Having trouble with your Gather space? We have a plethora of FAQs and articles that will walk you through detailed troubleshooting steps if you need help connecting to or using Gather.

For the best performance, we recommend using the Gather Desktop App.

General Troubleshooting Tips

• If you’re using Gather on a desktop browser:
  • Refresh or restart the browser.
  • Update the browser if it has a pending software update.
  • Switch to Google Chrome if you’re not using it already. (Our recommended browser.)
  • Close other browser tabs.
  • Disable any unnecessary browser extensions (or use Incognito/Private mode in your browser).
• Close any other applications you have open.
• Disable VPN/firewall or ask your IT to whitelist Gather.

Performance Issues

• Test User Settings (Ctrl/⌘+P):
  • Reduce Limit Frame Rate to fewer fps. (Graphics)
  • Turn on SmartZoom or use a large zoom for Manual Canvas Zoom. (Appearance)
  • Turn on Auto Idle Mute. (Audio / Video)
  • Turn off HD Video Quality. (Audio / Video)
  • Turn off Hardware Acceleration (Graphics)

Only turn off Hardware Acceleration if you’ve tried everything else or are using a very weak graphics card. Review Recommended System Requirements here.

• Turn off Virtual Backgrounds or Background Blur if using with your video.
• If you’re using a high resolution screen (1440p or 4k), reduce the window size of Gather.
• On Windows, make sure CPU and GPU drivers are up to date.

Audio/Video Issues

• Check browser and system settings and permissions.
• Use the Gather Desktop App. (Recommended for best performance.)
• Disable any unnecessary browser extensions (or use Incognito/Private mode in your browser).
• Check VPN/Firewall settings.
• Move closer to your router if possible.
• Close any other applications that use your mic or camera.

Black or White Screen Issues

• Respawn into the space.
• Hard refresh your browser (hold Shift key and press refresh button on browser).
• Check the Mapmaker to make sure the background has not been deleted or resized. (If the background is white in Mapmaker, your original background has likely been deleted.)
• Check if you are banned.
• Clear your browser cache.
• If you are embedding objects:
  • White screen = the website does not allow embedding
  • Black screen = the URL needs to be https
• See All I see is a black screen—what do I do? for screenshots of black screen issues. 

Need more help?

• Check out Gather Status to see if Gather is having any issues site-wide.
• Report a bug by clicking on the Gather menu in the lower left of your space and selecting Report an Issue. 
• Contact support for individual troubleshooting help.