Video conferencing has become the new normal for many different companies across several industries. While certainly more convenient than driving to an office to be a part of a meeting in person (remember those days? ?), Zoom meetings still come with their fair share of issues. Stop us if you’ve heard these before: What do you mean I’m muted? How do I unmute? I can see you, but why can’t you see me?
Luckily, you can proactively address these problems with a test Zoom meeting.
During a test Zoom meeting, you can ensure your audio and video are in proper order, and everything else is in place. How do you make sure your tech is working well? The time to find out is well before your meeting begins. This testing sequence can also help you spot any unwanted visuals in the background. No one needs to see your pile of dirty laundry!
Below we’ll take you step-by-step through how to use the Zoom test meeting feature and share tips for making sure you’re in shipshape before every meeting begins.
How to Test Zoom Meetings
Not sure how you sound? Want to see what other attendees will see before jumping on a call? You’re not alone. Testing audio and your Zoom video connection is a common practice—so common there’s a tool designed for just that.
Zoom has a platform set up that allows you to test your connection with a test Zoom meeting. To access this tool, visit the following website: https://zoom.us/test.
Step 1: Join Test Meeting
Joining a test Zoom meeting is simple. Just click the blue Join button after loading the test website. Once you click Join, a popup may appear, allowing you to choose your Zoom app. If you don’t see a popup, you can choose the blue Launch Meeting button.
Choose Zoom as your application and open the link. This will launch your test Zoom meeting.
From here, you can choose Join without video or Join with video. If you plan to attend your meeting with video, choose Join with video so that you can fully test your internet connection and webcam. You will then connect to the test meeting.
Step 2: Test Your Connection
A window will open just as it would if you joined any other Zoom meeting, except this one is only for you. You will be able to see yourself as others would in your view screen. If you’re unhappy about how you appear on screen, it’s best to find this out before the meeting begins! ? And hey, it may not be you — it could simply be a lighting issue. (It’s definitely a lighting issue! ?)
Depending on your Zoom account and the version of Zoom you have installed on your computer, you may see a popup window asking, Do you see yourself? You can choose Yes or No, Try Another Camera.
Take a look at your complete setup.
- How do you look?
- How is your posture?
- What’s visible in your background?
- Any old lunch wrappers lying on your desk?
- Is the image clear?
- Can you move around without the image blurring or freezing?
Next, it’s time to test your device audio. The popup will change to the question, Do you hear a ringtone? If you hear the ringtone, choose Yes. If you don’t hear the ringtone, you can choose No, Try Another Speaker.
Speak and pause; do you hear a replay? Choose between No, Try Another Microphone or Yes. If you choose Yes, you will see Your device is working properly! Then you can choose End Test, which will close the test window and end the meeting.
If you have an older version of Zoom (shoutout to all the people who hit “Remind me later” every time an application update pops up ?♀️), the popup questions may not appear. If you don’t see this, you can test your video by moving around and looking at the screen. You can test your meeting audio by locating the microphone in the bottom left corner. Choose Audio Settings… from the drop-down menu, which will open a number of settings, including a Test Mic option.
Here you can see the Input Level and Input Volume. Test the levels by raising and lowering your voice, and adjust the Input Volume as needed. In these settings, you’ll find other audio options
as well as Video Settings, Screen Share Settings, Background and Filters, and more.
Step 3: Leave Test Meeting
If a popup appeared when you first joined the test meeting, an End Test button will appear after you answer three questions about your video and audio. End Test will close the test window and exit the Zoom application.
If you checked on your settings manually, you’ll need to leave the meeting yourself. When you’re ready to leave the meeting, locate the Leave button in red in the bottom right corner. You will then need to choose Leave Meeting, and the Zoom window will close.
The test Zoom meeting automatically ends after three minutes. You will see This meeting has been ended by host when your time has run out. If you want to do further testing, you can always open a new test meeting by going back to the original test link.
Does the Test Zoom Meeting Feature Work for Mobile Devices?
You can use the same meeting test tool from an iPhone or android. Simply locate the same test link on your mobile device. From here, you can follow the instructions to Join the meeting.
You must have the Zoom mobile app installed in order for the test meeting to launch. Download the Zoom application in the App Store or Google Play Store before using the testing tool.
Pre-Meeting Checklist
While completing a test Zoom meeting is a good start, there’s more you can do before a Zoom meeting begins.
- Test your device video.
- Test your device audio.
- Review your room lighting.
- Assess your clothing.
- PUT ON PANTS! You never know when you’ll have to get up, and you don’t want to quite literally be caught with your pants down.
- Check your video background. Use a blurred or virtual background if you don’t have a good IRL option. Not all computers support this, but it’s worth a shot!
- Make sure the camera doesn’t pick up things on your desk you don’t want seen (dirty cereal bowls, tissues, etc.). Simply move them out of the frame.
- Make sure other people in your office or home know you will be taking a call. (A closed door is a good signal!)
- Warm up your face with face yoga. Pinch your face until you imitate a raisin, then open your eyes and mouth up wide in your best impression of this face ?. Repeat until your face feels loose and comfortable to ensure you enunciate on the call.
- Warm up your voice with vocal exercises — no one likes a mumbler! Rapidly repeat the following phrases: The Tip of the Tongue, the Teeth, and the Lips or Red Leather Yellow Leather. Do this until your mouth and tongue feel nice and loose.
- Review your meeting agenda and/or previous meeting notes.
➡️ More meeting etiquette tips: The Dos and Don'ts of Virtual Meeting Etiquette
Make Meetings Easier
Online meetings are prone to hiccups, which means you need to be diligent about doing everything you can to prepare. Don’t be that coworker who is always jumping into a meeting at the last minute asking everyone else how to fix their tech issues. Simply utilizing the test Zoom meeting feature only takes a couple of minutes and makes the meeting go oh-so-much-more smoothly.
Speaking of minutes—do you have someone taking those? Save time and energy with Anchor AI. Whether on Zoom or another platform, our software simplifies your meeting minutes so that you can focus on running or participating in great meetings.
Learn more about our product and follow our blog for the latest updates. We’re continually adding resources to our blog, including content written specifically for Zoom users. We recommend Where Do Zoom Recordings Go? and Zoom Messages 101.