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Conferencing

How to fix echo on a video call (Zoom / Teams Room)

If the far end hears themselves back, the echo is being created in your room: your speakers are feeding your microphones, and the acoustic echo canceller (AEC) isn't removing it. The key is figuring out why the AEC lost its reference.

First: who hears the echo?

The far end hearing an echo means the problem is in YOUR room (your mics are picking up your speakers). If YOU hear the echo, the problem is in THEIR room. This one distinction saves hours — you can only fix your own side.

1. Check the AEC reference signal

Every echo canceller needs a clean reference of what's being played so it can subtract it. If the DSP's AEC reference is muted, disconnected, or pointed at the wrong source after a routing change or firmware update, echo returns instantly. In Q-SYS, confirm the AEC's reference input is the actual program/far-end audio and that ERLE is non-zero on active channels.

2. Rule out a duplicate audio path

  1. 1Make sure only ONE device is doing echo cancellation. If both the room DSP and the soft codec (Zoom/Teams) apply their own AEC and gain, they fight each other.
  2. 2In Teams/Zoom Rooms with an external DSP, set the codec to treat the DSP as an echo-cancelled 'line' device and disable the codec's own processing for that path.

3. Look for acoustic changes in the room

New hard surfaces, a moved speaker, or a raised speaker volume can push echo past what the AEC can cancel. Lower speaker output a few dB and confirm mic gain isn't cranked to compensate.

Frequently asked

Why did echo start after a firmware update?

Updates can reset or re-route the AEC reference. Re-verify the reference source and that AEC is enabled on the mic channels.

Does muting the mic fix echo?

It hides it, not fixes it. Proper AEC lets people speak without echo. Chasing it with mutes means the canceller isn't working.