BrowserDeskHelp › At the device › F5
Allow the microphone — or not
The helper wants to talk to you. Your microphone only switches on if you allow it — every time anew. This is how you answer, and how it goes off again.
Preview this guide has not yet been clicked through on a real device. Button names and steps come from the program but may differ in details.
- For
- Person at the device
- Applies to
- Free · Cloud · Own relay
- Controlled device
- Windows · macOS · Linux
- Control from
- Program (Windows, macOS, Linux) · Browser
- from version
- 20261010.22
What it is for
The helper wants to talk to you — directly through BrowserDesk, without a phone. For that he needs your microphone. BrowserDesk never switches it on by itself. You are asked every time.
What you need
- BrowserDesk on your computer and a running session.
- A microphone on the computer (for example in the laptop or in a headset).
- Speakers or headphones, so you can hear the helper.
How to do it
- The helper asks for your microphone. A window Mikrofon einschalten? (Switch on microphone?) appears on your screen. It says: "… möchte mit Ihnen sprechen und bittet darum, das Mikrofon dieses Geräts einzuschalten." (… would like to talk to you and asks to switch on this device's microphone.)
- You want to talk? Click Mikrofon einschalten (Switch on microphone).
- You do not want to? Click Ablehnen (Deny) — or simply do nothing. After a short time the window closes and the microphone stays off.
While the window is open, the helper cannot click anything. So he cannot say "yes" himself.
Switching the microphone off again
The microphone switches off by itself when the session ends. Before that there is only one way: end the session — in the small session window with Verbindung trennen (Disconnect) (F1). The small window has no microphone button of its own.
How you know it worked
- The helper hears you, and you hear him.
- Windows also shows its own microphone symbol in the taskbar.
What the other side sees
- While you think about it, the helper is told that the device is being asked.
- If you click Mikrofon einschalten, he hears you.
- If you click Ablehnen, it stays silent. He can only ask again after 30 seconds.
Good to know
- Nothing is recorded. What you say is heard only by the helper in this session. Even if the session is recorded, the recording contains only the picture, no sound.
- Every time anew: the permission applies only to this one session. No setting can give it in advance.
- The helper's voice comes out of your speakers as soon as he talks. He does not need your microphone for that.
- Your computer's sound (for example an error beep) can be heard by the helper on Windows computers. Your microphone is not part of it.
- A display "Mikrofon offen" (microphone open) after "Verbunden" in the small window is intended. It is currently often cut off — rather rely on whether you clicked Mikrofon einschalten.
- At the sign-in screen nobody can agree. Then the microphone stays off.
- Sound only works on the direct path. If the session has to run through the relay, there is no sound.
- The fact that you agreed is logged (who and when) — never what was said (F10).
If it does not work
| You see | What it means |
|---|---|
| You agreed, but the helper hears nothing | On Windows check: in the Windows settings, "Let desktop apps access your microphone" must be switched on. Otherwise the microphone only delivers silence. |
| The window Mikrofon einschalten? disappeared too quickly | The time ran out, the microphone stayed off. The helper can ask again after 30 seconds. |
| No question appears at all | The helper has not asked yet — or the session runs through the relay; then there is no sound. |
| You want the microphone off right now | Click Verbindung trennen in the small window. |