My Camera and Microphone aren't working

By clicking on the settings icon in your room, you can select the microphone or camera that you'd like to use for your session under the device tab. However, in some cases SIRIUS won't detect a camera or microphone, the devices could be blocked, or the device selection won't save. In cases like these, you can do a few things to get ieverything working

First Steps

Update Your Browser

The first thing to check on is if your browser is up to date. We support the most recent versions of our supported browsers, so double check that there isn't an update for the one you're using! If you wonder how to update your browser please check via the links below how to get the most recent version of your browser. 

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Opera
• Vivaldi
  
• Safari

Accidentally Block Permission?

When SIRIUS first asks permission to access your camera and microphone, you may have chosen  Block instead of Allow by mistake. 

In this case, please press the camera icon in the browser's address bar to undo the block, then press "Try Again." The icon looks slightly different on different browsers, here are a couple of examples:

Clear Your Cache and Cookies

Finally, it's possible that this is caused by a stale mic/cam permissions cookie, or possibly due to another application that's taking priority access over SIRIUS.

In this case we recommend clearing your cache and cookies for your entire browser and then restarting your computer. Sometimes a reset of your system environment will resolve these types of issues, so this is a "catch-all" solution before further investigation is required! Instructions for clearing your cache and cookies for our supported browsers are linked here:

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Opera
• Vivaldi
  
• Safari

Check your system and browser settings

Confirm the Mic/Cam settings for MacOS

In MacOS Mojave, Apple has introduced some system-level privacy controls for your mic and camera. These are great for privacy, but it is possible that your browser was mistakenly blocked from accessing your devices. Check this and allow your browser to access them from the Security & Privacy section in your System Preferences. 

To access these settings, do the following: 

1. Click the Apple in the top left > select System Preferences.
2. Click the Security & Privacy section.
3. Click Camera in the list of options, and tick the box next to your browser to allow access.
4. Repeat Step 3 for your Microphone.
5. After doing this, restart your browser for the updates to take effect.

Confirm the Mic/Cam settings for Windows

In Windows 10, you're able to set a default Microphone, but there are also system-level Camera permissions on what applications can access your camera. For either of these settings, the first thing to do is open up your system settings by clicking the Start menu and selecting Settings gear.

Default Mic

You can adjust the microphone settings by typing Mic into the search bar and going to the Sound settings. Scroll down to Input and use the dropdown to select the proper input device.

Camera Permissions

Camera permissions can be accessed by typing Cam into the search bar. These settings are under your general Privacy settings, but search is the easiest way to access them. From here, be sure that your browser has permission to access your camera.

Confirm the Mic/Cam settings for your browser

Chrome

Mic and Cam defaults can be accessed in a number of ways in Chrome, the easiest is to paste the following links into your URL bar:

• Cam:  chrome://settings/content/camera
• Mic:  chrome://settings/content/microphone

From these areas, you can manage the default cam/mic for Chrome, and also whitelist or block websites from accessing your cam/mic! Be sure that SIRIUS is listed under the Allow section.

Firefox

In Firefox, you can also use a URL link to get to your privacy settings. Start by going to  about:preferences#privacy, and then looking under the Permissions section. Here you can adjust which websites are allowed to use your camera, and you'll want to see SIRIUS listed as Allow.

Opera

In Opera you can get to settings by typing settings into your URL bar. From here, click on Websites in the left hand menu list. Then scroll down to the Microphone and Camera area, and use the dropdown menus to select the default devices. You can also adjust your permissions preferences and set up Exceptions as necessary.