Before you start
This guide is for using Freed in a web browser on a Windows PC. It does not cover troubleshooting microphone issues for visits recording with telehealth or Chrome extension. It does not cover how to recover audio for previous visits.
A few pro tips:
For the best experience, we recommend Google Chrome.
Fastest first step for almost any mic problem: close other apps that use your mic (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Doxy.me, Slack huddles, Discord) — make sure they're fully closed, not just minimized to the system tray. Refresh the Freed tab, and try a quick test visit.
A quick tip that fixes most issues: when you start a visit, watch the green audio bar in Freed. If it moves when you talk, Freed is hearing you. If it stays flat, your mic isn't getting through — the steps below will help.
Issue: Audio not captured
IF you see any of the the following errors...
Your microphone is muted
Green audio bar doesn't move
not capturing any audio
Unfortunately your microphone is not capturing any audio. Please make sure it's not muted, check your volume settings, or try a different browser
Voice Not Captured
We couldn't generate results because your visit wasn't captured properly. This could be because your microphone didn't work, your device went to sleep, or nothing was said when Freed was listening.
Microphone worked before and suddenly stopped
...THEN, try these steps in order:
Check the green audio bar. Start a test visit and speak. If the bar doesn't move, proceed to the next step.
Confirm your microphone is not muted. Check for a physical mute button or switch on your headset or mic, and check the Windows volume mixer (right-click the speaker icon in the system tray → Open volume mixer) to make sure your browser or mic input isn't muted there.
Pick the correct microphone in Freed. Click the down arrow next to the green audio level bar. Switch between the listed microphones until the green audio level bar moves when you talk.
Avoid "virtual" or remote devices — if the list shows something like "Remote Audio," a virtual camera/mic app (e.g. NVIDIA Broadcast, Discord Krisp, Voicemod), or a "Steam Streaming Microphone," those usually aren't a real, physical microphone.
Make sure nothing else is using your mic. Fully quit (don't just minimize) any app that records audio, e.g. Zoom, Teams, Meet, Doxy.me, Slack, Discord, etc. On Windows these can keep running in the system tray or background after you close the window, so check the system tray icons (or Task Manager) to confirm the app has actually exited. Then refresh Freed and try again.
Check your browser's site settings. Click the icon on the left side of the address bar (a tune/sliders or lock icon). Ensure that microphone permission is toggled on. Then click '>' to access microphone settings for Freed. Ensure that microphone access is allowed for every visit. Also check that the correct microphone is selected by seeing that the audio level bar moves when you speak. Reload the Freed tab (Ctrl + R) so the change takes effect.
If you don't see the option, open a new tab and go to
chrome://settings/content/microphone. Make sure Freed's address is not in the "Not allowed" list, and that a real microphone is selected as the default.
Check Windows' microphone privacy settings. These are separate from Chrome's site settings, and can block your mic even when Chrome allows it:
Windows 11: Start → Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone. Make sure Microphone access is On, Let apps access your microphone is On, and Let desktop apps access your microphone is On (Chrome is a desktop app).
Windows 10: Start → Settings → Privacy → Microphone. Make sure Allow apps to access your microphone is On and Allow desktop apps to access your microphone is On.
Check your Windows sound settings. Confirm the right input device is selected and its volume is turned up:
Windows 11: Start → Settings → System → Sound → Input. Choose the mic you want to use and check the volume slider.
Windows 10: Start → Settings → System → Sound, then under Input choose your device and check its volume.
Or, on either version: right-click the speaker icon in the system tray → Sound settings (or open Control Panel → Sound → Recording tab) → right-click your microphone → Set as Default Device.
Update your microphone driver. Open Device Manager (right-click the Start button → Device Manager), expand Audio inputs and outputs (or Sound, video and game controllers), right-click your microphone, and select Update driver.
Prevent your screen from going to sleep.
Windows 11: Start → Settings → System → Power & battery → Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts (may show as Screen and sleep on some builds). Set Screen and Sleep to Never — for both "on battery power" and "when plugged in" if you ever record visits on battery.
Windows 10: Start → Settings → System → Power & sleep. Set Screen and Sleep to Never for both power states as needed.
Refresh and retry. Reload the Freed tab (Ctrl + R) and start a new test visit.
Still stuck? Our Clinician Support team is happy to help. When you reach out, it helps to provide date/time of issue, what you tried already, and anything else you might consider helpful.
Issue: Audio is cutting out / Audio is very quiet / Microphone won't connect
This is usually related to a Bluetooth headset, a USB headset, or another app holding on to your microphone.
Check your Windows sound settings. Confirm the correct microphone is selected as the input device and its volume is turned up (see the Windows 10/11 paths above).
If the sound is choppy, muffled, or cutting in and out, try disconnecting and reconnecting the microphone or headset — unplug and replug a USB device, or turn a Bluetooth device off and back on.
Disconnect other Bluetooth devices. Make sure another microphone, headset, or headphones isn't intermittently connecting to your PC.
If a USB microphone or headset keeps dropping mid-visit even though it's plugged in properly, stop Windows from powering it down automatically: open Device Manager → expand Universal Serial Bus controllers → right-click each USB Root Hub / Generic USB Hub → Properties → Power Management tab → uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power → OK. Repeat for each hub listed.
If Freed still can't get your mic even though every other app looks closed, another app may have locked exclusive access to it: press Windows key + R, type
mmsys.cpl, press Enter, open the Recording tab, right-click your microphone → Properties → Advanced tab → uncheck Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device → OK.Confirm the correct device is also selected inside Freed using the mic toggle, and check the green bar moves when you speak.
Still stuck? Our Clinician Support team is happy to help. When you reach out, it helps to provide date/time of issue, what you tried already, and anything else you might consider helpful.
Get Support
If you need further help or have questions, you can get in touch with our Clinician Support team in the method that works best for you:
Start a chat by clicking the messenger icon in the bottom right corner.
Email your message to [email protected].
Join a live support call with our support team.
If you're interested in using Freed as a group, talk with our sales team.