Due to the influence of Corona, remote work and telework have become commonplace, and company meetings are becoming more common on the web.
The most used application for web conferencing is Zoom, but there are many cases where problems occur due to a large number of users.
When you are having a meeting using Zoom on your PC, you may see a warning message “Internet connection is unstable.”
This message is displayed when Zoom’s communication is unstable, and the audio and video of the meeting may be interrupted, or the connection may be suddenly disconnected.
In this article, we’ll show you what to do if you get an “Internet connection is unstable” message during a Zoom meeting. The action is assumed to be Windows and Mac.
Step 1: Stop the video and then start it again
It is possible that “Internet connection is unstable” is displayed because the communication with Zoom’s server is temporarily unstable.
Therefore, stopping the video and starting it again may solve the problem. To restart the video, follow the steps below.
- During the meeting, click Stop Video at the bottom left of the window.
- Wait a few seconds and then click Start Video.
If you can start the video again, make sure that the warning message disappears. If you still get a warning message when you restart the video, proceed to the next solution.
Step 2: Rejoin the meeting
By rejoining the Zoom meeting, you may not see the “Internet connection is unstable” message.
To rejoin the meeting, follow the steps below.
- During the meeting, click Exit Meeting at the bottom right of the window.
- When the confirmation dialog appears, click Leave Meeting.
- Click the URL to join the meeting or enter the meeting ID to join the meeting again.
If you can rejoin the meeting, check to see if the warning message disappears. If the warning message reappears, proceed to the next action.
Step 3: Check the internet communication speed
It is possible that Zoom may display the message “Internet connection is unstable” due to slow internet communication speed.
To hold a meeting with Zoom, a communication speed of at least 5 Mbps (upstream / downlink) is required. The specific communication speed requirements are as follows.
For one-on-one video calls:
- 600 kbps for high quality video (up / down)
- 1.2 Mbps (up / down) for 720p HD video
- 3.8 Mbps / 3.0 Mbps (up / down) for 1080p HD video
For group video calls:
- 1.0 Mbps / 600 kbps for high quality video (up / down)
- 2.6 Mbps / 1.8 Mbps (up / down) for 720p HD video
- 3.8 Mbps / 3.0 Mbps (up / down) for 1080p HD video
- 2.0 Mbps (25 people), 4.0 Mbps (49 people) in the gallery view
The above requirement is the communication speed when using only Zoom. Considering the communication of other apps, a communication speed of 10Mbps or higher is desirable for comfortable meetings with Zoom.
Therefore, make sure that the internet communication speed of your PC is high enough. You can check the internet communication speed by accessing a measurement page such as Fast.com.
If the measured communication speed is less than 10 Mbps, there may be a problem with the communication environment. If the communication speed of your PC is slow, please refer to the countermeasures on the following page as well.
Step 4: Close all apps that use the communication band
It is possible that Zoom displays the message “Internet connection is unstable” because applications other than Zoom are using a lot of bandwidth.
Applications that use the communication band can be applications that synchronize with cloud storage and applications that play videos and music by streaming.
You can find out which apps are using the communication band by following the steps below.
For Windows:
- Right-click on Windows Mark and select Task Manager.
- When the Task Manager starts, make sure it is in the details view and open the Processes tab.
- For simple display, click “Details” at the bottom left to switch.
- In the list of processes, click the Network heading to sort.
- It is displayed in order from the process of the application that uses the most communication bandwidth.
For Mac:
- Open the Applications folder in Finder.
- Open the Utilities folder and launch Activity Monitor.
- Open the Network tab.
- Click the Bytes Sent or Bytes Received heading.
- It is displayed in order from the process of the application that uses the most communication bandwidth.
If you have an app other than Zoom that uses a lot of communication bandwidth, check if the Zoom warning message disappears when all are closed.
Step 5: Change the video settings to lower resolution
You may be able to avoid the “Internet connection is unstable” message by changing the Zoom video settings to a lower resolution.
This method is effective when the communication speed of the line is slow or when another device or application is using a lot of bandwidth.
To change the Zoom video settings to lower resolution, follow these steps:
- Launch the Zoom app.
- Click the “Profile Icon” in the upper right and select “Settings”.
- Click “Video”.
- Uncheck “HD” and “Original size”.
- Close the settings window.
If you can change the Zoom video settings to lower resolution, check to see if the warning message disappears.
Step 6: Restart your PC and network devices
It is possible that the communication speed is not stable and the message “Internet connection is unstable” is displayed on Zoom due to a temporary malfunction in the PC or router.
