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No sound in a recording

A recording came out silent, or half of a call is missing. Work down this list. The first cause is the most common.

Watch the level bars

While you record, the level bars at the bottom left of the live meeting page move with sound. They are flat when KeptNote hears nothing. If you see flat bars while people talk, stop and fix the cause before the meeting goes on. The bars are only a picture. KeptNote does not save them, and it does not send them anywhere.

KeptNote has no warning of its own for a silent recording, so the bars are your check. It also has no microphone picker. It records from the input that your Mac uses.

Everything is silent

  1. Open System Settings and choose Sound, then the Input tab. Speak and check that the level moves for the microphone you want. Pick another input if it does not.

  2. Open Privacy & Security, then Microphone. Check that KeptNote is on. See Microphone and screen permissions.

  3. Check that your microphone is not muted, in its own app or on a headset button.

  4. Record a few seconds again and watch the bars.

Your side is there, but not the other side of a call

In Call mode, KeptNote records the other side through Screen & System Audio Recording.

  • Check that KeptNote is turned on under Privacy & Security, then Screen & System Audio Recording. If you turned it on just now, quit KeptNote and open it again.
  • Check that the meeting was recorded as a call. A recording that began as In the room has no call audio. In the transcript it shows one speaker, Room. To be sure next time, use Detailed Setup… in the File menu and choose Online call under Capture. See Calls on your Mac.
  • Check that the call sound plays through your Mac. KeptNote records what your Mac plays. A call that plays on a different device, such as a phone, does not reach it.

A room recording that is quiet

  • Put the Mac closer to the people who talk.
  • Check that the right input is chosen in System Settings, under Sound.

What KeptNote does with a silent recording

A recording with no speech gets the title Silent recording if the title was automatic. KeptNote asks no AI to write a note for it. In the first start, a silent practice recording shows The recording was silent. with the advice to check the microphone in System Settings, under Sound. The recording stays in your meetings, and you can delete it.

If you leave a meeting running while it is quiet, KeptNote can end it for you. See Pause, resume and stop.

Was something unclear? Write to hello@keptnote.com.