We can’t get away from video calls, especially under lockdown conditions. But for many of us, we do seem to live our working lives on them these days. So for a little light-hearted entertainment, here are the biggest video call problems according to Zoom users.
According to data provided by Virgin Media, who ran 1000’s of opinion polls with Zoom users, these are the top 10 biggest bugbears that video call users have had to put up with in lockdown.
1. Everyone speaking at once
You just can’t hear a thing once two people speak at the same time, let alone multiple people speaking over each another.
2. Feeling uncomfortable
Especially when you can’t hear someone but not wanting to say ‘pardon’ again and again.
3. Cameras or screen freezing
Over 25% of video call users say that they regularly suffer from this, although it’s likely to be a network problem, rather than the technology itself.
4. Speaking while on mute
This is so common that it happens on almost every call. On a recent Video call that lasted an hour, one participant only realised that she was on mute 5 minutes from the end, thinking that she had contributed throughout the meeting.
5. Can’t see everyone
Not being able to see everyone on the call at once is frustrating and on occasions, people that were in attendance can accidentally get left out of the discussion. You certainly can’t see their hand raises if they aren’t on screen.
6. Joining in
Not knowing when to jump into the conversation can be hard enough, but when you already have several people that love the sound of their own voice it can be almost impossible
7. Microphone not working
It’s frustrating when people don’t check that their mic and headphones work before hand, but some video call services will detect several mics and headphone options on your device and just default to one of them. If you do enough calls you do get used to fixing this problem quickly in the settings area.
8. Screen share issues
Struggling to share your screen is very frustrating especially when what you want to share is pivotal to the discussion.
9. The call crashing
Having to log out and back in again is annoying, and for the people left on the call, it can seem like you just left without saying goodbye, until you return.
10. Call time running out
The call time running out on video calls is a reminder that you have already been on the call for some time and might be time for a break. If you plan to run a video call that exceeds the allowed time, it might be worth considering a service that doesn’t log you out, or paying for the service, so that it stops happening.
