Why do people hear an echo on my calls?
If others hear their own voice repeated back, your microphone is picking up your speakers. Here’s how to confirm it and stop it, from headphones to app settings.
Someone on a call says they can hear themselves repeated back a moment after they speak. It’s distracting for them and it’s almost always caused by the one person who can’t hear it.
The path is simple. Their voice comes out of your speakers, your microphone picks it up and sends it back to them a fraction of a second later. Fixing it means breaking that loop.
Who is causing it?
- Everyone else hears their own voice: your setup is the source.
- You hear your own voice: someone else’s setup is the source. Ask who isn’t using headphones.
- Only one person hears an echo: check whether two people are in the same room on separate devices.
Fix 1: use headphones
This fixes echo every time. With headphones the other voices go straight into your ears and your microphone has nothing to pick up. Any headphones work, including the earbuds that came with a phone.
If you use a headset over Bluetooth, see the Bluetooth call quality guide for the trade-offs.
Fix 2: turn the speakers down
Echo cancellation in meeting apps works by removing the sound the app played from whatever the microphone hears. It works well when the speaker sound reaching the mic is quiet. At high volume the speaker sound overwhelms it and some leaks through.
Lower your speaker volume until voices are clear but not loud. Most echo complaints from laptop users stop here.
Fix 3: move the mic away from the speakers
A USB microphone sitting right in front of desktop speakers hears them almost as clearly as it hears you. Move the mic closer to your mouth and away from the speakers. Pointing the speakers away from the mic helps too. A directional microphone aimed at you picks up far less from the sides.
Confirm it with the microphone test
The microphone test shows your raw microphone level with echo cancellation turned off, which is exactly what you need to see how much of your speakers leaks in.
- Open the microphone test and choose the mic you use for calls.
- In another tab, play a video or music through your speakers at your usual call volume.
- Stay silent and watch the level meter.
If the meter moves a lot with you silent, your mic is hearing the speakers clearly and the call app has a lot of echo to cancel. Turn the speakers down or move the mic until the meter barely moves.
Fix 4: check the app’s audio settings
Echo cancellation. Some apps let you turn echo cancellation off, often in an advanced or original sound mode for musicians. Make sure it’s on for normal calls.
Two apps sharing the audio. If a browser tab or another program plays sound through the same speakers, the meeting app may not be able to cancel it. Close other audio sources during the call.
The wrong output device. If the call plays through your monitor’s speakers while your microphone is a webcam mounted right above them, the mic hears everything. Choose headphones or a speaker further from the mic in the app’s settings.
Two devices in one room
Joining the same call from a laptop and a phone in the same room creates a strong loop, often with howling feedback rather than a simple echo. Each device hears the other’s speaker. Mute both the mic and the speaker on one device. Better still, leave the call on it and share the other screen.
The same happens when two colleagues sit near each other on separate laptops. Headphones for both of them is the fix.
Before an important call
Run through the pre-meeting check with the speaker volume you actually plan to use. A few seconds with the microphone meter while audio plays tells you whether your setup will echo before anyone on the call has to tell you.
Common questions
If people hear an echo, is it my problem or theirs?
Usually the person who doesn’t hear the echo is causing it. If everyone else hears their own voice repeated, the sound is coming out of your speakers and going back into your microphone. If you hear your own voice, the echo is coming from someone else’s setup.
Why does using headphones fix echo?
Echo needs a path from the speaker back to the microphone. Headphones keep the other people’s voices in your ears, so the microphone has nothing to pick up. It’s the most reliable fix there is.
Doesn’t my meeting app cancel echo automatically?
It tries. Echo cancellation subtracts the audio it played from what the mic hears. It struggles when speakers are loud, when the mic sits close to the speakers or when another app plays its own audio through the same speakers. Lower the volume and move the mic away from the speakers to help it.
Why did the echo start when I joined from two devices?
A phone and a laptop in the same room on the same call create a loop. Each device’s mic hears the other’s speaker. Mute the microphone and speakers on one device or leave the call on it.