How to join a Zoom meeting | Tom’s Guide.One moment, please

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If your video isn’t working in the Zoom client outside of the meeting , try troubleshooting the device itself. You already know about Zoom.
 
 

 

Joining a Zoom Meeting – MSU host vs. non-MSU host – MSU IPF Facilities Information Services – Categories

 

Local Recorded meetings are stored on the device that the meeting was recorded from e. The option to record is not available from mobile devices. To see where your Zoom recordings are stored, see the “Change location for Recording” section of Local recording.

When you find the. Pressing Delete in the Zoom client removes the recording from the recorded meetings list in Zoom, but not from the device itself. If you aren’t low on disk space and your meeting still won’t convert, contact your campus Support Center. Search Articles. Troubleshooting Zoom Issues Tags webinar web-conferencing zoom-help. On this page: I can’t join my meeting I’ve joined my meeting, but no one else is here I can’t hear or talk to people People can’t see me My video is poor quality I can’t access my recordings, I accidentally deleted a recording, or I can’t record My recording won’t convert My problem isn’t listed here I can’t join my meeting If you’re unable to join a meeting, check these items: If you’re on a desktop or mobile device, be sure you’ve installed the Zoom client and that it’s up to date; see What version of Zoom am I running?

If you’ve received any of these messages: Note: Certain types of videoconferencing equipment will not allow you to type alphabetical characters into the Zoom password field.

You are on hold: The host has enabled a waiting room; you’ll remain on hold until the host admits you into the meeting room. Room connector is not enabled for this meeting: If you are using videoconferencing equipment to join a meeting hosted by a free Zoom account or an account that doesn’t have the room connector enabled, you will receive this error. Connect to the meeting using a desktop or mobile device instead. Please wait for the host to start this meeting: The setting ” enable join before host ” is not set, and the host has not yet joined the meeting.

Hosts automatically receive email asking them to join. You will be prompted to join the meeting a short time after the host joins.

Please enter the meeting password: The meeting requires a password; enter the password provided by the meeting host. If you do not know the password, contact the meeting host for assistance. This meeting does not allow phone dial-in: The host may only have allowed VoIP audio. In this case, if you dial into the general Zoom teleconferencing number and enter the meeting ID, you will hear the message above and the call will disconnect.

You will need to join the meeting with a computer or a smartphone app. Not meeting host. Back to top I’ve joined my meeting, but no one else is here If you’ve joined a meeting but don’t see other participants: Confirm with the meeting host that the meeting has begun.

If it has, ask for the meeting ID at the top of the host’s Zoom window e. If they don’t match, you’ve joined a different meeting. Ask the host for the meeting ID, and join that meeting. If you’re the host, ensure that you haven’t enabled a waiting room. Anyone should be able to click a link and join your meeting without much fuss though there should also be security features to keep out unwanted participants.

We kept all of these features in mind while considering which Zoom alternatives to test let’s face it—that’s what they are , and also focused on these features while testing.

You already know about Zoom. People who literally live under rocks know about Zoom. It’s the most popular video conferencing app out there, and for good reason: it just works. You can share a link to a Zoom meeting and feel confident that everyone will be able to join it. There are apps for every major platform, and at this point, you can assume everyone already installed them. Joining a meeting is as simple as clicking the link. It’s hard to overstate how valuable that is: nothing drags a meeting down quite like someone not being able to join.

Zoom is also extremely reliable. It will typically keep your video going even through a weak internet connection, just at a reduced quality level. You can record any call as a full-length video, and participants can also use text chat to talk with each other, either as a group or as individual private messages. And you can share your screen, an individual app, or just one section of your screen.

You can even share audio from your computer, if you want. Zoom lets you schedule video conference calls in advance, chat anytime with any of your contacts, or connect to room conferencing hardware.

All in all, it’s a nearly perfect team video app. You can do even more with Zoom by connecting it to Zapier , taking the busywork out of meeting prep and follow-up. For example, you can automatically add Zoom calls to your calendar, schedule video conferences when someone books an appointment, or get notifications for upcoming meetings. If you decide to go with Zoom, take a look at our roundup of 10 tips and tricks for Zoom and 5 privacy settings to adjust for total Zoom security.

You can read more about the latest features in our Guide to Google video and chat: Google Meet vs. Google Hangouts vs. Google Chat. Google Meet ‘s best feature, perhaps, is its deep integration with Google’s other apps. Whenever you create a meeting in Google Calendar, you’ll get a Meet link that you and your meeting attendees can click to instantly join a call.

And when you’re in the middle of a call, you can find files from Google Drive and share them in chat, without leaving your call. You can even start a call directly from your Gmail inbox. Google Meet includes live captioning, which is a huge plus for accessibility. The captions work fairly well in English, though it can’t detect when other languages are spoken on a call.

