Estimated Read Time: 8 minutes

Overview

Meetings are at the heart of AskElephant. Your notetaker joins calls to record video, audio, and create transcripts. When things go wrong, it can feel like your whole system is broken. The good news: most issues are straightforward to fix.

This guide covers the most common problems and how to solve them quickly.

Key Terms to Know

• Notetaker: The AskElephant bot that joins your meetings to record video, audio, and create transcripts.
• Transcript: The text version of everything said in your meeting.
• Recording: The video and/or audio file of your meeting.
• Meeting Status Indicator: A colored dot showing if your notetaker is preparing (blue), joining (yellow), recording (green), or failed (red).
• Calendar Integration: The connection between your Google or Microsoft calendar and AskElephant.

First Rule: Connect Your Calendar

AskElephant discovers your meetings through your calendar. Without this connection, nothing works.

How to connect:

1. First login: AskElephant will ask you to connect Google or Microsoft
2. Already logged in: Click your name → Preferences → Find "Connected Calendar" → Connect
3. Verify it worked: Go to "My Meetings" and see if your upcoming meetings appear

If you use both Google and Microsoft calendars:

• Connect only one to AskElephant to avoid duplicates
• Or carefully manage both so events don't appear twice

Your Notetaker Didn't Join

Check the Waiting Room

This is the #1 reason notetakers don't join. Your bot is waiting to be admitted.

1. Look in your meeting waiting room (Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet)
2. Find the AskElephant bot
3. Click "Admit"
4. The notetaker will start recording

To prevent this in the future:

• Zoom: Settings → Security → Turn off "Waiting Room for all participants"
• Teams/Google Meet: Waiting rooms are usually off by default

Check the Status Indicator

In "My Meetings," find your meeting and look for the colored dot:

• Blue: Preparing (normal)
• Yellow: Trying to join (wait 30 seconds)
• Green: Recording (working)
• Red: Failed to join

If it's red, manually send the notetaker:

1. Click "Send Notetaker" on the left sidebar
2. Paste your meeting URL
3. Check the waiting room again and admit it

Verify Your Calendar Event Has a Meeting Link

The notetaker only joins meetings that have a URL (Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet link). If your calendar event doesn't have one, add it.

Check Workspace Settings

Click your name → Workspace → Notetaker Settings. Verify:

• Join Offset: Set to join a few minutes before the meeting starts
• When to Record: Should be "All Meetings" (or your preference)
• Recording Mode: Audio Only, Speaker View, or Gallery View (all work fine)

Recording Won't Load or Is Missing

Try These First

1. Refresh your browser (or F5)
2. Hard refresh (Command+Shift+R on Mac / Control+Shift+R on Windows)
3. Wait 5-10 minutes for processing to complete

If the Recording Really Is Missing

Check if it actually recorded:

• Go to "My Meetings" → "Recorded"
• Do you see the meeting there?
• If not, see "Your Notetaker Didn't Join" section above

If the meeting is there but no video:

• Large files take longer to upload
• Wait 10-15 minutes
• If it's still missing after 15 minutes, contact support and ask us to reprocess it

Transcript Is Missing or Processing

What to check:

1. Wait 20 minutes first
2. Refresh your page
3. Check audio quality: Poor audio = poor or missing transcripts
4. If it's been 30+ minutes: Contact support with a link to the meeting

To improve transcripts:

• Use a dedicated microphone, not your computer's built-in mic
• Speak clearly and avoid talking over people
• Minimize background noise

Can't Find a Meeting That Should Exist

1. Use the search tab and search by title, date, or attendee name
2. Check "My Meetings" → "All Meetings" (not just "Recorded")
3. Check privacy settings: Private meetings only show to attendees. Ask the person who recorded it to make it public or add you.
4. Ask your team: Someone on your team might have deleted it intentionally

Meeting is Set to "Not Record" and You Want to Change It

1. Go to "My Meetings" → "Upcoming Meetings"
2. Find the meeting
3. Click the toggle that says "This meeting will be recorded"
4. For recurring meetings: Choose "This event only" or "All events"

Zoom-Specific Issues

Disable Your Personal Meeting ID

If you use Zoom's Personal Meeting ID for all meetings:

• The same link generates each time
• Back-to-back meetings get confused
• Solution: Always generate a new meeting link. Don't use Personal Meeting ID.

To disable it in Zoom:

1. Go to Zoom account settings
2. Find "Personal Meeting ID"
3. Disable it or turn off the default
4. Set Zoom to always generate new links

Check Waiting Room Settings

1. Go to Zoom settings
2. Look for "Waiting Room"
3. Disable it (notetaker joins automatically) OR
4. Enable it (you'll need to manually admit the notetaker)

Video Plays but No Audio

1. Check your workspace settings (Your Name → Workspace → Notetaker Settings)
2. Verify "Recording Mode" isn't set to weird settings
3. During the meeting: Did everyone have audio working? Poor meeting audio = poor recording audio
4. Contact support if the file is completely silent

Quick Checklist

Before you dig deeper:

When to Contact Support

You've tried everything above but the issue persists.

Contact support:

• Email: support@askelephant.ai
• Chat bubble in the bottom right corner

Include:

• Link to the meeting (if applicable)
• What you were trying to do
• What you expected vs. what happened
• Which troubleshooting steps you already tried
• Your meeting platform (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet)
• Any error messages (screenshot them)

Quick Recap

Most meeting issues come down to:

1. Notetaker didn't join: Check waiting room, check status, manually send it
2. Recording missing: Refresh, wait for processing, contact support if still gone
3. Transcript missing: Refresh, wait longer, check audio quality
4. Can't find it: Search properly, check privacy, confirm it recorded
5. Zoom issues: Disable Personal Meeting ID, check waiting room

Most of these resolve with a refresh, a manual action, or just waiting. If you're stuck, support is ready to help.

Need Additional Help?

If you have questions or need further assistance, the AskElephant support team is here to help!

You can reach our support team in several ways:

• click the chat button in the bottom right corner of your screen,
• email us at support@askelephant.ai
• or use @askelephant support in your dedicated Slack channel.

We're committed to getting you the answers you need as quickly as possible.