Hades isn't hearing the meeting

Hades has to hear two things at once: your voice (through the microphone) and the client's voice (through the sound coming out of your computer). When one of them is missing, it's almost always a Windows permission — and the good news is that it takes a minute and stays fixed for good.

First, work out which of the two is missing

Look at the transcript in the Hades window during the meeting and see which of the cases is yours. What fixes it is different in each one.

• Nothing shows up, from anyone — Hades doesn't have permission to listen. Go to the next step.
• Only what I say shows up — the system sound is missing, and that's the client's voice. Go to the next step too.
• Only what the CLIENT says shows up — that's the microphone. Check that it isn't muted in the Windows tray and that the right microphone is selected.
• At the top of the window, in red: no audio — check the device on the setup screen — Hades couldn't open the sound. End the call, and on the home screen check Your microphone and Call audio (the client's voice), which should be on System audio (recommended). Then click Start Call again.

Grant the microphone permission

1. Close Hades completely.
2. In Windows, press the Windows key and type microphone. Open Microphone privacy settings.
3. Turn on Microphone access.
4. Turn on Let desktop apps access your microphone too — this is the one that's usually off, and it's the one that blocks Hades.
5. Open Hades again and start a test call.

Still not picking up the client's voice

1. Check the meeting's sound is coming out of the computer's speakers and not through a Bluetooth headset — with Bluetooth, the computer sometimes won't let Hades hear what's coming in.
2. If you use headphones, prefer wired ones while you're testing. Once it works you can go back to Bluetooth and check again.
3. Check the meeting volume isn't at the bottom: Hades hears the same sound you do, so sound that's too quiet turns into a failed transcript.

None of that fixed it

Open the chat below and tell us which case is yours (nothing shows up, only you, only the client, or the red phrase at the top) and whether you use headphones. With those two things we can fix it on the first reply instead of asking around. If the meeting is on a phone or on a Mac, read does Hades work with Meet, Zoom and Teams? first: the app only hears meetings that play on a Windows computer.