Video Appointments: Troubleshooting issues

Follow the steps in this guide if you're having trouble joining a video call. Usually all it takes is selecting the Allow option when your web browser prompts for access to the camera and microphone

Check your school firewall is allowing the connection.

If your teachers are accessing the system from school, and they are seeing "black screens" or "Error 53000" these are likely to be related to access to Twilio (who provide the Video connectivity) and suggests network/firewall issues.

Please run this test https://networktest.twilio.com/ (you will need to allow access to your microphone and camera).

If any of the tests generates a "Fail" please let your IT support team know that they need to unblock:

global.vss.twilio.com, TCP/UDP 443
sdkgw.us1.twilio.com, TCP/UDP 443

In addition they may need to whitelist any relevant region media server IP ranges listed on https://www.twilio.com/docs/video/ip-address-whitelisting and, if that does not work, they may need to add all of them.

Check you're using a compatible web browser

The following web browsers are supported for making video calls:

iPhone/iPad: Safari
Android: Chrome or Firefox
Windows: Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (latest version only)
Mac: Safari (but see below re. iOS 14.2), Chrome, or Firefox

Device/browser specific troubleshooting

Apple Devices on iOS 14.2

Issue: stuttering audio at the start of the video call

There was a known issue affecting Apple devices running iOS 14.2 which caused stuttering audio when joining video calls. The audio would then often stabilize itself after some time. As this affected connecting to any video call in the Safari browser, it was not specific to SchoolCloud Parents Evening, nor within our ability to deal with. Apple fixed this issue with the release of iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3 to the public on 15th December, which included an update of Safari to version 14.0.2. Anyone still seeing this issue should make sure they have applied the updates.

Edge (Chromium)

Issue: unable to hear audio from the other party

Assuming you can hear audio from the other party when using a different browser such as Chrome or Firefox, this happens when the Media Autoplay setting in Edge blocks or limits audio from playing.
Check Group Policy to ensure AutoplayAllowed is set to Not Configured or Enabled. Setting this to Disabled would cause this issue to occur.

Check your camera and/or microphone is working

We recommend using a smartphone as all have a microphone, while most have a front-facing camera.

If you're using a laptop with a built-in webcam or a computer with a USB webcam, try checking your webcam works by opening the Camera application which should come pre-installed on your computer.

Check your web browser has access to the camera and/or microphone

When accessing video calls for the first time, your web browser should ask you if you wish to allow access to the camera and microphone.

If your camera and/or microphone is not detected, you'll see a message similar to this:

Please follow the suggestions below and then press Try Again.

Steps to try:

Try refreshing the page to see if the web browser prompts you for access to the camera and microphone.
If you're prompted for access, choose Allow.
Otherwise, continue to step 2.
Check if your web browser is blocking access to the camera and microphone and if so, unblock access.
The steps depend on which web browser you're using:
1. iPhone/iPad
  Safari - open Settings from the Home screen, then choose Safari, and scroll to the Camera & Microphone Access option.
2. Android
  Chrome - click here to view guide
  Firefox - click here to view guide
3. Windows
  Chrome - click here to view guide
  Firefox - click here to view guide
  Edge (latest version) - press the three dots in the upper right and choose Settings, press Site permissions on the left, followed by Camera and Microphone on the right. Ensure camera and microphone access isn't blocked for this website.
4. Mac
  Safari - click here to view guide
  Chrome - click here to view guide
  Firefox - click here to view guide