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Office of the CIO  ›  Computing Services  ›  Services  ›  Communication and Collaboration  ›  Web Conferencing  ›  Zoom  ›  How to Use Zoom

How to Use Zoom

Zoom is Carnegie Mellon's preferred web conferencing platform and offers a wide selection of features that include tools to support your study groups, classes, or meetings. Review the sections below for more information on all you can do with Zoom!

Learn About Zoom

Want to learn more about all of the Zoom tools available to you? Zoom's got you covered!

VISIT ZOOM'S SUPPORT RESOURCES

Get Started
Join a Meeting
Host a Meeting
Enhance Meetings with AI
Security

Get Started

  1. Download the Zoom app.
  2. Locate the downloaded file (usually in your Downloads folder), double-click it, and follow the installation prompts
  3. Log in with your Andrew userID and password, then authenticate with DUO when prompted.
    Watch: How to Sign In to Zoom with Your CMU Account
  4. Click your profile icon (upper right) and select Settings from the drop-down list.
  5. In Settings, go to the 'General' tab and check 'Automatically keep Zoom desktop client up to date.'

    Note: Always use your CMU Zoom account for university-related work or classes, not personal ones.
  1. Visit cmu.zoom.us and click Sign In.
  2. In the left-hand menu, click ‘Settings’, then at the top click ‘Meeting’, and from the left-hand submenu choose ‘Schedule Meeting’.
  3. Turn off the following settings:
    • Host video
    • Participant video
    • Allow participants to join before host
  4. Enable Mute all participants when they join a meeting.
  5. Click Profile (left) and click the Edit link to the left of your name to update your preferred name, pronouns, and host key.
  6. Close your browser.

Participate in a Meeting

  1. Open the Zoom app on your computer or mobile device and ensure you’re signed in with your CMU account.
  2. Click the Zoom meeting link you received from the event host (email, calendar invite, etc.), then enter the meeting passcode if prompted.
  3. Once the app opens, the meeting will launch. You may be prompted to:
    • Join with computer audio
    • Test your speaker and microphone
    • Select “Automatically join audio” for future meetings (optional)
    • Start Video: Your camera may be off by default. Use the Start Video button in the lower-left corner to turn it on.
  4. Click Leave when the meeting has ended to leave the meeting.

Host a Meeting

Note: Once you’re signed in to your CMU Zoom account, you’ll automatically be recognized as the host when you join the meeting.

Hosting a Large Meeting?

If you’re hosting a large group, you may need a large meeting or webinar add-on. Consider adding Zoom large meeting or webinar subscriptions to your account or visit Web Conferencing Comparison.

Enhance Your Meetings with AI Companion

Host more efficient meetings with Zoom AI Companion, an optional feature that generates meeting summaries, allows you to catch up if you miss part of the meeting, and organizes your recordings.

As you work with AI Companion, remember Zoom’s AI model is constantly learning and can make mistakes. Review meeting summaries, next steps, in-meeting responses, and smart recordings for accuracy.

Meeting Summary allows meeting hosts to create an AI-generated summary of their meeting. If the host chooses, they can then share the summary automatically with participants after the meeting ends.

Visit Using Meeting Summary with AI Companion to learn more, including how to start Meeting Summary as a host, request it as a participant, and manage past summaries.

In-Meeting Questions allows participants to ask questions about the meeting's content. For example, you may ask AI Companion to “Catch Me Up” if they join late or “Did we agree on a due date?”

Visit Asking In-Meeting Questions with AI Companion to learn more, including how to enable AI Companion as a host, request it as a participant, and how to ask questions.

Smart Recordings allows you to organize your cloud recordings into chapters, generate key highlights in a simple, easy-to read format, and identify action items and next steps.

Visit Using Smart Recording with AI Companion to learn more, including how to access your recordings and features like smart chapters, recording highlights, and next steps.

AI Companion is disabled by default. Complete the following steps to enable it.

  1. Visit cmu.zoom.us.
  2. Sign in with your Andrew userID and password.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Click AI Companion.
  5. Enable the features you wish to use and modify their settings to meet your preferences.

Yes, AI Companion is private and secure. Zoom does not use your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or any other data to train its artificial intelligence models. Further, we’ve configured AI Companion to interact with your data through Zoom’s own AI model only, and not any third-party models, like OpenAI or Anthropic.

Secure a Meeting or Class

To help keep your Zoom meetings safe from cybersecurity threats, CMU requires you to enable one of the following three security options:

  • Require a passcode 
    Participants must have a passcode to join the meeting. This is the default setting for standard meetings. We recommend creating meetings in the Zoom App or Google Calendar, which embed the passcode in the meeting link. Participants can then join the meeting without entering the passcode themselves.
  • Enable waiting room
    Participants enter a virtual waiting room where they wait for the host to admit them. This is the default setting for meetings hosted with your Personal Meeting ID (PMI).
  • Admit only authenticated participants
    Only participants who have signed into Zoom via CMU Web Login can enter the meeting. Hosts can also opt to admit participants signed in to any Zoom account. We do not recommend using this option if you frequently meet with people from outside the university.

Additionally, only the host can share their screen in a meeting unless they update their in-meeting security options.

Though these security features will protect your meetings from common threats, we strongly discourage you from sharing Zoom meeting details publicly to prevent unwanted guests from attending.

Is your data safe?

Your data is secure in the Zoom cloud. Learn all the facts before you record.

VISIT OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Follow the steps below if you prefer to use a security setting other than the defaults listed above.

  1. Visit cmu.zoom.us and click Sign In.
  2. Click Settings, and then click Meeting.
  3. Review the options and select your preferred method(s).

If your meeting is interrupted by uninvited participant(s), sometimes referred to as Zoombombing, the host can suspend their activity.

  1. Click Security > Suspend Participant Activities > Suspend.
  2. Immediately report the incident to iso-ir@andrew.cmu.edu.