Messages (Mountain Lion): Fix video chat issues
If you have trouble with video chatting, try the suggestions below.
If you can’t start a video chat
- Make sure your computer hardware and software meet the minimum system requirements.
Requirements for audio chats, video chats, and screen sharing
- Make sure your camera and microphone are properly connected and turned on.
- Make sure you have a working broadband connection to the Internet.
- Make sure your buddy is not already in another video or audio chat. You can participate in only one video or audio chat at a time.
- If you have more than one camera or microphone connected to your computer, choose Messages > Preferences, click Audio/Video, and then choose the one you want to use for chats.
If you or a friend can’t join a video chat
- Make sure your Internet connection is working.
- Make sure your computer and Internet connection and your friend’s computer and Internet connection support video chatting.
Requirements for audio chats, video chats, and screen sharing
- Turn off Internet sharing.
To participate in a video chat, you may need to temporarily disable Internet sharing if it is turned on. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sharing, and then deselect Internet Sharing.
- Try inviting buddies who can’t join a video chat to an audio chat instead.
If the quality of your video chat worsens
The quality of your video chat can diminish if you’re sharing an Internet connection with others on a network and they’re doing tasks that use a lot of bandwidth, such as transferring large files or video chatting.
Limiting the bandwidth of your video connection may help.
- Open Messages Audio/Video preferences by doing one of the following:
-
Choose Messages > Preferences, and then click Audio/Video.
-
Click the camera icon next to your buddy picture.
-
- Choose a lower speed from the “Bandwidth limit” pop-up menu.
Other factors that can affect the quality of the video chat are changes in lighting, problems with focus, or excessive motion in the video.
If you can’t hear anything in your chat
- Make sure your microphone is properly connected to your computer.
- If you’re using a camera with an internal microphone, make sure the camera is properly connected to your computer and is turned on.
- Make sure the Mute button is not selected in the video chat window.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sound, and then click Output. Check the “Output volume” setting. Make sure the Mute checkbox is not selected.
If your friend doesn’t have a camera
You can invite a friend who doesn’t have a camera to a one-way video chat. In a one-way video chat, your friend sees and hears you, and you can hear your friend if he or she has a microphone.
If both of you have cameras connected, you can have a one-way video chat only if one of your cameras is disabled. To disable a camera, choose Video > Video Chat Enabled to deselect the option.
Only the person with an enabled camera can invite others to a one-way video chat.
If your video chat stops unexpectedly
If you use a digital video (DV) camera, make sure the camera is not in sleep mode. Some DV cameras go to sleep after a period of inactivity.
Check the documentation that came with your camera to adjust sleep settings.
If there are holes in your video chat backdrop
If you use a backdrop effect for a video chat, moving your camera can create a “hole” in the backdrop.
Don’t move the camera while choosing a backdrop, otherwise holes will appear in your backdrop.
If you experience a connection failure or diminished audio/video quality
Messages provides information to help you diagnose and fix connection and quality problems associated with audio or video chats, or screen sharing.
The information can help you if you can’t establish a connection, if you lose your connection, or if you experience low-quality audio or video reception.
- Review the detailed information and options in any error dialog that appears in the message window.
- See the Error Log pane of Connection Doctor. This pane provides an ongoing log of connection problems.
To open the Error Log pane, choose Video > Connection Doctor, and then choose Error Log from the Show pop-up menu. You can also open this pane by clicking the Help button (looks like a question mark) in the error dialog in the message window.
- See the Network Status pane of Connection Doctor. This pane shows information about what might cause an inability to establish a connection.
To open the Network Status pane, choose Video > Connection Doctor, and then choose Network Status from the Show pop-up menu.
- See the Statistics pane of Connection Doctor. This pane provides information about an audio/video connection, including bandwidth, frame rate, and frame size.
To open the Statistics pane, choose Video > Connection Doctor, and then choose Statistics from the Show pop-up menu.
- See the Capabilities pane of Connection Doctor. This pane shows the kinds of chats you can conduct given your Internet connection and your computer’s audio/video setup.
To open the Capabilities pane, choose Video > Connection Doctor, and then choose Capabilities from the Show pop-up menu.
Click the Help button (looks like a question mark) in any of the Connection Doctor panes for additional information.
If your router is causing connection problems
When the Network Status pane of Connection Doctor indicates that your computer’s router type is Restricted, Port Restricted, Symmetric, or Unknown, the approach to fixing connectivity problems depends on your network setup.
- If you're using an office network with simple networking policies, consult your network administrator.
- If you’re using a home network with a DSL/cable modem and a network address translation (NAT) router, instead of having address translation performed by the modem, install a full cone NAT router.
- If you’re using a home network with a DSL/cable modem that has a built-in NAT router, ask your ISP about a replacement modem that’s compatible with a full cone router.
- If you’re using a home network and your ISP uses NAT and provides only private addresses, consider switching to a different ISP or negotiate more open NAT support from your existing ISP.
To learn more about NAT routers, choose Video > Connection Doctor, choose Network Status from the Show pop-up menu, and then click the Help button (looks like a question mark).