Skype is a popular software for free video calls, IMs and call conferencing. A lot of people are using it for both personal and business use. Like any other software, some may get into trouble either with installation; sign in, sending messages, hearing the other person on the line and other audio issues. The most common issue we found online is related to calls. It may be because you can’t hear the other person or the other person can’t hear what you are saying.

Whether you or the other person is not hearing the conversation, the troubleshooting steps are similar. Like any other audio problems in a computer, you’ll first check the hardware. Is the headset/speaker properly connected to the computer? Is the volume control set to mute or lowest level?

For desktop computers, it’s best to check the port where the speaker, microphone or headset is connected to. If the the speaker is pluged into a microphone or line in port and the microphone to a speaker port, that will obviously not work. The ports should have icons near them but it may be too small to notice. In most cases, It is colour coded and it is easy to remember. Green is for speakers and pink is for microphone. Once you are done checking the hardware part, proceed in testing like playing a music or video file through a media player.

It may play with a media player but sometimes it doesn’t work correctly in Skype. That’s when we check the settings in Skype. To access that page, click Tools > Options > Audio Settings. It will show options for the microphone and speakers. In some computers, it only has 1 device for input and output of sound. The drop down options in this page will let you select the best device for microphone and speakers.

You’ll have to select the active speakers and microphone device. If you are using a headset, it will also be added to the list of available devices.

If you are not sure about which device to select, check the volume icon on the Taskbar. For more information about troubleshooting Skype, you may visit http://support.skype.com/ If you are not comfortable doing this, we can help you with it. You may reach us by chat, phone or email.  888-708-4885. We have experts ready to assist you.