Troubleshooting

As an administrator, you can diagnose and resolve common Google Beam issues by using the following instructions. Learn more about how to check the status of the device and its peripherals.

Check the status of the Beam service

To determine if the Beam service is up, find "Google Beam" on the Google Workspace Status Dashboard. The dashboard shows all service disruptions and outages.

Check software version number

Make sure that the Beam device you're troubleshooting is running the latest version of the software listed in the release notes.

Click the tab that corresponds to your license.

Access the Station Utilities Menu

The Station Utilities Menu (SUM) on the touchscreen is the entry point for system testing and calibration. Follow these instructions to access it.

Click the tab that corresponds to your license.

Offline or unhealthy device

Device reporting as offline

If a device is reporting as Offline in the admin panel but Beam peripherals are reporting as Healthy, your network could be offline. Try these steps:

1. Check your network to determine if there are connectivity issues with the device.
2. If that doesn't resolve the issue, try a soft restart:
   • Google Admin console
   • Zoom web portal
3. If a soft restart doesn't resolve the issue, try a physical restart by switching the device off and then on (see the HP Maintenance Guide for instructions). This does a full power cycle on the device.
4. If the device continues to report as Offline, contact your HP Amplify reseller.

Peripherals are unhealthy

Frequent alerts but device shows as healthy

In rare cases, a camera can overheat due to the ambient temperature in the room. If it does, the video streaming turns off until the end of the call. This can trigger an alert in your admin console:

• Google: Aggregate health signal shows as Unhealthy.
• Zoom: Cameras register an Unknown camera error.

If the admin console shows the device as reverting to Healthy after registering one of these errors, the issue is probably thermal. You should check Poly Lens to verify that a camera overheated and also check the room to make sure it's within the HVAC requirements specified in the HP Dimension with Google Beam Room and Deployment Readiness Guide.

Touchscreen

Touchscreen won't turn on

If your touchscreen doesn't turn on, the issue might be with the network port. Try these steps and check after each step:

1. Restart the system and check the network cable.
2. Unplug the touchscreen, wait a few seconds, and plug it back in.
3. Unplug the power cable from the compute module, keep it off for 10 minutes, then plug it back in, turn on, and try again.

If that doesn't work, contact your certified HP Amplify reseller.

Display and visual issues

Choppiness or low resolution

If the call starts to have degraded visuals like low resolution artifacts on the body of either participant, choppy video, or delayed audio, it's likely due to network issues. See the Connectivity section for troubleshooting instructions.

Blurring or fuzziness in 3D calls

For the highest visual clarity in 3D calls, the participants and items in the room need to be specifically positioned.

• The user's side of the table should be 52" from the display and centered in relation to it.
• Users should be seated at the center of the table and not leaning more than an arm's length forward or back
• Make sure items, including laptops or the touchscreen, are not blocking cameras, especially those closest to the table top.

• The table should be centered at the station with a gap of 2 inches between the table and the middle wall of the HP Dimension.

  

Facial features are doubled or distorted

Check peripheral health through your monitoring tools. If it's Unhealthy, restart the device. If you're still having issues, please contact your HP Amplify reseller for support.

The following image is an example of facial distortion. Note the shifting of the mouth and how the glasses appear to be broken:

Floating blobs appear on the sides of the screen

Check your monitoring tool to verify that both stations that were in the meeting are Healthy.

When floating blobs are noticed by the participant at a station (Station A), they are typically caused by the station where the other participant was sitting (Station B). Visit Station B to attempt to resolve the issue.

The blobs could be any color and in any position.

Reproduce the problem

Start a call from the problematic station to another station, and ask the other user to tell you if the blobs appear. It may help for them to move to the side or move backwards. If they see blobs, ask them to take a picture and send it to you.

Use your phone camera to take photos of the room, showing all four walls. These photos will help your HP Amplify reseller better address the problem.

Look for objects that are too close to the user

Blobs are often caused by something in the room. First, check the area around the user, in a zone extending 9' from the wall behind the station, 7' 6" wide (slightly wider than the table). Ensure that there are no objects in this zone, such as plants or floor lamps.

Cover patterns in the background

Repeated patterns in the background can also cause floating blobs. If there is a curtain opposite the station (behind the user), try pulling it back. If the room has a patterned wall behind the user, try covering it temporarily to see if the issue is resolved.

If moving or covering the background resolves the visual issue, then the long-term solution would be to change the environment. For example, re-paint or re-wallpaper a patterned wall to a solid color.

If the problem is not resolved, contact your HP Amplify reseller and provide the pictures and videos.

