Live Microphone, Whisper and Intercom

Microphone on and off

iPhone and iPad

1. Join a room.
2. Find the Microphone section near the top of the room. The button says "Microphone on" or "Microphone off".
3. Double tap the button to switch it. Anywhere in the room you can also do a two-finger double tap (Magic Tap).

VoiceOver says "Microphone on, the room can hear you" or "Microphone off", with a high or low beep. The "Mute Microphone" switch in Room Controls does the same thing.

Live room audio is on by default. It can be turned off with the "Advanced Room Audio" switch in Room Controls, in the Audio Settings section. While it is off, the room can't hear you, and the room screen tells you so.

AirPods and other Bluetooth headphones (iPhone and iPad)

• By default the room uses your iPhone's own microphone, and AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones play the room in stereo.
• The first time headphones are connected while you're in a room, VoiceLink asks once: "Keep iPhone Microphone, Stereo" or "Use Headset Microphone, Mono". Using the headset's microphone switches Bluetooth audio to mono call quality. Your choice is remembered.
• To change it later, use the "Use Bluetooth Headset Microphone" switch in Settings, Audio, or in Room Controls under "Headphones and Microphone".
• When headphones connect or disconnect in a room, VoiceOver says where audio now plays and which microphone is used, for example "Audio on AirPods, stereo. Microphone: iPhone."

Local Monitoring (iPhone and iPad)

• Local Monitoring lets you hear your own microphone in your headphones, straight from the phone with no server delay. It is off by default.
• In a room, the "Start Local Monitoring" button is in the Microphone section, under the Microphone switch. The "Monitor" action on your own row in People does the same. VoiceOver says "Local monitoring on" or "Local monitoring off".
• "Monitor Volume" (0 to 100 percent, starting at 50) is in Settings, Audio, Local Monitoring, and in Room Controls.
• Use headphones. On the iPhone speaker, monitoring stays silent to avoid feedback, and VoiceOver tells you so. Wired headphones are closest to instant; AirPods and other Bluetooth headphones add a short delay, a little more when you use the headset microphone.
• Monitoring goes quiet while your microphone is off, and needs live room audio (Advanced Room Audio) on.

Voice Effects (iPhone and iPad)

• Voice Effects change your own microphone: an equalizer (bass, middle, treble), a compressor that evens out loud and soft, a noise gate that silences quiet background sound, reverb (room, hall, chamber, plate, cathedral), echo, pitch (up or down 12 semitones) and a character sound (radio, alien, lo-fi, cosmic, waves). Presets: Podcast Voice, Radio, Intercom, Whisper Boost, Big Hall, Echo, Deep Voice, Bright Voice and Robot.
• They are off by default. Open them from Settings, Audio, Voice Effects, or in a room from the Voice Effects action on your own row in People.
• The room hears exactly what you hear in Local Monitoring, so turn monitoring on (with headphones) to try effects as you change them. Sliders read their values in decibels, percent or milliseconds.
• Your choices are saved to your account on the server you use and follow you to your other iPhone or iPad. People in the room can see which effect you use (for example "podcast"), not your settings.
• When effects are off, nothing extra runs, so they cost no battery.

Mac

• The Microphone switch is in the room, above the voice controls. It reads "Microphone off" or "Microphone on, the room can hear you".
• Press Shift-Command-M, or Command-M, from anywhere in the app. Both are in the Audio menu.
• VoiceOver says "Microphone on, the room can hear you" or "Microphone off".

Web

• The Microphone switch is in the room's voice controls. Screen readers read it as a switch, on or off.
• Press Control-Shift-M (Command-Shift-M on a Mac) from anywhere in a room, even while typing in chat. "Turn Microphone On" and "Turn Microphone Off" are also in the Escape menu.
• You hear "Microphone on, the room can hear you" or "Microphone off". When it is off, nothing from your microphone is sent.
• The first time, the browser asks to use your microphone. If you block it, you still join and can listen; turn the switch on later to be asked again.
• Push to talk: press the "Push to talk" button to turn it on, then hold Space to talk. Space only works when focus is not on a button or text field.
• To mute one person for yourself, use "Show User Audio Controls" on their row, then "Mute". "Vol -" and "Vol +" change their volume and say the new level.
• "Mute room sound" silences everyone for you without turning off your microphone.

Local Monitoring lets you hear your own microphone while you are in a room. Press "Start Local Monitoring" next to the Microphone switch; press "Stop Local Monitoring" to turn it off, and you hear "local monitoring on" or "local monitoring off". Use headphones: without them you'll hear feedback from your speakers. The "Monitor volume" slider sets how loud you hear yourself (50 percent to start) and is remembered. Only you hear this; the room hears you as normal. Monitoring is off each time you open VoiceLink, turns off when you leave the room, and stays silent while your Microphone switch is off.

