Zoom FAQ and Troubleshooting

To check on the status of Zoom services and/or for potential service interruptions, see: https://status.zoom.us

How do I secure my Zoom sessions and/or prevent anonymous participants from joining?

One of the main features that makes Zoom meetings so easy to use is the ability for users to freely join meetings without having to have a Zoom account (anonymously). While this is a helpful and convenient feature in most cases, it can also present challenges for larger Zoom sessions (more than 20 participants). Review recommendations and best practices for securing your Zoom meetings.

See additional strategies from Zoom: https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/27/best-practices-for-securing-your-virtual-classroom/

Your Participants see an option to "Claim Host"

Zoom does not require a Zoom account to Join a meeting. If you join a meeting using an email or a calendar invite link, you or your participants will be able to join the Zoom meeting anonymously.  If you are hosting the meeting, you must log into Zoom either by using the Zoom application when prompted or via https://lehigh.zoom.us.  

When a user is joining a meeting, if they are NOT the host (the person who created the meeting), they will be seen as an Attendee/participant. However, the original host can designate another alternative host when setting up, if they will be unable to start the meeting. https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/208220166-Alternative-Host

To claim host, the original creator of the meeting will need to join and sign-in with their Zoom account, so that Zoom recognizes that they are the host. Alternatively, the host key can be inputted to claim host.

Can I host more than one meeting simultaneously?

It is not possible to host multiple meetings at the same time from any account. More information: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206122046-Can-I-Host-Concurrent-Meetings-

I can't get audio and/or video to work

Sometimes, other programs that use your computer's audio/video drivers/hardware, such as Skype, may retain control of your audio/video hardware even when not in use. Close out of these and all other video conferencing applications - and restart your device if needed.

At any time, you can test your audio/video functionality by joining an automated Zoom test meeting: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002262083-Joining-a-test-meeting

Students can't hear sounds playing on my computer / I want to show a video clip with audio via screen share

If you want to share your computer's audio during a screen share, make sure to check Share computer sound at the lower-left corner of the source selection window when starting a screen share.

Music Doesn't Sound Great

Zoom is configured for speech, so some built-in audio features do not work as well for listening to music. In advanced audio settings, original sound allows you to preserve the sound from your microphone without using Zoom's echo cancellation and audio-enhancing features. 

Here is more information: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115003279466

Here is a video from a professor providing more explanation - https://youtu.be/50NoWIiYECA

Guide for better Zoom Sound from compiled  by Dr. Michael Jorgensen, Professor of Practice in Orchestral Strings.

How do I apply a Virtual Background (not recommended)?

You may wish to use a virtual background during a Zoom meeting (Video settings > Virtual background), however virtual backgrounds can cause problems for slower computers and slower network connections. Certain computer hardware does not support this feature at all. It is for these reasons that we do not recommend this in general. If you choose to use this feature and notice performance degradation and/or connection slowness/instability, turn this feature off again. However, a virtual back 

Student not appearing in a Breakout Room

Pre-assigned breakout rooms will only work for users using the macOS/Windows client or mobile app. If they are simply using a web client such as a Chromebook/Chrome OS, they will only be put into the default main room.

More information about how breakout rooms work: Collaborating in Zoom

Using multiple accounts in Zoom

You may have already set up a Zoom account with another institution/organization. In this case, you need to be particularly mindful of which account you are logged into. The best way to be sure is to make sure that you are logged on to lehigh.zoom.us. Please note, that you cannot use your Lehigh email address to sign in to any other zoom.us domain.

More information from Zoom on how to switch between accounts: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362383-Signing-Out-and-Switching-Between-Accounts

My Zoom cloud recording is taking a long time to process

Under normal circumstances, the longer the recorded session, the longer it takes to process the cloud recording. However, due to a major increase in demand and use of Zoom during the current COVID-19 pandemic, cloud recordings are taking significantly longer to be processed. It is not uncommon during this time for a recording to take upwards of a day to process. Alternatively, you can record your meeting locally (to your own computer) and then upload it to Panopto to share. Please note, that you cannot take advantage of automatic machine captioning of Zoom videos if you record to your local computer.

Changing Zoom in-meeting video layouts

Your options will vary based on your computer's hardware capabilities. More information can be found here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362323-How-Do-I-Change-The-Video-Layout-

My Presenter's Slide Show is Flickering or Flashing in and out of Full Screen Mode.  What's causing this?

According to Zoom support, systems equipped with certain video cards can exhibit this behavior when they're set to a low-power mode.  If you have an nVidia similar dicreet graphics in your system, you may want to set it to 'Performance' mode before starting your presentation.

Using a Document Camera In Zoom

Screen sharing a camera input allows for sharing a camera connected to your computer. This will allow using two cameras at once during a Zoom meeting. This is commonly used when needing to share a document camera.

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/207599483-Screen-Share-a-Camera-Input

Screen Share not working on iPad in Zoom

If your screen freezes and you are unable to share when using an iPad, you may need to disable Stage Manager.  Go to your control center and tap the Stage Manager Button to toggle off.

Detailed instructions: Turn Stage Manager on or off on your iPad