[Dale Clark]

Hi David,
My student’s Mac connection is not working well. Besides checking the ethernet connection, and the Wifi, Let me know what VPN means, and how to turn it off. thanks.

My next issue with my student is the ear pods she uses as the microphone does not pick up her voice very well. Do you have any suggestions.

My “complicated” microphone is working well. I have had to spend considerable time on the manual looking up words and acronyms I have never heard, but it does provide high quality sound and I am very happy with it as well as with the headset you recommended.

Thanks,

Dale Clark

[David Liao]

Hi Dale,

So happy you’re enjoying the mic and headset!

Please ask the student to follow the steps in our QuickStart guide, if she hasn’t yet.

Double check that she’s using wired headphones, not Bluetooth wireless AirPods. Unfortunately, wired EarPods (good 👍) and Bluetooth AirPods (avoid 👎) have almost the same name. Bluetooth headphones add substantial latency and can provide very unstable, distorted audio (as though having a bad connection).

If she’s already using wired earbuds with an on-cord mic, check that the student wears the mic in front of herself, rather than running the earbud wires down her back.

Ask the student to open FarPlay and click New Session to create a session by herself. Have her click the orange microphone icon () or green camera icon () in the menubar at the top of the screen and make sure the Mic Mode for FarPlay is set to Standard (not Voice Isolation).

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are services used to connect to university/workplace networks, to get around region restrictions TV/movie-streaming websites use to block viewers from other countries, or to increase privacy by masking one’s internet address. Ask the student to turn off all such apps/services (example: NordVPN) before opening FarPlay.

Make sure the Ethernet cable from the student’s Mac (or USB-to-Ethernet adapter) goes all the way to the router that receives the internet signal where the internet signal first enters the home (avoid wireless extender/repeater routers and Ethernet-over-power adapters). Check that the student is using a landline (fiber or cable) internet connection, as we recommend on our requirements page.

Thank you,
David Liao

• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by David Liao.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by David Liao.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by David Liao.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by David Liao.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by David Liao.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by David Liao.