Solve Zoom meeting technical problems

Participants and hosts can try to solve Zoom meeting technical problems prior to requesting assistance. Many basic problems can be resolved quickly. Zoom includes tools for testing your speaker and microphone, reducing the bandwidth required to participate in a meeting, and switching to alternative connection modes if necessary.

Ask for help

Remember that you can ask for help if any of these suggestions don't work for you. We are here to help you before, during, and after your meetings.

Students Cannot Access Zoom Room or Breakout Rooms

All students should be logging into Zoom with their "Sign in with SSO" that uses the StarID credentials. If a room is setup that only authenticated users are allowed in, then "Guests" cannot enter a room. Students that enter as "Guests" have not signed in with SSO. Sign in to Zoom using your StarID ("Sign in with SSO")

For students to enter pre-assigned Breakout Rooms they should first make sure they have logged into Zoom with "Sign in with SSO". If a student was a transfer student or PSEO student, they also need to make sure their Primary Email Address is set to winona.edu credentials. Change your primary email address

Fixing audio problems in live meetings

If you can't hear others in the meeting and/or others can't hear you:

Select the Chat button at the bottom of the meeting window and post a message indicating that you are having audio issues and are working on it
Make sure the volume on your computer, phone, or tablet is turned up
If you are using earbuds or a wired headset, make sure they are plugged in properly and any volume or mute controls on them are in the right position.
If your laptop is connected to a docking station, plug your earbuds or headset into your laptop directly. Also try disconnecting your laptop from the docking station during the meeting.
Make sure your microphone is not muted in the meeting session. Select the microphone button on at the bottom of your meeting screen to mute/un-mute your microphone
Select the up arrow to the right of the microphone button at the bottom of the meeting window and select Test Speaker and Microphone from the menu (Fig 1). Select Yes if you can hear the ringtone. Select No to try another speaker on your list. Once you hear the ringtone, select Yes. This will move you to the microphone test. Say a few words and stop talking. Select Yes if you hear the replay. Select No if you don't and new microphone will be selected from your list. Talk again and stop. If you hear the replay, select Yes.

Fig 1. Select Test Speaker & Microphone...

Join Zoom's open test session

You can join Zoom's open test session any time to test your speaker, mic, and camera. You will be the only person in this test session, so you will not be able to actually communicate with anyone, but you can determine whether your hardware is working.

Laptop

Browse to http://zoom.us/test.
Click the blue Join button to launch Zoom.
When prompted by your browser, click Open Zoom Meetings. If you don't have Zoom installed on your computer, install it.
The test meeting will display a pop-up window to test your speakers. If you don't hear the ringtone, use the drop-down menu or select No to switch speakers until you hear the ringtone. Select Yes to continue to the microphone test.
Say a few words and then stop talking. If you don't hear the replay, use the drop-down menu or select No to switch microphones. Say a few words and then stop talking. Repeat this process until you hear the replay. Select Yes when you hear the replay.
Select the Join with Computer Audio button.
Select Join with Computer Audio to join the test meeting with the selected microphone and speakers.

Mobile app

Use the same link and basic process when connecting to the test meeting on from the Zoom mobile app on your phone or tablet

Internet connection issues

Zoom is actually a relatively low-bandwidth application, so you should be able to join meetings as long as you have steady, reliable connectivity, even when using a cell phone with 4G/LTE service. Conduct a speed test from your location and consult the bandwidth requirements if needed. Here are some quick tips for reducing the likelihood of connectivity issues when using WiFi:

Move your device closer to your WiFi router if possible. Within 10' with a clear line of sight to the router (i.e., no walls in between) is "close."
Use the 5G band if your router supports multiple bands. The 2.4G band is slower and more susceptible to interference (e.g., from your microwave), but it extends farther from the router. The 5G band is faster, but the signal strength drops off faster the farther way you are from your router.
Switch your Zoom video to Speaker View versus Gallery View, This will display fewer video windows on you screen.
Turn off your camera. You can add a nice profile picture that will appear instead.
Switch from WiFi to a wired connection if your router supports it
If possible, tell others on your network to stop streaming Netflix or playing online games until you are done with your meeting.

Connect via phone

If you are having trouble connecting using your computer, try using your phone. You can install the Zoom Cloud Meetings mobile app, which would allow you to talk, hear, and see. You can also call into the meeting using a mobile or landline phone, which would allow you to talk and hear. You can also ask the Zoom meeting to call you, which will be useful if you have a landline phone.

External links

Want faster WiFi? Here are five weirdly easy tips (YouTube, 2015)

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