Zoom has become a daily essential for keeping us connected during the pandemic, with over 300 million daily Zoom meeting participants at its peak. Its availability across platforms like desktop and mobile makes Zoom incredibly convenient to use on the go.
In this guide, I‘ll provide detailed instructions on setting up Zoom properly on your iPhone and making the most of its versatile features. You‘ll learn Zoom‘s capabilities and limitations on iOS, tips to optimize its performance, and how to troubleshoot issues.
Why Use Zoom on an iPhone?
First, let‘s discuss the advantages of running Zoom on an iPhone or other mobile device:
Flexibility: Join video meetings anywhere with cellular data or WiFi–at home, at the office, while traveling, or out and about. Zoom keeps you connected wherever you are.
Familiar interface: If you‘re already accustomed to using your iPhone apps, Zoom will feel intuitive. Its touch gestures and menus mirror iOS conventions for smooth navigation.
Powerful hardware: Modern iPhones pack serious performance with faster processors than some computers for robust Zoom usage on mobile. Their built-in mics and cameras provide sharp video quality too.
Clearly, an iPhone can serve as a capable Zoom machine. So what models work with it and what requirements should you consider?
Zoom Compatibility Requirements for iOS Devices
Officially, Zoom only supports iPhone models going back to the iPhone 6 era running iOS 11 or later. Here are the specifics that enable full Zoom functionality on iOS:
| Device Type | Models Supported | Oldest OS Supported |
|---|---|---|
| iPhones | 6, 6S/Plus, SE, 7/Plus, 8/Plus, X or newer | iOS 11 |
| iPads | iPad Air 2, iPad 5th gen, iPad Pro, iPad mini 4 or newer | iOS 11 |
| iPod Touch | 7th gen | iOS 11 |
Older devices that can‘t update beyond iOS 10 won‘t be able to install Zoom. Very outdated hardware may also struggle with performance and speed when using Zoom even if the app runs.
Now let‘s compare what features are available depending on which version of iOS you‘re currently running:
| Feature | iOS 11 | iOS 12 | iOS 13 | iOS 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallery View | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Background | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Raise Hand | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Share | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Breakout Rooms | No | No | No | Yes |
As you can see, upgrading to the most recent iOS versions unlocks additional capabilities like virtual backgrounds, multi-share, and breakout rooms.
Downloading and Signing Into Zoom
Ready to get Zoom up and running? Here‘s how to install the app and set up your account:
- Open the App Store on your iPhone and search for "Zoom Cloud Meetings". Tap "Get" to install the free app.
- Launch the Zoom app once downloaded. Select "Sign Up" to create a new account or "Sign In" to access an existing one.
- Sign up with your email, Google account, Facebook login, or SSO provider. Tap through the age verification screen.
- Check your email inbox to activate your account via email verification. This adds an extra account security measure.
- Return to the Zoom app and sign in using the credentials you just registered.
Once signed into your account, you‘ll see the Zoom home screen with the options to join meetings, host instant meetings, and schedule future meetings.
Before you start meetings, I recommend customizing your account settings further…
Configuring Your Account
Take a minute to update your Zoom profile details and adjust options to your liking:
- Tap the "menu" icon (3 horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner
- Select your account name/profile picture at the top
You‘ll then see the full profile screen with these options:
Profile: Add your name, photo, employer, location, and enable/disable availability.
Settings: Change your Zoom username (distinct from sign-in email), time zone, contacts visibility, and password.
Personal Meeting ID: Set a fixed meeting ID to give colleagues so they can instantly join your personal meeting "room" anytime it‘s open.
Host Key: Enhance login security with a unique 6-digit host key.
Meeting Settings: Configure scheduling permissions, video feeds, co-host privileges, and usage tracking.
Accessibility: Adjust features for hearing impaired and low vision users like captions and screen reader support.
Enabling options like passwords, waiting rooms, co-host controls and 2-factor authentication will further strengthen your meeting security and prevent uninvited guests.
Now let‘s jump into hosting and joining Zoom meetings from your iPhone!
Starting and Joining Meetings
To instantly start a meeting:
- Select "New Meeting" on the Zoom home screen
- Toggle on/off your video and microphone
- Tap "Invite" and choose "Contacts" or "Mail" to invite participants
To join a meeting:
- Select "Join" on the main screen
- Enter the 9-11 digit meeting ID number
- Enter the meeting passcode if prompted
To schedule a future meeting:
- Select "Schedule" to set the date/time, meeting duration, recurrence, and calendar invites
- Tap "Advanced Options" to configure audio, video, meeting options, and require a registration
- Tap "Save after finalizing details
Scheduling on a mobile device does limit some settings compared to the desktop Zoom portal. But you can still set up a feature-rich meeting fully on your iPhone.
During a meeting, familiarize yourself with the bottom menu bar options:
- Participants: View, mute attendees, request video feeds, and invite others
- Chat: Open the group chat window or chat privately with a participant
- Share Content: Share your iPhone screen or documents
- Reactions: Tap icons to visually react during meetings
- End: Leave or hang up the meeting
Tapping your own video thumbnail lets you start/stop your camera feed and toggle mic mute on and off.
Pretty straightforward so far, right? Now let‘s get into more advanced features…
Sharing Your Screen
Zoom enables full device screen sharing from your iPhone during meetings. This lets you present documents, photos, webpages and more to participants right from your mobile screen.
To share your iPhone‘s screen in a meeting:
- Tap the "Share Content" icon in your meeting controls
- Select either "Screen" or a specific app to share
- Tap "Start Broadcast"
- Your screen contents now broadcast to the meeting
- When finished, tap "Stop Share"
A few pointers for screen sharing from your phone:
- Share entire screen for switching between apps and browsing together
- Select only relevant apps to share if privacy needed
- Pinch/zoom to show details in photos or docs
- Pausing screen share conserves phone battery
Do keep in mind Zoom has recording capabilities that will capture shared screens, so be prudent about ensuring sensitive apps are closed out before presenting your screen publicly.
Breakout Rooms, Recordings, and More Tips
We‘ve just scratched the surface of Zoom capabilities on iPhone. Here are a few more advanced features to explore:
- Breakout rooms: Split meeting participants into smaller discussion groups
- Record meetings: Capture audio, video, screen sharing and chat activity
- Virtual backgrounds: Swap out your camera backdrop for photos or video
- Audio-only calls: Conserve battery without video in longer calls
- Zoom keyboard shortcuts: Faster controls from an external keyboard
- Screen pinning: Keep a speaker‘s video feed always visible
Be sure to customize settings like enabling touch up appearance filters on your camera video and reducing battery usage for longer calls too.
As you can see, Zoom on iPhone packs incredible features into a free mobile app for connectivity and collaboration on the go. Feel empowered to work from anywhere or move meetings out of the office given Zoom‘s robust mobile platform.
For further reading, visit Zoom‘s official iPhone tutorial videos.
Now grab your iPhone and let the mobile Zoom meetings commence!
