How to fix a laptop that shuts down during video calls?

[Raveen Paswan]

It works fine otherwise, but during Zoom or Meet, it heats up and crashes. Could it be a GPU issue, RAM overload, or browser hardware acceleration causing this?

[Rohan Patel]

Hey, I’ve run into something similar before, and I know how frustrating it can be — especially when everything works fine until you jump into a video call. If your laptop shuts down during Zoom or Google Meet but works okay otherwise, it’s usually a heat, power, or resource issue. Here’s what might be going on and what you can try:

Overheating is a big one

Video calls use your camera, mic, speakers, and gpu all at once — more than regular browsing. if your laptop gets hot and then shuts off, it’s likely a thermal issue. Try using it on a hard, flat surface (not a bed or pillow), and clean the vents if it’s dusty. A cooling pad under the laptop can help a lot too.

Browser hardware acceleration

Some browsers (like Chrome) use gpu acceleration, which can cause overheating or crashes on older machines. try turning off hardware acceleration in browser settings — it’s under “system” in chrome. restart your browser after turning it off.

Ram or CPU overload

Video calls need memory and processing power. If you’ve got a lot of apps open (like Chrome tabs, Spotify, etc.), close everything else before a call. Check the task manager during the call to see if memory or cpu is maxing out.

Check for driver or update issues

Make sure your graphics and network drivers are updated. Also, check Windows updates — sometimes, a patch fixes this kind of problem. Outdated video drivers can cause random shutdowns when the gpu is under stress.

Battery or power adapter problem

If your laptop shuts down even when plugged in, try using another charger. Unstable power can also lead to crashes under high usage.

I fixed mine by cleaning out the vents, lowering my browser load, and turning off hardware acceleration. Hope one of these works for you, too!

 

[Author]

Posts