Zoom Video Conferencing at CSUSB: Troubleshooting

During the COVID-19 pandemic, you may encounter problems when studying/working online.

Some of the common problems are:

• Slower than usual connections to websites.

• Frozen browser for no apparent reason.

• Audio/video delays and/or skipping when playing streaming video.

• When attempting to view a video/DVD on Zoom, users get a gray screen.

Some of the possible reasons are:

• There is too much traffic on the network that your browser is trying to connect to.

• Other people in the same household are using the Internet at the same time.

• Your Internet service has poor coverage.

• Your Internet data plan is limited.

• Gray screen in Zoom sometimes indicates copy protection.

Some of the possible solutions are:

• Close any unneeded applications that might be using some of your available bandwidth.

• Change the time of day you access academic networks; early morning and very late night seem to have less traffic.

• For issues related to streaming video:

o Go to “Settings” in your video player and change the “Quality” from 480p to 240p.

o This quality change reduces the bandwidth needed to play the video.

• Call your Internet provider and ask if/how you can improve your coverage.

• Use a hotspot (ask ITS about this) as a work-around to using your Internet provider.

• Take your laptop to the CSUSB campus parking garage and login to the campus Wi-Fi.

• Add more data to your Internet plan.

• Use a VLC media player as a work-around for gray screen. Download VLC player here.