Issues sharing your camera, microphone or screen?

Give Rambox permission to use your camera, microphone and screen so your video calls and screen sharing work.

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If an app in Rambox can't see your camera, can't hear your microphone or can't share your screen, your operating system usually hasn't given Rambox permission to use them. You may see:

• Rambox cannot use the camera or Rambox cannot use the microphone — Your system has not given Rambox permission to use …, so … cannot reach it. Grant it in your privacy settings and try again.
• Screen sharing needs permission — with an Open settings button.

Likely causes

• You denied the permission when your system asked, or it was never asked.
• The permission was turned off later in your system's privacy settings.
• Another program is using the camera or microphone.
• The app itself (Meet, Teams, Zoom…) hasn't been allowed to use the camera or microphone inside its own page.

How to fix it

1. Check the permissions in Rambox

Rambox shows what your system has allowed, and takes you to the right place to change it.

1. Open Settings: click your avatar at the bottom of the sidebar and choose Settings.
2. Go to the Privacy & security tab and find the Permissions section.
3. Look at Camera, Microphone and Screen sharing. Each one shows Allowed, Blocked, Not asked yet, Not needed, Turned off or Not checked.
4. Click the switch of the one that isn't Allowed. Rambox asks your system for the permission, or opens the matching privacy settings page so you can allow it there.

The list updates when you come back to Rambox.

You can do the same from Tools → Troubleshooting: run Test all and click Grant next to Camera access, Microphone access or Screen recording access. See Troubleshooting tool.

2. Allow Rambox in your system settings

If you prefer to do it by hand:

Windows 11

1. Open Settings → Privacy & security → Camera.
2. Turn on Camera access and Let apps access your camera.
3. Turn on Let desktop apps access your camera.
4. Repeat for Microphone (Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone).

On Windows 10 the same options are under Settings → Privacy → Camera and Microphone. Windows doesn't ask for permission to share your screen, so Screen sharing shows Not needed.

macOS

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
2. Click Camera and turn on Rambox.
3. Click Microphone and turn on Rambox.
4. Click Screen & System Audio Recording (called Screen Recording on older versions) and turn on Rambox.
5. Quit and reopen Rambox when macOS asks you to.

Linux

Most Linux systems don't ask for these permissions, so they show Not needed. If you use Wayland, screen sharing goes through your desktop's own sharing window: pick the screen or window there. If nothing appears, make sure your desktop's screen sharing service (PipeWire and its portal) is installed and running.

3. Restart Rambox

After changing the screen sharing permission, quit Rambox (Ctrl+Q; macOS: ⌘+Q) and open it again.

4. Check the app's own settings

• Inside the call app, check its audio and video settings and pick the right camera and microphone.
• Close other programs that might be using the camera (another video call app, for example).
• Try the same call in your browser. If it fails there too, the problem is with your device or the service.

Sharing your screen

When an app asks to share your screen, Rambox shows a picker with your screens and windows. Choose one and confirm. While an app is sharing, your system shows a notification such as … has started screen sharing.

Related articles

• Troubleshooting tool
• General settings
• No sounds from apps?

Still not working? Request support