Joining Zoom without Technology

We have now had a number of meetings where people have been unable to attend or participate fully due to either being unable to get the correct equipment or having a device fail at the mast minute. I am writing this to explain how you can still participate with the minimal hardware.

Zoom assumes that you have a screen, a camera, speakers and a microphone. Life is a lot easier if they are all on the same device (laptop/desktop/tablet/phone) but that is not always the case.

So you have a Desktop and Speakers ….

Join the Zoom meeting in the normal way and then go to the Audio settings in the bottom left corner. Here you can choose Switch to Phone Audio…

Now follow the instructions on screen to find a local number and then sign into the meeting. You can mute yourself and listen on your computers speakers and then talk using your phone.

Remember to check on your telephone calling plan. A one hour call to a local rate number might be a few pence per minute, or free with your call plan. If it is free then you might have a 1 hour limit – in which case simply disconnect after approx 50 minutes and rejoin.

No Computer?

If you have the invite printed out then it can include telephone details. If you need these then it is usually best to talk it through with the meeting organisers.

Apparently it is possible to join a Zoom meeting on a smart TV using the Web Browser and even a Tesla car is planned …