Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En la videollamada, a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien. - In the video call, sometimes my microphone does not work well.

En la videollamada literally = in/on the video call, but it very naturally covers the English idea of “during the video call.”
Durante la videollamada is also correct and means “during the video call” a bit more literally.

So:

En la videollamada, a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien.
Durante la videollamada, a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien.

Both are fine. En is just a very common, neutral choice in this kind of sentence.

Why do we say la videollamada and not just videollamada without the article?

Spanish uses definite articles (el, la, los, las) much more frequently than English.

In English you can say:

“On video calls, sometimes my microphone doesn’t work well.”
“On a video call, sometimes my microphone doesn’t work well.”

In Spanish, when you refer to something concrete/specific or to a type of situation in general, you normally include the article:

En la videollamada = in the video call (often understood as “on a/the video call” in general context).
Saying En videollamada (without article) sounds incomplete or telegraphic, like a note in an app interface, not normal full-sentence speech.

If you want to speak generally, you can also pluralize:

En las videollamadas, a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien.
= “On video calls, sometimes my microphone doesn’t work well.”

Is videollamada really one word? Could it be video llamada?

In standard modern Spanish, the correct spelling is one word: videollamada.

It’s formed from video
- llamada but written together, like videocámara, videoclub.
The stress is on -ma-: vi-deo-lla-ma-da.

You sometimes see video llamada in informal writing, but according to dictionaries and style guides in Spain, videollamada (one word) is the recommended and standard form.

Can a veces go in other positions? For example, A veces, en la videollamada… or Mi micrófono a veces no funciona bien?

Yes, a veces (sometimes) is quite flexible in position. All of these are grammatically correct:

En la videollamada, a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien.
A veces, en la videollamada, mi micrófono no funciona bien.
En la videollamada, mi micrófono a veces no funciona bien.
A veces mi micrófono no funciona bien en la videollamada.

Changing the position slightly changes the rhythm or emphasis, but not the basic meaning. Position (1) is very natural and neutral.

Why is it mi micrófono instead of el micrófono? Could I say el micrófono?

Both are possible, but they sound a bit different:

Mi micrófono = my own microphone, clearly possessed by you (your headset, your laptop’s mic, etc.).
El micrófono = the microphone in that situation (for example, the mic of the device you are using at that moment), without emphasizing ownership.

In this context, mi micrófono is more natural because English also says “my microphone,” and you’re talking about a recurring problem with your own equipment.

How do I know that micrófono is masculine? Is there any rule?

Micrófono is masculine: el micrófono.

General guidelines that help here:

Many words ending in -o are masculine: libro, teléfono, teclado, micrófono.
The accent mark (micrófono) just marks the stressed syllable (mi–CRÓ–fo–no), it doesn’t change the gender.

So you say:

el micrófono
mi micrófono
un micrófono
los micrófonos (plural)

Why do we use funcionar for a microphone? In English we say “work” (my microphone doesn’t work).

In Spanish, funcionar is the standard verb for whether a device/equipment works or not:

Mi micrófono no funciona. = “My microphone doesn’t work.”
El ordenador no funciona. = “The computer doesn’t work.”
La cámara no funciona bien. = “The camera doesn’t work well.”

You would not usually use trabajar for a device in this sense.
Trabajar is for people (and sometimes systems/engines metaphorically), not for basic “it works/doesn’t work” of a gadget:

✅ El micrófono no funciona.
❌ El micrófono no trabaja. (sounds wrong)

Other colloquial options:

Mi micrófono no va bien. (Spain, very common)
Mi micrófono no anda bien. (more typical in some Latin American varieties)

Why is the negation no funciona bien and not something like no bien funciona?

Spanish negation with no follows a fixed pattern:

no + verb + (other elements)

So:

no funciona bien = doesn’t work well
no habla mucho = doesn’t talk much
no come carne = doesn’t eat meat

Structures like no bien funciona are ungrammatical in normal Spanish.

If you want to add emphasis you still keep no immediately before the verb:

no funciona muy bien
no funciona nada bien (doesn’t work well at all)

What is the difference between no funciona bien and funciona mal?

Both are correct but the nuance is slightly different:

No funciona bien = it doesn’t work well.
Neutral, common, can range from slightly bad to quite bad.
Funciona mal = it works badly.
Sounds a bit stronger or more negative, more clearly “bad” than simply “not good.”

In many contexts they can be used interchangeably, but no funciona bien is a bit softer and very common.

Why is the present tense (no funciona) used here instead of something like no está funcionando (“isn’t working”)?

Spanish uses the simple present much more broadly than English. It can express:

Habits:
A veces mi micrófono no funciona bien.
= “Sometimes my microphone doesn’t work well.”
Situations happening around now:
Hoy mi micrófono no funciona bien.
= “Today my microphone isn’t working well.”

The progressive (estar + gerundio, e.g. está funcionando) is used more for ongoing actions, especially with verbs of action:

Estoy hablando. = I’m speaking.
Está cargando. = It’s charging.

You could say:

En la videollamada, mi micrófono no está funcionando bien.

That’s not wrong, but in most everyday contexts, Spanish speakers simply say no funciona bien, even when English prefers “isn’t working well.”

Is the comma after En la videollamada necessary?

The comma after En la videollamada is optional but recommended:

En la videollamada, a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien. ✅
En la videollamada a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien. ✅ (also acceptable)

Commas after short introductory phrases (En la videollamada, A veces, En casa,) are common in written Spanish because they help readability, but in informal writing people sometimes omit them. In speech, of course, there is just a small pause or no pause, depending on rhythm.

How would I say this more generally, like “On video calls, my microphone sometimes doesn’t work well” (not just one specific call)?

To make it clearly general, Spanish usually uses the plural:

En las videollamadas, a veces mi micrófono no funciona bien.

This matches the English idea “On video calls (in general), sometimes my mic doesn’t work well.”

Compare:

En la videollamada…
→ Could refer to a particular call (e.g. “on the video call (today)…”), or just the situation of being on a call, from context.
En las videollamadas…
→ More clearly habitual/general.