Step 1. Identify the device you’d like to use to attend the Zoom meeting:
- A computer (with a webcam and a microphone, if you’d like to participate)
- If your computer is older than five years, or if you have trouble accessing Zoom on it, you may consider using one of these user-friendly alternatives:
- A smartphone or tablet (with a front-facing camera, if you’d like to participate)
- A regular telephone (if you’d like voice only)
Apple MacOS computer instructions
For Apple iPhone or iPad instructions
For telephone (audio only) instructions, please see the below:
On your phone, dial the teleconferencing number provided in your invite.
Enter the 9-digit meeting ID number when prompted using your dialpad, followed by the # key.
Zoom instructions for Apple/Mac laptops and desktops
For the best experience, download the Zoom desktop client and install it on your computer. To do so, click on the following link or copy and paste it into your internet browser (Safari, Chrome, or Firefox): https://zoom.us/support/download
Navigating to the link above should automatically begin a download of the installer package from your browser. If it does not, click “Restart the download,” as the website suggests.
Select a file location and then click “Save” in the lower right of the window, as below:
Once it has finished downloading, click the downloaded file “Zoom.pkg”—it may come up on the bottom left of your browser window, or you may need to navigate to the file location you chose before you hit “Save.”
This will open the Zoom Installer. Click “Continue” as many times as prompted.
A window should pop up with a big blue camera icon. Click on it and drag it into the Applications folder on the right of that window.
NOTE: If any of this didn’t work for you, skip here to try to run Zoom from your internet browser instead of the desktop client.
You can now open the Zoom application. Navigate to the Applications folder and double click on “Zoom.us.” You will see this window:
Click “Join a Meeting.” You do not need to create an account in order to participate in a Zoom meeting.
At the next window, enter the 9-digit Meeting ID from your meeting invite into the top field. Enter your name on the bottom field.
Click “Join” on the bottom right of the window.
If the host has logged in, you should see and hear other participants. If the meeting has not yet started, you are early. Your host will start at the designated time.
When the meeting has begun, the first thing you will see is the window below with two audio options:
The best option is to “Join with Computer Audio.”
Feel free to test your speaker and microphone to make sure the volume is at the correct level and that your microphone works. If something is awry with your computer audio, you can always dial in to the meeting with the phone number provided in your invitation.
The next thing you should do is mute yourself by clicking the little microphone button on the bottom left of the screen, as below highlighted in green. You want a little red line through the microphone so that your audio is muted. It is important to mute yourself while you’re not participating in the meeting so that your incidental audio does not distract the instructor or the other participants.
You can turn your camera on and off with the button highlighted in blue.
Running Zoom from your Internet browser
If you had trouble with any of the above steps with the desktop application, try accessing Zoom from your browser instead. Click the link you were sent in the meeting invite (it should look like https://zoom.us/j/__ninedigitMeetingID__ ). The link should send you to the following screen in your browser:
Click on the text in blue in the bottom line that says “click here to launch the meeting.” That should prompt another line of text that says “If you cannot download or run the application, join from your browser.” Click on “Join from your browser.” That should lead you to a screen that prompts you to enter your name, and then a button that says “Join Computer Audio.”
If you still cannot see other participants (and it’s the correct time for the meting), you may want to consider dialing in by telephone.
Zoom instructions for Apple iOS—iPhones and iPads
You’ll need to download and install the “Zoom Cloud Meetings” mobile app. To do so, tap the following link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zoom-cloud-meetings/id546505307 and then skip here.
Or navigate to the App Store icon on the home screen of your device. The icon looks like this:
Tap “Search” (it’s below a magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the App Store), type in “Zoom” to the search bar on the top of the screen, and then hit “Search” at the bottom right of the keyboard. “Zoom Cloud Meetings” should be the first result. Tap it.
Once you’ve found the Zoom app on the App Store, select “Get” and then “Install.” You will likely need to enter your Apple iCloud password. (If you’ve forgotten your password, navigate to https://appleid.apple.com in your browser and follow the instructions to reset it.)
When the app has finished downloading, it will appear on your home screen. Find it (the blue icon with a white camera, as above), and open it.
Tap “Join a Meeting.” You do not need to create an account to participate in a meeting.
On the next screen, enter the nine-digit Meeting ID that was provided to you in the meeting invite you received via email. Below that, enter whatever name you want the other meeting participants to see.
Select “OK” when Zoom asks to access the camera. Then, select “Join with Video” or “Join without Video” as you prefer.
Select “OK” when Zoom asks to access the microphone.
Select “Allow” or “Don’t Allow” as you prefer when Zoom asks to send you notifications.
Next, select “Call using Internet Audio” in order to hear other participants on the call and be heard when you speak while you are not muted.
At this point, you should be placed into the meeting. The next thing you should do is mute yourself by tapping the center of the screen and then clicking the little microphone button on the bottom left of the screen, as below highlighted in green. You want a little red line through the microphone so that your audio is muted. It is important to mute yourself while you’re not participating in the meeting so that your incidental audio does not distract the instructor or the other participants.
You can turn your camera on and off with the button highlighted in yellow.
Still have questions? View Zoom Support page.