camera and microphone. For example, it always asks when you start a meeting for the first time in private browsing / incognito mode.

If you don’t see a prompt or accidentally denied it:

1. Click the lock icon in your browser’s address bar.
2. Enable Camera and Microphone.
3. Refresh the page.

Check site permissions in your browser

If your camera or microphone can’t be enabled, your browser may be blocking access at the site level.

Open your browser’s settings and review permissions for Proton Meet, then make sure Camera and Microphone are set to Allow. After updating the settings, refresh the page.

Clear browsing data

If permissions seem correct but still don’t work, clear site data (cookies and storage) for Proton Meet. Then reload the page and allow permissions again.

Check system permissions

Your operating system may block access even if your browser or Proton Meet app allows it.

On macOS:

1. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security.
2. Select Camera and toggle on the Proton Meet app or your browser.
3. Select Microphone and toggle on the Proton Meet app or your browser.
4. Restart the Proton Meet app or your browser.

On Windows:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy & security → Camera.
2. Turn on Camera access and Let apps access your camera.
3. Make sure your browser or the Proton Meet app is allowed.
4. Go to Microphone and repeat the same steps.

On Linux:

Camera and microphone access depends on your distribution and setup.

• Make sure your browser has permission to use your camera and microphone.
• Ensure no other application is using your devices.
• Restart your browser after making changes.

Check your devices and setup

• Check that your microphone isn’t being used by another app.
• Make sure the correct microphone and speaker are selected.
• Try unplugging and reconnecting external devices (like headphones).
• Disconnect peripheral devices you don’t currently use, like USB flash drives.
• Restart your computer.
• Switch to another browser.

If you’re new to our video conferencing app, check out our guide for getting started with Proton Meet.