How to Fix Annoying Two-Way Audio Delays on Your Merkury Camera
One of the most useful features of a Merkury smart camera is the two-way audio, which allows you to listen and speak to anyone near the camera through the Geeni app. It's perfect for greeting visitors, instructing delivery drivers, or even calming a pet. However, this great feature can become a source of immense frustration when there's a significant audio delay or lag.
If your conversations are disjointed, with long pauses between speaking and being heard, you're in the right place. This guide will help you understand why audio delays happen and provide you with practical, easy-to-follow steps to troubleshoot and fix the problem for much clearer, real-time communication.
Common Symptoms of Audio Lag
- Echoes and Feedback: You hear your own voice echoing back through the phone's speaker after a delay.
- Disjointed Conversations: You and the person near the camera end up talking over each other due to the lag.
- Choppy or Garbled Audio: The sound cuts in and out or is difficult to understand.
- Initial Words Get Cut Off: The beginning of what you say isn't heard by the person at the other end.
Troubleshooting Steps for Merkury Camera Audio Delay
Audio lag on Wi-Fi cameras is almost always a network issue. The audio data has to travel from your phone, over the internet to the camera, and vice-versa. Any bottleneck in this journey will cause a delay.
1. Test Your Internet Speed
Your internet connection, particularly the upload speed, is critical for two-way talk.
- How to Test: Connect your smartphone to the same Wi-Fi network as your Merkury camera. Open a web browser and search for "internet speed test." Run the test.
- What to Look For: You need a stable upload speed of at least 2 Mbps per camera. If your upload speed is very low (e.g., under 1 Mbps), your internet plan may not be sufficient for smooth two-way audio. Contact your internet service provider to discuss a plan with a higher upload speed.
2. Check the Wi-Fi Signal Strength at the Camera
The most common cause of lag is a weak Wi-Fi signal at the camera's location.
- The Smartphone Test: Take your phone to the exact spot where your camera is installed. Check the Wi-Fi icon on your phone. Is it showing full bars? If it's only showing one or two bars, your signal is weak.
- Use a Wi-Fi Analyser App: For a more technical reading, download a Wi-Fi analyser app. This will show you the signal strength in dBm. A signal stronger than -60 dBm is good. A signal weaker than -70 dBm is likely to cause issues like audio delay.
3. Optimise Your Router and Wi-Fi Network
If you've identified a weak signal, here's how to improve it.
- Move the Router: Try to move your Wi-Fi router to a more central location in your home, reducing the distance and number of walls between it and the camera.
- Remove Obstructions: Wi-Fi signals are weakened by thick walls (brick, concrete), large metal objects (like refrigerators), and even water (like in an aquarium). Minimise these obstructions if possible.
- Reboot Your Router: Unplug your router from power, wait for a minute, and plug it back in. This simple step can resolve many temporary network issues that cause lag.
- Invest in a Wi-Fi Extender or Mesh System: If your camera is too far from the router to get a strong signal, a Wi-Fi range extender can help. For the best performance, consider upgrading to a mesh Wi-Fi system, which provides strong, seamless coverage throughout your home.
4. Update the Geeni App and Camera Firmware
Running outdated software can lead to performance problems.
- Update the App: Go to the App Store (for iOS) or Google Play Store (for Android) and check for any updates to the Geeni app. Always use the latest version.
- Update Camera Firmware: Open the Geeni app and select your Merkury camera. Go to the device's settings (usually a pencil icon or three dots in the corner). Look for an option related to "Device Information" or "Firmware Update." If an update is available, follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
5. Lower the Video Quality
While it might seem counterintuitive, lowering the video streaming quality can sometimes help with audio performance. A high-definition (HD) video stream uses more bandwidth. If your network is struggling, this can impact the audio stream that shares the same connection.
- Find the Setting: In the live view screen for your camera within the Geeni app, look for an "SD/HD" toggle.
- Switch to SD: Tap this to switch the stream to Standard Definition (SD). This uses less data and can free up bandwidth, potentially improving the audio delay. Test the two-way talk feature again to see if it's more responsive.
By systematically addressing these network-related factors, you can significantly reduce or even eliminate the two-way audio delay on your Merkury camera, making your conversations clear and frustration-free.