Microphone and audio
AI practice sessions, coaching sessions, and live practice sessions use your voice, so Arcade needs your microphone. Some lessons and certifications also record your spoken answers. A session cannot start without the microphone. A video session also needs the camera. Use this page when Arcade cannot use your microphone or when people cannot hear you.
Fix a blocked microphone
Section titled “Fix a blocked microphone”When an AI session cannot use the microphone, a dialog opens:
- Microphone access needed: you closed the request of your browser without an answer. Select Try again, then select Allow when your browser asks.
- Microphone blocked: your browser or your phone blocks the microphone for Arcade. Usually, it does not ask you again.
If you close the dialog, select Try again or Show me how on the start screen when you are ready.
In a live practice session, Try again shows how to allow the camera and the microphone in your browser. In the mobile app, it opens the app settings. Allow them, then start the session again.
In the mobile app, if you refused the microphone before, your phone does not ask again. Turn it on with Go to Settings.
Fix sound problems during a session
Section titled “Fix sound problems during a session”When the AI or the other person cannot hear you, try these steps:
- Close the other apps that use the microphone, for example a video call app.
- Make sure that your microphone is connected and not muted. Speak near your device.
- For an AI session that does not hear you or answers too early, read Why does the AI not hear me?.
On a phone, a phone call or a different app that plays sound can stop your microphone in an AI session. Arcade gets the microphone back when the microphone is available again.
Switch the audio device on the web
Section titled “Switch the audio device on the web”A browser keeps the microphone and the speaker that were the default when the session started. If you connect a headset during the session, your voice can stop. Then Arcade shows the We can’t hear you alert.
In the alert, select Switch audio device, and select the microphone and the speaker that you use.
Arcade then checks again that your voice gets to the session.
Use a headset
Section titled “Use a headset”On a phone, the session sound plays on the loudspeaker, not on the earpiece. When you connect a wired or Bluetooth headset, the sound moves to the headset.
On Android 12 and later, the app asks for permission to use Bluetooth devices when a Bluetooth headset is connected. If you refuse, the session sound stays on the phone. To change this, allow Bluetooth for Arcade in the settings of the app on your phone.
In a noisy place, for example a busy store, use a headset with a microphone near your mouth.
Test your microphone and speaker
Section titled “Test your microphone and speaker”The network check page has an audio test. Use it before your first session, or when people cannot hear you.
- Select the settings button (the gear icon) at the top of the Home tab, then select Network Check.
- In Audio test, test the microphone, then play the test sound.
If the test hears nothing, try a different Microphone. In the mobile app, Test connection quality also opens a real audio connection, as a session does, and measures its quality.