Joining a Zoom Call with Captions

Follow these steps to get captions during a Zoom call

In light of social distancing, many families and businesses are using Zoom or other video-conferencing tools to hold “virtual” phone calls.  The benefit of a Zoom-type of meeting is that multiple people can participate and you are able to see everyone on the call.

You can use your CapTel phone to call into a Zoom meeting, as you would with any other phone, and get the benefit of reading captions during the call.

Instructions:

1. ​​On your computer, click on the link provided in the Zoom invitation to connect to the meeting.
2. ​​On your computer, after electing to join the Zoom with video, select “Join with Computer Audio.”
3. ​Next, on your CapTel phone, lift the handset and dial a phone number provided in your Zoom invitation. (Please be aware that there might be long distance charges associated with calling the Zoom phone numbers.) Watch the CapTel signal meter and display to know when your call has connected.​
4. Once connected, use the CapTel dial pad to enter the Zoom Meeting ID number (and if necessary, enter the Participant ID number) and press #.​​
5. Lower the Volume as much as possible and press Mute on the CapTel phone, and then rest the handset down somewhere without hanging up.
6. You will be able to see the participants on your computer screen while reading the captions on your CapTel phone.
7. Once the Zoom meeting has ended, hang up the CapTel handset and increase the Volume so that the CapTel is ready for the next call.

You will be able to see the participants on your computer screen while listening to the call, and then read captions on your CapTel phone.

Tips:

• The time-out allowed for entering your Meeting ID and Participant ID can be brief. Be ready with the numbers you need before you place the call.
• If there are multiple people on a call, you may ask participants to state their name before speaking so that the captions can indicate who is talking.
• These same instructions apply to using CapTel with other video-conferencing options, such as Skype, GoToMeeting, Google Meet, etc.