Whisper

While you whisper with someone, the two of you hear each other clearly. The rest of the room gets quieter and muffled for you. Everyone else hears that you are talking, but muffled so they can't make out the words. They are told "X and Y are whispering".

Rules

• You both have to be in the same room.
• You can whisper with one person at a time. Starting a new whisper ends the one you are in.
• You can't whisper to yourself or to a bot.
• A whisper ends by itself if either of you leaves the room, disconnects, or is removed from it.
• If whispering is turned off for the room, you hear "Whispering is turned off in this room."

What you hear

• At the start, both of you hear a sound and "Whispering with" the other person's name.
• At the end, both of you hear a sound and "Whisper with" the name "ended". A reason is added when there is one, such as the other person leaving the room.

iPhone and iPad

• On a person in the room, swipe up or down to "Whisper to" their name and double tap. Use the same action, now called "Stop whispering", to end it.
• Or double tap and hold on the person, then lift your finger to stop. Without VoiceOver, touch and hold the row for half a second.
• While you whisper, a Whisper section in the room has a "Stop whispering" button. Room Actions also has "Stop whispering".
• Your partner's row reads "Whispering with you".

Mac

• Select a person in the members list and press Shift-Command-W. Press it again to stop. It is also in the Room menu, as "Whisper to Selected Member or Stop Whispering".
• With VoiceOver, use the actions on the member row: "Whisper to" their name, or "Stop whispering". The right-click menu has the same items.
• With a mouse, click the member's Whisper control to start and click again to stop. Or press and hold it, and release to stop.
• If your microphone is off, it turns on for the whisper only. VoiceOver adds "Your microphone is on for this whisper only".
• While you whisper, the room shows "Whispering with" the name and a "Stop whispering" button.

Web

• Open the user menu on a person: right-click, press the Applications (Menu) key or Shift-F10, or press Shift-M on the user row. Choose "Whisper to" their name, or press W in the menu. Choose "Stop whispering" to end it.
• On a touch screen or with a mouse, double tap and hold on the person, then let go to stop.
• A status line in the user panel says "You are whispering with" the name. Whispering people have "(whispering)" after their name.
• Screen readers get the start, end and "X and Y are whispering" messages as live announcements.
• If your microphone is off, it turns on for the whisper only, and turns off again when the whisper ends. You hear "Your microphone is on for this whisper only".

Intercom and Broadcast

Intercom and Broadcast sends a short recorded clip. You need to be signed in to that server.

Who can send what

• A person in this room: any signed-in user.
• Everyone in this room: room managers, moderators and admins, or everyone if the room allows it.
• Everyone on this server: the server owner and admins only.

The app only offers the choices you are allowed. You can send up to 10 clips a minute. A clip can be up to 20 MB and must be audio recorded and uploaded from your own account; the server refuses links to outside files or other people's files.

Send a clip

1. Open Intercom and Broadcast.
   • iPhone and iPad: the "Intercom and Broadcast" button in the room, or Room Actions.
   • Mac: Shift-Command-I, the Room menu, the Intercom button in the room, or the "Send Intercom to" action on a member.
   • Web: the "Intercom / Broadcast" button in the room controls.
2. Choose who it is for under "Send to". For one person, choose them in the Person list.
3. Start recording, speak, then stop recording. On Mac, Command-R starts and stops.
4. Send it. On Mac, Command-Return sends. To throw the recording away, use Discard on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or Close on the web.

Clips can be up to 5 minutes on iPhone and iPad and up to 2 minutes on the web. On iPhone, iPad and the web your live microphone is paused while you record, so the room doesn't hear the clip.

Receive a clip

• You hear a sound and "Intercom from" or "Broadcast from" the sender. The clip then plays once by itself.
• To stop clips playing by themselves, turn off "Auto-play intercom and broadcasts" in the sheet on iPhone and iPad, or "Play incoming intercom and broadcasts automatically" in the sheet on Mac. It is on by default.
• Replay recent clips from the "Recent intercom and broadcasts" list in the sheet on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or from the "Intercom messages" list in the user panel on the web.

Photos and files in chat

• iPhone and iPad: in room chat and direct messages, use "Share a photo" or "Share a file", add a caption if you like, then Send.
• Mac: use "Send file..." or the paperclip button in room chat and direct messages.
• Voice messages sent by older apps still play. Use Play and Pause on the message.

Keyboard shortcuts and gestures

Mac

Web

iPhone and iPad

Known limits

• On the web, live PA announcements reach the whole room only; a live announcement to one person is not available. Use Whisper or an intercom clip instead.
• On the web, the old PA hold-to-talk keys (bare Control, Shift, Windows, Alt-Shift and F1) are off by default because they clash with screen readers.
• Some browsers record intercom clips in WebM or Ogg format, which iPhone, iPad and Mac may not be able to play.