How to troubleshoot Loom recording quality issues

Open the problem recording in Loom's web viewer. Watch the first 60 seconds with headphones on.

Categorize the issue:

— Audio echo / reverb → fix in Step 2

— Audio robotic / chopping → fix in Step 3

— Audio + video out of sync → fix in Step 4

— Blurry / pixelated video → fix in Step 5

— Choppy / dropped frames → fix in Step 6

— Upload fails / stuck at X% → fix in Step 7

Multiple issues at once: fix them in the order above. Audio issues compound video issues during diagnosis.

Echo / reverb means the microphone is picking up sound from the computer speakers and re-recording it (the "double-voice" effect).

Fix 1 (immediate): plug in wired headphones. Speakers off, mic isolated. Echo gone.

Fix 2: System Settings → Sound → Input → check "Use ambient noise reduction" is OFF. Some systems try to "enhance" the mic and create artifacts.

Fix 3: Loom Desktop → Settings → Recording → Audio → toggle Noise Suppression OFF, record a 10-sec test. If echo disappears, the noise-suppression algorithm was over-correcting. Leave OFF for echoey rooms.

Fix 4: room acoustics. Hard surfaces (glass, walls, hardwood) reverberate. Add a rug, fabric panels, or a thick curtain behind your mic. $30 of acoustic foam fixes most echo permanently.

For Bluetooth headphones: switch to wired. Bluetooth latency creates a 100-200ms loop that the mic captures as echo.

Robotic / chopping audio means the audio buffer is dropping samples mid-recording.

Fix 1: in Loom Desktop → Settings → Recording → Audio → ensure the right mic is selected (NOT "Default" — pick the explicit device).

Fix 2: macOS — System Settings → Sound → Input → match sample rate. Open Audio MIDI Setup (Spotlight) → set input device to 48 kHz, 24-bit. Loom expects 48 kHz.

Fix 3: Windows — Right-click speaker icon → Sounds → Recording → mic → Properties → Advanced → set sample rate to 48 kHz, 24-bit. Uncheck 'Allow applications to take exclusive control.'

Fix 4: update audio drivers. Windows users: Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers → right-click your audio device → Update driver. Mac users: install pending macOS updates.

Fix 5: close other apps using the mic (Zoom in background, Discord, Slack huddle). Mic contention causes dropouts.

A/V drift is when audio slowly drifts ahead of (or behind) video over the course of a recording. Usually caused by CPU overload during capture.

Fix 1: close everything except Loom and the tab/window being recorded. Especially close: Chrome with 30 tabs, Slack with many channels, video conferencing apps.

Fix 2: switch from Bluetooth to wired audio. Bluetooth introduces ~150ms latency that compounds over a long recording.

Fix 3: lower the recording resolution. 4K eats CPU; drop to 1080p. Loom Desktop → Settings → Recording → Resolution.

Fix 4: update Loom Desktop to the latest version. Older versions had sync bugs on macOS that newer versions fixed.

Fix 5: on Apple Silicon Macs, ensure Loom is running natively (not under Rosetta). Loom Desktop → About → confirm "Apple Silicon" not "Intel."

You generally can't fix sync drift after recording. Re-record after applying the fixes.

Blurry / soft video usually has 3 causes:

Cause 1: webcam autofocus locked on wrong distance. Fix: move your face slightly forward/back so the camera re-focuses. Some cameras (Logitech Brio, Insta360 Link) have manual focus in their companion app — set manually.

Cause 2: recording resolution set too low. Loom Desktop → Settings → Recording → Resolution → 1080p (or 4K if you have the bandwidth + the recipient has it).

Cause 3: lighting. Webcams aggressively compress in low light, producing soft / noisy video. Add a key light: a $30 ring light or a window pointed at your face dramatically improves quality.

For pixelation specifically (visible blocks, not just soft): the issue is video compression at upload, often caused by a slow internet upload speed. Loom adapts compression based on bandwidth. Use a wired ethernet connection or ensure you have 5+ Mbps upload.

Camera quality matters: built-in MacBook cameras are notoriously soft. Logitech C920 / Brio, Insta360 Link, or Sony ZV-1 produce massively better video.

Choppy playback (visible stuttering, dropped frames) means the recording itself has missing frames — it wasn't a playback issue, it was a capture issue.

Fix 1: open Activity Monitor (Mac) or Task Manager (Windows) BEFORE recording. Look at CPU usage. If above 50% before you hit record, close apps until it drops below 30%.

Fix 2: recording cam + screen + system audio is CPU-intensive. If you don't need cam, disable. If you don't need system audio (e.g., you're just talking through slides), disable.

Fix 3: thermal throttling. If your laptop is hot, the CPU throttles to cool down, dropping frames. Ensure proper ventilation, ideally use a laptop stand. Avoid recording with a fully loaded battery + intensive CPU work.

Fix 4: lower the resolution. 1080p captures less than half the data of 4K. Drop to 1080p or 720p if you're consistently dropping frames.

Fix 5: external GPU on intensive workflows. For long demos with heavy 3D work, an external GPU offloads the encode and keeps the CPU available for the demo itself.

Upload progress stuck at the same % for >5 minutes: network dropped or Loom upload service is having issues.

Fix 1: check status.loom.com. If Loom is having an outage, wait. Your recording is saved locally (Loom Desktop → My Library → Local recordings) and will re-upload when service is back.

Fix 2: pause and resume the upload (Loom Desktop → upload queue → pause → resume after 30 sec). Forces a fresh network connection.

Fix 3: switch networks. If you're on a corporate VPN that throttles uploads, disconnect VPN and try again. WiFi → Ethernet if available.

Fix 4: file is corrupted. Symptom: upload fails immediately or hangs at 99%. Open the local file (Loom Desktop → Library → reveal in Finder). If it won't play in QuickTime / VLC, it's corrupted — re-record.

Fix 5: if uploads consistently fail on large files (4K, long recordings), set lower default resolution. 1080p uploads are typically 3-4x faster than 4K and rarely fail.