Troubleshooting camera and microphone permissions

In order to participate in a Diary mission with desktop activities, the dscout Chrome extension needs permission from both your computer’s operating system and your Google Chrome browser to access your camera, your microphone, and - for some Mac users - your screen recording capability. 

If you get an error message when you try to record a video, capture a screen recording, or take a photo as you complete a desktop activity, it’s possible that you’re experiencing some kind of permission issue. Read more below. 

• Operating system permission issues for Mac
• Operating system permission issues for PC
• Google Chrome browser permission issues
• Other camera and microphone issues
• Re-installing the extension

Operating system permission issues for Mac

To ensure Google Chrome has access to your Mac’s Camera, Microphone and/or Screen Recording capability, follow the steps below.

Note: The Screen Recording permission was introduced in macOS Catalina — version 10.15 — so if you’re on an earlier version of the macOS, you won’t have, or need to change, that setting. 

1. Manually open System Preferences, click the "Security and Privacy" icon and then choose “Camera,” Microphone,” and/or "Screen Recording" in the sidebar.
   
   We’re using “Screen Recording” as an example here, but you’ll need to ensure Google Chrome has access to all three capabilities (or just to Camera and Microphone, if you’re not on mac OS Catalina).
   
   
   
   
2. In the Screen Recording section, click the box next to Google Chrome to allow access for your dscout Diary mission with desktop activities. You may need to click the lock icon in the bottom-left to make changes.
   
   
3. A pop-up should appear indicating that Google Chrome will need to be quit before it is able to record the contents of your screen.  Click "Quit Now" to exit out of all running instances of Google Chrome.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the “Camera” and “Microphone” sections in your computer’s Security & Privacy settings, if necessary. 
5. Reopen Chrome and finish your web setup by granting dscout camera and microphone permissions!
   

Note: If you disable the Camera, Microphone, or Screen Recording permissions from System Preferences, you'll need to re-enable it again in the future. 

Operating system permission issues for PC

To ensure Google Chrome has access to your PC’s Camera and Microphone, follow the steps below.

1. To ensure Camera permissions are enabled, go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Camera. 
2. Under Choose which apps can access your camera, make sure the setting for Google Chrome is On.
3. To ensure Microphone permissions are enabled, go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Microphone.
4. Under Choose which apps can access your microphone, make sure the setting for Google Chrome is On.
5. For these settings to take effect, you’ll need to quit out of all running instances of Google Chrome.
6. Reopen Chrome and finish your web setup by granting dscout camera and microphone permissions! 

Note: If you disable the Camera or Microphone permissions from Settings, you'll need to re-enable it again in the future. 

Google Chrome browser permission issues

When you first install the dscout Chrome Extension, Chrome should show a dialog box asking you to grant the dscout Chrome extension permission to use your Microphone and Camera. 

If the Camera and Microphone permissions prompts don't show up when you install the extension, try clicking on the Camera icon on the right side of the browser address bar. See below.

Clicking this option should either open up the permissions dialog box or show that your camera or microphone has been blocked. 

Additionally, we recommend taking the following steps to make sure permissions are not blocked for dscout in your Google Chrome web browser:

1. Open a Google Chrome web browser window.
2. At the top right next to your address bar, click on the More icon. This icon will look like three dots stacked vertically and is known as a Kebab Menu icon. 
3. Click Settings at the bottom of the dropdown menu.
4. In the left sidebar menu, click Privacy and security.
5. Under Privacy and security, click Site Settings.
6. Click Camera or Microphone.
7. Check if the dscout Chrome extension is blocked for Camera and Microphone. If it is, remove the existing exception by clicking on the Delete icon to the right of the site.

Other camera, microphone, and screensharing issues

If adjusting your permissions settings at both the operating system level and the Chrome browser level has not resolved your issue, check for these other camera and microphone issues related to hardware and connectivity.

Additionally, if the device you're using is a work or school computer, there may be IT software installed that forbids screen sharing; to resolve these issues, we recommend that you reach out to your company's or school's IT team.

Reinstalling the dscout Chrome extension 

Sometimes, it’s best to just start over. If none of the above steps have helped you to resolve your issues with capturing videos, photos, or screen recordings, try removing the dscout Chrome extension and reinstalling it. 

1. To remove the extension, click the puzzle piece Extension icon next to your browser address bar. Next to the dscout Chrome extension, click the three dot More menu. Then click Remove from Chrome..., and confirm by clicking Remove. 
2. To reinstall the extension, click on this link from a Google Chrome browser window. You can get more guidance on installing the Chrome extension here.