And then there’s the integration with Chrome, including a tab-sharing feature that’s great for media sharing, with very little lag when used to stream a short video as a group it doesn’t work in other browsers, though.

Meet is a popular Zoom alternative, but it runs in a browser, not an app. This can be seen as a plus, because you don’t need to install anything. In our experience, though, browser-based apps tend to struggle on a large video conference call. Meet is no exception—large calls result in loud laptop fans and reduced quality. In our experience, Meet also doesn’t degrade calls as gracefully as Zoom when your internet connection is slow.

But there is a workaround: you can opt to have up to , participants join via view-only mode. This mode doesn’t display participants’ video, so they’ll only see and hear whoever is leading the call. Though it’s not the same as a true group video conference, since it limits their ability to chime in, it’s a decent option if you just need one or two people to present to a large group.

Hybrid companies, or companies with multiple locations, can use the Meet conference room devices for full-room video chats and the Jamboard touchscreen device for team collaboration. Together with Meet’s deep integrations with the rest of Google Workspace, Meet just may turn into the best way to talk with your team.

And, if your company is already paying for Google Workspace, it’s essentially free. With Zapier, you can connect Google Meet to the other apps you use most. For example, you can automatically schedule calls with leads, no matter where they reach you. Most team chat apps struggle with video, or treat it as an afterthought.

Not Microsoft Teams , which offers some of the most robust video conferencing features on the market. The whiteboard, for example, is the best we tested while researching this article. You can draw freehand, and the program smooths things out—a crappy circle becomes a perfect one, for example.

This makes it easy to take notes and diagram things on the fly. And there are plenty of other collaboration features here. The chat from the meeting, for example, is saved in your team chat app for future reference.

There’s a built-in feature for meeting notes, which are also shared with the team after the meeting. You can even automatically transcribe meetings and share that.

None of this would matter if the video quality wasn’t great. It is. Teams works well even with large calls, and there are all kinds of features for helping the meeting go smoothly.

Some, like the together mode seen in the above screenshot, are gimmicks, sure, but even gimmicks can help with team cohesion. It’s not a perfect app. Microsoft has a tendency to keep adding features to their applications, cluttering up the interface. That’s very much the case with Teams. And while it’s easy to invite people outside your organization to a Teams meeting, it’s not as seamless as Zoom.

Expect hiccups if someone doesn’t already have Teams installed. As for the cost? You’re probably already be paying for it because Teams comes bundled with basically every version of Microsoft Office.

If you want a team chat app that also offers high-quality videoconferencing, Teams is worth checking out. And you can do even more with Teams by connecting it to Zapier. For example, you can get notifications in Teams whenever your team has a new lead, a new event registration, or a new deal.

Whereby Web. There are many browser-based video conferencing services out there. Most of them aim to make it easy for anyone to quickly create a meeting link, share it, and start a meeting.

Simplicity is the point. Whereby is the best app in this sub-category. If you want to quickly start video meetings, Whereby is perfect. Starting and sharing a link could not be much easier, and in our tests, no one had trouble joining. There’s support for up to people, a prominent record button, a chat function, and screen sharing. There’s also an integration feature, which works differently from anything else we tested.

Most video conferencing apps rely on some version of screen sharing for collaboration. Whereby actually embeds productivity apps right on the page. For example: open the Google Docs integration, and a document will be loaded right there in the meeting. Everyone can edit the document right there, after logging in to Google Docs, because this isn’t a video of the document—it’s the actual document, in the window, alongside your video chat.

The YouTube integration also works better in Whereby than in Meet, which tells us Google could learn a few things from this app. If you’re looking for browser-based web meeting software—one that doesn’t require accounts for participants—check out Whereby first.

Cisco is a leading manufacturer of video conferencing hardware. Webex Meetings is their video call app. As you might expect, the focus is on video quality, and Webex delivers. We immediately noted that everyone looks and sounds better on this service even Winston, pictured above, looking perfect in the right panel.

If you tried Webex a couple years ago, you might want to try it again—it’s been completely overhauled in the past year. Users need to download an app in order to join a meeting, which is a downside, but the installation is relatively straightforward. The collaborative features are particularly noteworthy.

You can share a document with the meeting, as opposed to sharing the screen. Everyone in the meeting can mark up the file.

There’s also a fantastic virtual whiteboard, comparable to what’s offered in Microsoft Teams, with drawing, text, shapes, and other features. As with documents, everyone on the call can collaborate at the same time. It’s a great way to think out loud about a project as a group. By connecting Webex to your other apps with Zapier , it’s easy to keep your meetings running smoothly. You can automatically add scheduled Webex meetings to your calendar, for example, or get a reminder in your favorite chat app when a meeting is about to start.

Webex Price: There’s a free plan for meetings with up to people, but it lacks some important features like screen sharing and recordings.