When you share your screen with others in a Zoom meeting, the sound on your computer is automatically muted. