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What Causes Echo on Calls and How to Fix It

· 2 min read

Echo on a call is annoying, but the cause is almost always the same one thing. Fix that and the echo disappears.

The usual cause​

Echo happens when sound from your speakers leaks back into your microphone. The other person hears their own voice bounced back a moment later. It is a loop: their audio comes out of your speakers, your mic picks it up, and it goes back to them.

The fastest fix​

Wear headphones. If the sound never comes out of speakers, it cannot get back into your mic. This solves the majority of echo problems instantly, on any call, for free.

Other fixes​

  • Lower your speaker volume if you cannot use headphones. Less output means less to pick up.
  • Move the mic away from the speakers, so there is more distance for the sound to travel.
  • Check for two devices in the same room on the same call. Two laptops near each other create a feedback loop. Mute one.

When it is on the other end​

Sometimes you are the one hearing echo, and the cause is on the other person's side. You cannot fix their setup, but tools with echo cancellation and bidirectional audio processing can reduce echo coming from incoming audio too.

The short version​

Echo is a speaker-to-mic loop. Headphones break the loop and fix it nine times out of ten. For the rest, add distance, lower the volume, and rely on echo cancellation for the incoming side.