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Zoom’s Quarterly Upgrade Schedule

April 27, 2023
Reminder: Stanford Zoom is for Stanford-work related activities only. You should not use it for activities that are not related to Stanford work (per Stanford Administrative Guide 6.2.1). Such activity increases Stanford's use and associated costs. Support staff monitor after-hours use and international calling charges.

Software Updates

It's important to keep your software updated. To upgrade Zoom manually, click on your profile picture in the top-right hand corner of your Zoom desktop client and select “Check for Updates.”  Navigate to Zoom's website to view Zoom releases by date.

 

Zoom News and Announcements

Real-time Captioning Assistance (Updated March 1, 2021): Live transcription is available for Stanford Zoom; however, automated captions are not sufficient when captioning has been requested as a disability-related accommodation. Automated captions are not as accurate as those produced by a professional captioner and may include critical errors that impact the information or context of what is communicated. For additional information or assistance on real-time captioning as an accommodation, visit the Diversity & Access Office website or email disability.access@stanford.edu. Learn more about Zoom closed captioning

Zoom Limits Direct Users Support Requests (Updated March 1, 2021): Zoom has announced that individual users will be unable to access Zoom support. If you need help, submit a Help request.

Stanford Zoom Security Settings and Features

To further protect the Stanford community from unwanted participants and improve the user experience, University IT will occasionally enable or disable global Zoom security settings or features. 

Feature/Security Setting

Date

What You Need to Know

Enabled: Live transcription and closed captioning 03/24/2021

Live transcription is now available for the Stanford account. To enable for your personal Zoom settings: Click on Settings > In Meeting (Advanced) > Closed captioning> Enable live transcription.  This will give your participants the option to view automated captions —generated using artificial intelligence (AI) — during meetings and events you host.  Learn more about closed captioning and live transcription.

 

Enabled: Save Zoom chat 03/24/2021

The ability to save Zoom chats has been enabled account-wide for Stanford. To access this feature, click on the chat window and select the "more options" button (three dots) and "save chat."  This feature only applies to public chats. The chat will save to your local drive rather than in the cloud. If you are already recording the meeting, you can retrieve the chat history within the recordings tab at  https://stanford.zoom.us.

Anyone in the meeting can save the chat. When a chat file is saved, it will save both the global chat and any direct messages (incoming or outgoing) unique to the participant saving the chat.   We have confirmed with Zoom, it is operating how intended and designed.

 

Disabled: Videos for Virtual Backgrounds 01/29/2021 The setting that enables videos to be used as a virtual background is turned off. You may still use the background feature to display a static image as your virtual background. Animated backgrounds may be distracting in learning and instructional sessions. In addition, they may trigger seizures, migraines, dizziness, or vertigo for some individuals. The change is being made in partnership with the Stanford Online Accessibility Program (SOAP). 
Available: 20 Concurrent Meeting Feature 01/26/2021 20 concurrent meeting feature is available for all users. We are working with Zoom in creating the ability to programmatically assign this feature to all users through the API. In the meantime, if you need this feature immediately, please submit a ticket and the team will provision your account.

Removed: Toll-free dial-in numbers removed from audio options

07/09/2020

Starting July 9, Stanford will remove toll-free dial-in numbers from the list of available audio options for Zoom participants. This decision is based on the high cost of international toll-free service and the widespread availability of alternative audio options including:

  • Use your device or computer audio over your network connection. Persistent quality issues can often be resolved with a wired connection or adjustment of your home router's WiFi settings.
  • Use the “Call Me” feature to have Zoom conveniently call your telephone number without requiring passcode entry.
  • Use the local dial-in number or one of the numbers on the linked list of International Numbers included in the invitation.

Enabled: Passcode requirement for all meetings 

06/23/2020

Zoom will require all meetings and webinars to be secured with a passcode, including meetings you may have already scheduled and all personal meeting rooms. To learn more about how this requirement may impact all Zoom users, including meeting hosts and participants, refer to the UIT news article Zoom Meetings to Require Passcodes Starting June 23.

Disabled: "Join before host for Personal Meeting ID (PMI)"

04/16/2020

For meetings using a PMI, participants will remain in individual waiting rooms until the host joins the meeting. When the host joins the meeting, participants will automatically join, too.

This setting will be disabled as a default at the account level. To revert back, log into the Zoom web portal and click "Meetings" on the left menu. Click "Personal Meeting Room" and then click "Edit this Meeting." Under "Meeting Options," deselect "Enable join before host" and click "Save."

Enabled: "Require passcode for participants joining by phone"

04/16/2020

If your meeting has a passcode, participants joining by phone must enter a numeric passcode. For a meeting with an alphanumeric passcode, a numeric version will be automatically generated. 

Note: This change does not impact previously scheduled meetings.  However, you can modify existing meetings to include a passcode. If you do this, remember to communicate passcode changes to your meeting participants.

New Feature: "Meeting Participant Data"

04/08/2020

Meeting hosts can run a usage report to see participant data for their meetings. You’ll be able to see the name of each participant and when they joined and left the meeting, and download this information as a CSV file.

To access this feature, navigate to the Stanford Zoom web portal and click "Reports" on the left menu. To see who attended your meeting and for how long, click the number under "Participants."

Enabled: Recording Disclaimer

03/13/2020

Participants will receive a notification when a recording starts or if they join a session that is already being recorded. The attendee can either consent to stay in the session or leave.

Enabled: Audio notification of a recorded meeting

03/11/2020

Participants will hear an audible notification message each time the recording starts or restarts informing them that the meeting is being recorded.

Get Help Managing Your Settings

If you have questions or need guidance on optimizing these settings: