Setting Up Zoom App for Chromebook – Overview
In 2020, Zoom transformed from a niche and office-dedicated service to something that colleagues, friends, and family can use to socialize and even play games over.
In other words, part of its appeal is that it doesn’t matter what device or operating system (OS) you’re using; Zoom will function seamlessly; it truly is a cross-platform service.
Zoom is effective and user-friendly, especially when you’re using a Chromebook. Zoom is perhaps the best video conferencing service out there, and in this review, we will show you how to set up and use the Zoom app on a Chromebook.
Create a Zoom Account
You don’t need a Zoom account to join meetings which is one of the advantages of this service over its counterparts. However, if you’re using the service regularly, it’s worth creating an account.
Next, head over to the Zoom webpage, where you’ll have several different options to create an account. If you want to register with an email address and passcode, you can.
Alternatively, you can sign up using Google, FaceBook, SSO (Single-Sign-On). For each option, you’ll be asked to confirm your date of birth and your age as well. Note that Zoom will not retain this information because this is considered to be confidential information.
Setting Up Zoom App for Chromebook
Download the App
If you are a regular Zoom user, you will want to use the dedicated Chrome app in addition to the web service. To download the app, head to the Chrome Web Store.
In the applications section, search for Zoom. At this point, you’ll see a couple of results but what you’re looking for is an app published by ‘zoom.us.’ To get the app on your Chromebook, click on ‘Add to Chrome.’
Note that Google has announced that Chrome apps are coming to an end in the future, and they will be replaced with PWA (Progressive Web Apps). But for now, the Zoom app is still available, and it functions seamlessly, so it’s worth installing.
Join a Zoom Meeting
When joining Zoom meetings on Chrome OS, you don’t need any account info. This makes it easy to join someone else’s Zoom call.
- Start by launching the Zoom app on your Chromebook from the app drawer.
- Next, click on the ‘Join a Meeting’ tab and enter the ‘Meeting ID’ you received.
- Enter your name in the text box below and click on ‘Join’ to access the meeting.
- If you wish not to have audio in the meeting, you can do so before joining the meeting. Likewise, you can turn back the audio during the meeting if you need to.
Start a Zoom Meeting
To start a Zoom meeting on your Chromebook, you will need to sign in, which is why we had a step to set up an account. At this point, launch the Chrome OS Zoom app and click on the ‘Sign in’ tab, and enter your ID and password (login credentials)
Once you’re logged into the Zoom app, you have two options for starting a meeting; you can either have audio or just video, you pick the most favorable option for you. The third option is to use your Zoom Meeting ID if you’d like. This is a useful option if you want to have regular meetings with the same people because all you need to do is share a code.
If you begin a new meeting, a unique meeting ID will be generated for you to share with people you’d like to join your meeting. Alternatively, if you have a contact list within the Zoom app, you can invite them from there.
Schedule a Zoom Meeting
The most standard way to schedule a Zoom meeting on a Chromebook is to use the web dashboard. So once you’ve logged in, head to the ‘Meetings’ tab and click on ‘Schedule a Meeting.’ At this point, you can enter the meeting details such as date, time, and topic. In addition, you can generate a Meeting ID and a secure password if you wish.
An even better way to schedule a Zoom meeting is using the ‘Zoom Scheduler’ add-on from the Chrome Web Store. This add-on has two purposes; the first is to give you access to all the tools in the Zoom web service dashboard.
The second purpose of this extension is its integration with the Google Calendar. Once you’ve added it, any meeting you schedule on the Google Calendar can be turned into a Zoom appointment by clicking on the ‘Make it a Zoom Meeting’ switch.
Setting Up Zoom App for Chromebook
Note: Sometimes the Zoom app for Chromebook might not work. Luckily, there are a couple of things you can do to fix this including upgrading to the latest version of the Zoom app, reduce the number of apps open on your device and contacting Google Chromebook Support.
Final Thought
All in all, Zoom is a service built for the web, which makes it perfect for use on a Chromebook. All Zoom features are available on Chromebook, and although the Zoom Chrome App will eventually be updated, it’s still well-positioned to seamlessly work on Chrome OS.
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