Tips Prior to Joining a Zoom Meeting

Before starting or joining a meeting, you may want to perform some tests and prepare to have a successful meeting.

Before starting or joining a meeting, you may want to perform some tests and prepare to have a successful meeting.

Your Physical Device

Make sure you are using a device that is compatible with Zoom. A Windows or macOS device is recommended.

• Zoom Meetings system requirements for Windows, Linux, and macOS
• Zoom Meetings requirements for iOS, iPadOS, and Android

Your Network

We recommend connecting your device via a hard-wired ethernet connection directly to your modem or router instead of using Wi-Fi or cellular service for the most stable Zoom connection. VPN is not required for Zoom and is not recommended.

If you cannot connect your device with a hard-wired connection, we recommend that you:

1. Turn off, or disable, any other devices in your home/office that rely on Wi-Fi or network connectivity. This allows your Zoom device to utilize maximum bandwidth
2. Disable your webcam during your Zoom session unless absolutely necessary. Participate in the meeting with audio only to ensure that you do not experience lagging issues
3. Contact your internet service provider for additional information or troubleshooting with your network connection

Applications and Device Interface

For the best performance on your device:

• Make sure your device has all of the latest software updates
• Confirm that your internet browsers are running the latest versions. Chrome and Firefox are the recommended browsers
• Close any software or utilities that do not need to be open. This will allow your device to use the maximum resources available to participate in the session
• Make sure you have downloaded/updated to the latest version of the Zoom desktop client or Zoom mobile app. You can explore the article "Updating Zoom to the Latest Version" for information on updating your app for PC or macOS. For mobile updates, check your App Store or Google Play, and ensure auto-updates are enabled for the Zoom mobile app

If you cannot join a session

If you're experiencing issues joining a Zoom meeting:

• Confirm that you are using the link for the correct meeting, and that you are joining according to the instructions you were provided
  • If you are an attendee, have the host re-send the link to you. If you’re the host, verify the correct date and time
• Restart your device
• If you still cannot join or participate, uninstall and then re-install the Zoom desktop client

See Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Zoom Application.

Need Additional Help?

There are additional troubleshooting tips from Zoom Support.

For additional assistance, please visit the Zoom Knowledge Base for additional articles. You can also contact the IT Help Desk.