Audio Troubleshooting

If your interviewer's voice isn't being transcribed, start with the two checks below — between them they account for most cases. Platform-specific steps follow.

Start here — two checks that fix most cases

Takes under a minute, and you don't need a live interview to test.

1. Wear headphones — not speakers

This is the most common cause by a wide margin. On speakers, your microphone picks up both your voice and your interviewer's, mixed into one channel. We generate answers from the interviewer's side of the conversation, so when their voice arrives blended into your mic there's nothing separate to work from — and questions stop being detected.

It also causes a second problem you may have already heard about from an interviewer: they hear their own voice echoing back through your speakers into your mic, and tell you your audio sounds bad.

Any headphones or earbuds work — wired or Bluetooth. This single change fixes both symptoms.

2. Test it without a real interview

Start a session, play any video with talking in it (a YouTube clip is ideal), and watch the Interviewer level bar. If it moves, we can hear your computer's audio and you're set. If it stays flat while you can clearly hear the video, the fix is in your platform section below.

Thirty seconds here saves finding out mid-interview.

Mac App Windows App Chrome / Web Assessments Mobile

Mac Desktop App

Your Microphone

Open System Settings (click the Apple menu > System Settings).

Go to Privacy & Security > Microphone.

Find Interview Sidekick and make sure the toggle is on:

Restart the app for changes to take effect.

Interviewer Audio (System Audio)

Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording.

Scroll past the Screen Recording list to the separate System Audio Recording Only section below it, and turn Interview Sidekick on there:

Also turn Interview Sidekick on in the Screen Recording list above — this powers our backup audio driver and screenshots.

Restart the app, then start your meeting so audio is playing.

Two separate lists — most people miss the second one

“System Audio Recording Only” is its own section below the Screen Recording list, and it's the one that lets us hear the interviewer. If you enable only Screen Recording, the app still launches but may not pick up their voice. Turn on both.

Interviewer audio needs macOS 13 (Ventura) or newer. On macOS 13 we use a backup driver that relies on the Screen Recording permission, so step 3 is required there.

Windows Desktop App

Your Microphone

Open Settings > Privacy > Microphone.

Make sure Allow apps to access your microphone is turned on:

Scroll down and ensure Interview Sidekick has access enabled.

Restart the app for changes to take effect.

Interviewer Audio (System Audio)

Make sure your system volume is not muted — click the speaker icon in the taskbar.

Ensure your meeting app (Zoom, Teams, Meet, etc.) is playing audio.

Windows captures system audio automatically when volume is on. No extra permissions needed.

Requires Windows 10+

Using a headset? Set BOTH Windows defaults

Windows keeps two separate output defaults — a “Default Device” and a “Default Communication Device”. Meeting apps send call audio to the communication device, while we record from the default device. If those are two different devices, you hear your interviewer perfectly through your headset and we capture a device that is silent.

The tell-tale sign: your own speech transcribes fine for the whole interview, but the interviewer's side is missing or stops partway through.

Right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar > Sound settings > More sound settings > Playback tab.

Right-click the device you actually hear the interview through > Set as Default Device.

Right-click that same device again > Set as Default Communication Device. It must be both — this is the step that matters.

In your meeting app's audio settings, set the speaker to that same device (or “Default”).

Volume matters too

On Windows we record what you hear, at the loudness you hear it. If that device is muted or near zero, we capture near-silence even when everything else is set correctly.

Chrome / Web Browser

Your Microphone

Click the lock icon (or tune icon) in the address bar.

Find Microphone and set it to Allow.

If prompted, select your preferred microphone from the dropdown.

Interviewer Audio (Tab Sharing)

When you click Record, a sharing dialog will appear.

Select the tab that has your meeting (Zoom, Meet, Teams, etc.).

Important: Make sure the "Share audio" or "Share tab audio" checkbox is checked at the bottom of the dialog.

You must share a different tab than the one Interview Sidekick is open in.

Need a tab to test? Try our mock interview demo

Written or Coding Assessments

If you're taking a written test or coding assessment with nobody speaking, you don't need any of the audio setup on this page. There's no interviewer voice to capture, so a silent Interviewer channel is expected — not a fault.

Use the screenshot assistant instead: it reads what's on your screen and answers from that. Trigger it with the screenshot shortcut whenever you want help with the question in front of you.

Once you take a screenshot, we stop prompting you about interviewer audio for that session — we can tell the task is on-screen rather than spoken.

Mobile

Your Microphone

When prompted, tap Allow to grant microphone access.

Make sure your phone is not on silent / mute.

If you accidentally denied access, go to your phone's Settings > Browser > Microphone and allow it.

On mobile, Interview Sidekick uses your microphone to hear both you and your interviewer. No system audio sharing is needed.

Still having trouble? Email us at ben@interviewsidekick.com