Video call technical check

Every Ally session runs in your browser, using the cabinet's built-in video room. No plugin, no external meeting link. The room is created a few minutes before your session and torn down when the session ends. Here is what to check before the first call.

Camera

Click Test camera. The cabinet asks for camera permission — grant it. You should see yourself in the preview within two seconds. If the preview stays black, close any other app that might be holding the camera (Zoom, Teams, Photobooth, an OBS scene) and retry.

Microphone

Speak a sentence at normal volume. The green bar should climb visibly. If it stays flat, your OS is routing to a different input — pick the right one from the input dropdown. On macOS, System Settings → Sound → Input; on Windows, Settings → System → Sound → Input.

Echo

Ally's audio pipeline includes browser-side echo cancellation. If you use external speakers, the mentor may still hear an echo — headphones eliminate it entirely. This is our top single recommendation: wear headphones.

Bandwidth

Video sessions need about 1.2 Mbps upstream and 1.2 Mbps downstream for 720p at 30 fps. Ally scales down to 360p if it detects less. Run fast.com and confirm you have at least 2 Mbps in both directions with headroom for other tabs.

Browser

Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc) and Firefox 128+ and Safari 17+ work. Older Safari on iPhone 11 or earlier may struggle with H.264 encoding — use another device if you can. Ally does not currently support Internet Explorer or the Windows-legacy Edge.