If you have been in a long Zoom meeting where you can’t remember everything that was said, a recording helps out immensely. You can record meetings (local or cloud) using a personal computer or phone. For starters, a complete guide on how to use Zoom will set the right pace for the next recording.
Before diving into the steps, here are a few things to know. During local recording, you cannot record these specific features:
- Record Active Speaker, Gallery View, and shared screen separately.
- Record using the iOS or Android app.
- Audio Transcription
- Shared screen recording with active speaker thumbnail or without any thumbnails.
We recommend using cloud recording, which requires a Zoom paid membership to access the above features. Depending on your needs, you can pay as little as $140 for a whole year of premium Zoom access.
How To Record a Zoom Meeting Using Local Recording
Before you are ready to record a meeting, you must enable some permissions on your account.
1. Sign Into Your Zoom Account
2. Click Account Management
From this menu, click on Account Management, then click on Account Settings.
3. Select Recording
4. Turn on Local Recording
The first option on the Recording page will be Local Recording click on the switch next so it is blue.
5. Choose a Save Location
Using the Zoom desktop app click on the Home icon and click on Recording.
6. Start a Meeting as the Host
Start a meeting and ensure you are the host or co-host.
7. Click Record
You will see a circular icon on the bottom toolbar and the word Record underneath it. Click on it.
8. Click Stop
After your meeting, click on the Stop icon on the bottom toolbar.
9. Locate The Recording
When you first click into this tab, you will see your upcoming meetings, but next to that, you can click on Recorded to view previous meetings you recorded.
You can view the recording from either of these locations and share it with your colleagues by uploading the file to a file-sharing service like Dropbox. In addition to the helpful steps above, we found this insightful step-by-step tutorial on YouTube you can watch.
How To Use Cloud Recording
As we discussed earlier, cloud recording requires a paid membership to use this feature. But if you find yourself recording every meeting you are in, the extra cost is well worth it. This will also allow you to record Zoom meetings regardless of your platform. So you can be on a computer, phone, or tablet and still be able to record.
Let’s look at how to use cloud recording on your phone. It’s pretty much the same process as local recording with a PC.
1. Open The Zoom App
2. Tap On More
3. Select Record
If you have an iOS device, you will see Record to the Cloud. On an Android device, you will see Record. After tapping on either of these options, your recording will begin.
4. Stop Recording
When you are done with your meeting, tap on the Recording icon in the top-right corner of your screen.
5. Locate The Recording
To find your recording, afterward, navigate to the My Recordings section of the Zoom website, which we have linked here. You can also find the recording in the desktop app by going to the Meetings tab and clicking on Recorded.
40-Minute Time Limits For Free Accounts
Zoom recently updated its time limit policy for all users with free accounts, limiting all meetings now to 40 minutes long. Zoom previously had a policy in place where 1-on-1 meetings between free account users had an unlimited amount of time, but recently this changed. Now there’s an incentive for users to either upgrade their account or switch to a different platform where they can record meetings without a time limit. Their earlier policy only placed the 40-minute time limit on sessions with more than two participants, but now it applies to all free users for sessions of any size.
A subscription to Zoom is $14.99 per month, and you can record sessions for up to 24 hours at a time. However, one common way that people go around this policy is to use a different platform for the video call while using a third-party screen recorder. This allows you to host and record meetings of any length, without paying Zoom for a monthly subscription or limiting your meetings to 40 minutes.
Conclusion
Recording your Zoom meetings has many advantages and a few drawbacks. Both options allow you to retain privacy. Even cloud recordings are only accessible to people you share them with. Plus, because Zoom makes it simple to record and access your meetings, we don’t see a lot of reasons not to record your meetings unless participants specifically asked not to be recorded.
Zoom does send a message to everyone in the meeting when you start recording, letting them know you are recording the meeting, so you don’t have to announce it at the beginning meeting.
Up Next
- How To Find Zoom Recordings, Step By Step With Photos — Make sure you know how to locate your Zoom session recordings after you’re meeting is done, whether they save to your computer or the cloud.
- How To Edit A Zoom Recording, Step By Step With Photos — Do you know how to edit a Zoom recording? We’ve created an easy guide with images to help you edit the video for perfection.
- How To Make Someone A Co-Host On Zoom, Step By Step With Photos — Learn how to make someone a co-host during a Zoom session, to help with meetings, tutor sessions, presentations, or for any other time you need backup leading your Zoom call.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Ink Drop/Shutterstock.com.
