Internet microphone disconnecting

[ionmich]

Using XFCE.

I have been using the Vivaldi browser on one dektop exclusively for making Google Hangouts video calls and until my latest 15.2 update it worked just fine. Not any more. When I start to make a call the microphone is shown as connected only to be disconnected a second later. CTL-D inside Hangouts is supposed to reconect it and it does...for one second.

There is no other software running. Pulse audio shows its incoming signal. If I use Skype it works just fine. Except I don't want to use Skype. I installed the Chrome browser using YaST. No change.

I checked on the Web and there were many similar complaints which were not solved. I dislike Google almost as much as Microsoft (Skype owner) but used to get better performance with with Hangouts, probably because it's not as popular.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[tsu2]

You should know that Google Hangouts reached EOL about a half year ago. It can still be used, but is no longer supported or maintained.
The replacement is Google Meet.
Although I haven't seen any technical papers on its architecture, unlike Hangouts, does not require a Chrome Extension... It appears to be 100% HTML5 so you simply open any web browser that supports HTML5 (All major browsers do so) to https://meet.google.com. The main advantage to using a Chrome family web browser (eg Chromium) is integration with other Google properties like gmail, calendar, contacts and the notification system they are share. But Meet works just fine in browsers like Firefox.

After more than a half year, Google Meet seems to have ironed out most of its audio/visual and device support issues but because it's still a new service there can still be bugs to fix.

For those migrting from Hangouts, your contact list imports automatically but I found everything else has to be recreated... Calendar events (meetings), invites, participants, etc.

TSU

[ionmich]

When I go to the Hangouts page it automatically starts Meet. My conacts are the same, and everything works except for the microphone which I have set in my Vivaldi defaults for Gmail, the account I log into.

[ionmich]

I should also mention that the image of me is much more blurred (lower resolution) than it was with Hangouts, and that the aspect ratio is very wrong on my 1024 x 768 display. Generally speaking a pretty useless bit of software. I suppose I will have to switch to Zoom which actually works. At least it did two weeks ago.

[ionmich]

The microphone works if I use Firefox. It does not work using Vivaldi, Brave or Chrome-browser. All three are Chrome based. Typical that Google's own software don't work with Google's products. I would use Firefox except that image movement and speech is delayed and that's somewhat disconcerting. The motherboard in use was bought this year so it's not a matter of "old and lousy" hardware v.s. "new and Improved".

[tsu2]

The microphone works if I use Firefox. It does not work using Vivaldi, Brave or Chrome-browser. All three are Chrome based. Typical that Google's own software don't work with Google's products. I would use Firefox except that image movement and speech is delayed and that's somewhat disconcerting. The motherboard in use was bought this year so it's not a matter of "old and lousy" hardware v.s. "new and Improved".

Let the Google Meet people know... Although I haven't looked it up, usually there is a Google Groups that provides official support.
But,
Google Meet itself iseems trying hard to get feedback.
Start a Meet.
Join the Meet.'
When you exit, the page should display 5 stars to rate your experience plus an input box to add info.

Also,
When you're in the Meet and click on the three bar icon at the right of the panel along the bottom, then click on "Settings" you should be able to select your video and audio hardware. If you have multiple options, you can try something other than what you are now using.

TSU

[ionmich]

More data.

When I boot MX-19, an Ubuntu based distro, on the same hardware, everything works normally. The microphone and the display.

[ionmich]

Also,
When you're in the Meet and click on the three bar icon at the right of the panel along the bottom, then click on "Settings" you should be able to select your video and audio hardware. If you have multiple options, you can try something other than what you are now using.TSU

Been there, done that. Microphone shows connected...for one second, then disconnects.

[ionmich]

There's no point in "flogging a dead horse." I have found a solution. Boot MX-19 for communicating with Meet. I'm sure a solution will be found eventually. Let's just close this topic.

And thank you for you assistance.