Tungs

Real-time translation for Webex meetings

Select Tungs as the microphone and speaker in Webex and the conversation is translated in both directions while you talk.

Download for Mac

macOS 14 or later

How to set up Tungs in Webex

Install Tungs, choose your two languages, then change the audio devices in the Webex App.

  1. STEP 1

    Set up Tungs first

    In Tungs, choose the language you speak and the language they speak, then select the microphone and headphones you actually use. Leave Tungs running alongside the call.

  2. STEP 2

    Open Webex App audio settings

    On Mac, click Settings (a cog icon) in the navigation sidebar and select Audio. Cisco's Mac instructions describe this page as where you choose the devices to use for the ringer, speaker, and microphone.

  3. STEP 3

    Pick Tungs Microphone

    Under Microphone, choose "Tungs Microphone" from the device list instead of Follow system setting. Then click Test beside Microphone and record a few words; Webex plays them back so you can confirm it is hearing that device.

  4. STEP 4

    Pick Tungs Speaker

    Under Speaker, choose "Tungs Speaker" instead of Follow system setting. Then click Test beside Speaker to confirm a sound plays through that device.

  5. STEP 5

    Uncheck Automatically adjust volume

    Cisco documents Automatically adjust volume as the option that lets the app automatically optimize the microphone volume for you. Leave that check box clear so Webex does not ride the level of the translated audio.

  6. STEP 6

    Set Smart audio to Music mode

    Click Smart audio and select Music mode, which Cisco describes as preserving your microphone's original sound when using your computer for audio, rather than Noise removal, Optimize for my voice, or Optimize for all voices. You can also reach the same audio settings before or during a meeting with Audio options > Audio Settings.

Steps follow Cisco Webex’s own documentation: Webex App | Change your audio settings Webex App | Test your audio before or during a call or meeting Webex App | Switch audio settings during a meeting Choose your audio and video settings before you join a meeting or webinar

Worth knowing

  • Smart audio processes the microphone signal before it leaves the app. Cisco describes Noise removal as removing background noise such as keyboard typing and doorbells, Optimize for my voice as removing background speech and noise, and Optimize for all voices as removing background noise and enhancing all voices nearby; Music mode is the documented option that preserves the microphone's original sound, so it is the safest choice for synthetic translated speech.
  • Automatically adjust volume, on the same Settings > Audio page, is documented as automatically optimizing the microphone volume. Leave it unchecked so Webex does not gain-ride the translated audio coming from Tungs Microphone.
  • Do not leave the device set to Follow system setting. Cisco states that option uses whatever device is configured as the default on your system and follows OS changes, so pick Tungs Microphone and Tungs Speaker by name instead of relying on the macOS default.
  • For macOS Sonoma (macOS 14), Cisco warns that Apple's Mic Modes, which appear in the main system bar on Mac models from 2018 and later whenever a microphone is active, take effect before audio reaches Webex App and can conflict with smart audio settings; it recommends Standard mic mode. Check the mic mode there while Webex has the microphone open.

Questions

Does Webex on a Mac let me choose the microphone and speaker inside the app?

Yes. Webex App has its own device pickers, so you do not have to change the macOS system default. Click Settings in the navigation sidebar and select Audio, then choose the devices for the ringer, speaker, and microphone. Set the microphone to Tungs Microphone and the speaker to Tungs Speaker there.

Can I switch to Tungs after the Webex meeting has already started?

Yes. Cisco documents Audio options > Audio Settings as the way to reach the audio settings from the screen before you start or join a meeting and from inside a meeting. Change the two devices there and click Test beside Speaker and Microphone to confirm. Note that Audio options > Switch audio is a different control, for changing your audio connection between Use computer audio, Call me at, and Call in.

Should I turn off Webex noise removal when I use Tungs?

It is worth doing. Cisco documents Noise removal as removing background noise like typing and doorbells, Optimize for my voice as removing background speech and noise, and Optimize for all voices as removing background noise while enhancing nearby voices. Because Tungs feeds synthesized translated speech into Tungs Microphone, that processing can work against it. Cisco describes Music mode as preserving the microphone's original sound, which is the closest documented thing to an unprocessed path.

Does the person on the other end of the Webex call need to install Tungs?

No. Tungs runs entirely on your Mac, where it installs two virtual audio devices named Tungs Microphone and Tungs Speaker and translates speech in both directions while the call runs, across 13 languages. The other participant just joins the Webex meeting as usual, installs nothing, and needs no account. Tungs requires macOS 14 or later on your machine.

Other apps

Tungs is an audio device, so the same two devices work anywhere with a microphone and speaker menu.

13 languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese — with the spoken language detected automatically.