Therefore, the warning message may disappear by restarting all the PCs and network devices. Follow the steps below to restart your PC and network devices.
- For Windows:
Click “Windows Mark” and select “Power Icon”-> “Restart”. - For Mac:
Click the Apple Mark and select Restart. - For network devices (routers, ONUs, etc.): Unplug the
power outlet, wait a few seconds, and then reconnect.
After restarting your PC and network equipment, join the meeting with Zoom to see if the warning message disappears.
Step 7: Address the problem of network interruption
It is possible that Zoom displays the message “Internet connection is unstable” due to the PC’s Internet connection being interrupted (repeated connection and disconnection).
Therefore, make sure that communication is not interrupted by normal use of the Internet. For example, make sure your browser doesn’t suddenly stop displaying pages or stop playing videos.
If you experience a temporary disconnection of the Internet, it is possible that something is wrong with your PC or router. If your internet connection is interrupted, please also refer to the solutions on the following pages.
Step 8: Update the IP address
There may be a case where Zoom displays the message “Internet connection is unstable” due to a problem with the IP address assigned to the PC.
Therefore, updating the IP address of your PC may solve the problem. To update the IP address, follow the procedure below.
For Windows:
- Right-click Windows Mark and select Windows PowerShell (or Windows Console).
- When PowerShell starts, type the following commands in order and execute them with the Enter key.
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
For Mac:
- Click the Apple Mark and select System Preferences.
- Click “Network”.
- With the network you are connected to selected, click Details in the right pane.
- Open the TCP / IP tab and click Renew DHCP Lease.
After updating the IP address using the above steps, rejoin the Zoom meeting and see if the warning message disappears.
Step 9: Change the DNS server used
It is possible that Zoom is displaying the message “Internet connection is unstable” due to a problem with your DNS server.
Therefore, changing the DNS server used to public DNS may resolve the warning message.
To change your DNS server to public DNS, follow the steps below.
For Windows:
- Right-click on “Windows Mark” and select “Network Connections”.
- In the right pane, click Change adapter options.
- When the network connection screen appears, right-click “Connected network (Ethernet or WiFi)” and select “Properties”.
- Select “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4)” from the list of items and click “Properties”.
- Select “Use the following DNS server address”, enter the following Google public DNS values, and click OK.
-
-
- Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8
- Alternate DNS: 8.8.4.4
-
Click OK to save your settings.
For Mac:
- Open System Preferences and click Network.
- With the network you are connected to selected, click Details.
- Click “DNS” from the tabs displayed at the top.
- Click the “+” button at the bottom left.
- Add Google’s public DNS values ”8.8.8.8″ and “8.8.4.4” to the list of DNS servers.
- Click the “OK” button.
After changing the DNS server settings, start Zoom and join the meeting to see if the warning message disappears.
Step 10: Switch to phone audio
If Zoom displays “Internet connection is unstable” and the audio is interrupted, you can also work around the problem by switching to phone audio.
However, keep in mind that switching to phone audio will incur call charges as you will be calling on the phone.
To switch the meeting audio to a phone, follow these steps:
- During the meeting, click the up arrow to the right of Mute.
- Click Switch to Phone Audio.
- Check the “Meeting Phone Numbers”, “Meeting ID”, and “Participant ID”.Call the “Meeting Phone Number” from your phone.
- Please change “+81” to “0” to make a call.
- Follow the phone announcement, enter your “Meeting ID” and press “#”.
- Enter the “Participant ID” and press “#”.
With the above procedure, you can switch only audio to the phone while attending a Zoom meeting on your PC.
Step 11: Update Zoom to the latest version
It is possible that the message “Internet connection is unstable” is displayed due to an old version of Zoom and a defect.
Therefore, please update Zoom to the latest version and check if the warning message is resolved. To update Zoom to the latest version, follow the steps below.
- Launch the Zoom app.
- Click the “Profile Icon” at the top right of the screen.
- Click Check for Updates.
- If you find an update, click Update to complete the update.
Once you’ve updated Zoom, rejoin the meeting and see if the warning message disappears.
If not resolved
Some users have reported that they are getting the message “Internet connection is unstable” even though the communication speed is sufficient. In addition, some users have reported that other meeting apps have no problems and that only Zoom has unstable communication.
Therefore, if you cannot solve the problem even after trying all the solutions, it is possible that there is something wrong with the system on the Zoom side.
If there is a problem on the Zoom side, the user cannot handle it, so please wait for a new update that fixes the problem or consider using another meeting app.
