Capture logs for Google Hangouts

Issues with Google Hangouts are logged on your local machine. If you contact Google Support for help, they might ask you to do the following:

  • Send your Hangouts logs
  • Submit feedback from within Hangouts when the issue occurs
Capture Hangouts plug-in logs (non-Chrome browsers)

Complete the following procedure to capture logs from the Google Hangouts plugin installed in browsers other than Chrome.

Tip: See Capture WebRTC logs in Chrome to capture logs in a Chrome browser or on a Chromebook. 

  1. On the affected computer, run the following commands to enable verbose logging:

    Windows command prompt:

    • reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v loglevel /t REG_SZ /d LS_VERBOSE /f
    • reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v logfile /t REG_SZ /d %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\gtp.log /f
    • reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v plugin_log_level /t REG_SZ /d LS_VERBOSE /f
    • reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v plugin_log_path /t REG_SZ /d %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\gtpbp.log /f

    Mac/Linux terminal:

    • defaults write com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD loglevel -string LS_VERBOSE
    • defaults write com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD logfile -string $(cd && pwd)/Desktop/gtp.log
    • defaults write com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD plugin_log_level -string LS_VERBOSE
    • defaults write com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD plugin_log_path -string $(cd && pwd)/Desktop/gtpbp.log

  2. Restart the computer to make the verbose logging changes take effect.

  3. Attempt to hold a Google Hangout on the computer with logging enabled. Proceed to the next step only after you reproduce the problem you're reporting.

  4. Find gtp.log and gtpbp.log in the desktop and the compressed log files (gtalkplugin-c*.log.bz2) in the following folders, and attach them to an email to your support representative.

    • On Windows:
      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Google Talk Plugin

      IE with virtualized file system:
      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Virtualized\C\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Google\Google Talk Plugin

      Windows XP:
      C:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Talk Plugin

    • On Mac OS X:
      ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Google Talk Plugin

    • On Linux:
      ~/.config/google-googletalkplugin

    The log folder may contain multiple old log files that were generated previously. Unless instructed, please send only the latest log files that correspond to the reported problem.

  5. To revert back to the default logging setting, run the following commands:

    Windows command prompt:

    • reg delete "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v loglevel /f
    • reg delete "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v logfile /f
    • reg delete "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v plugin_log_level /f
    • reg delete "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk Plugin" /v plugin_log_path /f

    Mac/Linux terminal:

    • defaults delete com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD loglevel
    • defaults delete com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD logfile
    • defaults delete com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD plugin_log_level
    • defaults delete com.google.GoogleTalkPluginD plugin_log_path
Capture WebRTC logs in Chrome or ChromeOS

Complete the following procedure to capture WebRTC logs in a Chrome browser or on a Chromebook:

  1. If you are using a ChromeOS device: after the device restarts, login and reproduce the Hangouts issue.
    If you are using just the Chrome browser: restart the browser and reproduce the Hangouts issue.
  2. To retrieve the Chrome native logs, open a Chrome browser tab and enter chrome://webrtc-logs.
  3. Note the date, time and Report ID.
  4. To retrieve the WebRTC JS logs, open a new Chrome browser tab and enter:
    filesystem:https://hangouts.google.com/temporary/log_v2/ .
    Tip: Be sure to copy the entire URL including "filesystem:" and paste it to the browser address bar.
    These log files are only preserved for 5 days. All logs older than 5 days will be automatically purged.
  5. Send the information and logs to Google support.
To avoid manually collecting logs in the future, please enable the option to automatically send them to Google. To do this, start a Hangout, click the Settings gear, and check the box next to Report additional diagnostics to help improve Hangouts.
Capture WebRTC logs on Chromebox for meetings devices
  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. From the Admin console Home page, go to Devices.

    If you don't see Devices on the Home page, at the bottom, click More controls.

  3. Under Device Settings at left, click Google meeting room hardware.
  4. Go to Settings and policies > Logs and Reporting: Troubleshooting and then set Verbose Diagnostic Reporting to Automatically upload device logs to Google for the organizational unit the device is in.
  5. Reproduce the issue.
  6. Let Google Support know the serial number of the Chromebox for meetings device, the exact time and time zone that the issue was reproduced.
Capture WebRTC and system logs on Chromebox for meetings devices
  1. Connect a USB keyboard to the device to make entering commands easier.
  2. Put the device into developer mode by following the instructions for your model. Note: This will wipe the device.
  3. Once the device restarts, reproduce the Hangouts issue.
  4. Press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to bring up the command prompt shell.
  5. Login to the device as the user 'root' with no password to gain root access.
  6. Execute the following commands:
    tar --exclude='*Cache' -zcvf /var/log/webrtc-logs.tgz /home/chronos
  7. Reboot device and press CTRL+ALT+S to switch to standalone mode.
  8. Browse as guest, go to chrome://net-internals/#chromeos and click Store Debug Logs. The file will be saved in the Downloads folder.
  9. Send the debug log file to Google support.
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