User sees screen burn-in

If you see faint text or shapes on the screen, make sure that you've configured your screen saver settings as recommended—Beam devices have specific requirements to avoid burn-in. For Google Beam for Meet licenses, you can also add multiple home screen images that rotate and help avoid this issue.

If the issue hasn't resolved after 72 hours, reach out to your HP Amplify reseller for support.

Glare appears on the display

Light from inside or outside the room may reflect off the HP Dimension screen and cause distracting glare. You can eliminate the glare by eliminating the light source.

If a light is the problem, turn it off. If light is coming through a window into the room, draw the blinds or shade on the window, if present. Otherwise, consider installing a window covering.

Visual discomfort in 3D calls

3D calls should be comfortable for users. If they aren't, try the following:

• Ensure peripherals are reporting as Healthy.
• Share instructions on how users can switch to standard calls until the issue is resolved.

Contact your HP Amplify reseller for support.

Audio issues

When working properly, Google Beam provides state-of-the-art spatial audio. You can use these initial checks to advise users in meetings who are experiencing issues, or to investigate issues that have been reported to you. If they don't resolve the issue, try running the audio test to pinpoint the problem before contacting your reseller.

Others can't hear you

1. Check whether you are muted:
   • Look for a mute icon on the touchscreen or the red light on the table microphones.
   • You can unmute directly from the touchscreen or by tapping the mute button on the top of either table microphone.
   • The light on the table microphone is red when muted, green when active, and white when out of a call.
2. Ask others to check their volume:
   • The issue might be on their end. Ask other participants to confirm that their speaker volume is turned up.

You can't hear others

1. Ask others to confirm they are unmuted.
2. Check the headphone jack: Make sure nothing is plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack on the device. A connected headset will mute the main room speakers.
3. Check the system volume: Use the volume controls on the touchscreen to turn the speaker volume up.

In either case, if the initial checks don't solve the problem, exit and rejoin the call. This is the quickest way to reset your connection to the meeting and often resolves temporary software glitches.

Run the audio test

To follow up on audio issues, you can run the audio test from the device's touchscreen. This is the same audio test from the initial setup. You need to know the room's passcode to enter the SUM—read Manage device password for instructions on retrieving it.

Click the tab that corresponds to your license.

Restart the system

A restart can clear underlying system errors that rejoining the meeting won't fix. Read Restarting and power management for instructions on restarting the HP Dimension.

Allow a few minutes for the system to restart completely before attempting to join your call again.

If you have completed all of the troubleshooting steps and the audio issue persists, contact your HP Amplify reseller for support.

Call and meeting issues

Call fails

If a call fails, take the following steps.

• Reconnect: Attempt to reconnect to the call immediately.
• Check your network performance: Poor network connectivity (bandwidth, latency, or packet loss) can disrupt Beam calls. Use a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection for optimal performance. You can use network diagnostic tools to assess your current network conditions.

If a call fails and a device is reporting as Unhealthy in your admin console, take the following steps.

• Reboot the device using the admin console.
• Ensure all applicable cables are correctly plugged in.
• Check the workspace status dashboard.

A user wants to switch from a standard call to a 3D call

This functionality is not available. To have a 3D Beam call, you need to either schedule a meeting with 2 people and 2 Beam devices, or start an instant meeting from 1 Beam room to another Beam room directly.

Expected a certain call type and got the other type

Google Beam's booking logic and design determine the call type. Beam is optimized for 1:1 3D meetings. If a Beam meeting is booked with two Beam-enabled rooms and two users, the system will initiate a 3D call.

Other pre-scheduled meeting configurations will result in a standard call. If a user intends to have a 1:1 standard call on a Beam-enabled device, they will need to manually switch to 2D mode from the touchscreen once the call has started. This ensures flexibility while prioritizing Beam's core 3D capability.

User wants to see themselves in a 3D call

Self view, also known as mirror mode, is not possible during a 3D call on Google Beam.

Scheduling and booking issues

Issue: On Zoom-enrolled devices that use Outlook for scheduling, having the List meetings that include the Zoom Room as an attendee setting turned on in the Zoom Rooms settings can result in meeting drafts being listed on the device before the meeting invite is sent.

• Fix: Turn off the List meetings that include the Zoom Room as an attendee setting for the devices.

Connectivity issues

Unable to connect during a meeting

If you're having trouble connecting to a meeting using your Beam device, it could be due to network issues. Check your network connection and make sure it's stable.

Troubleshooting your network connectivity

Verify the IP address

Ensure Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are assigned by the network. Beam only supports IPv4 or IPv4/IPv6 mixed mode. You can view a device's IP address in your admin console: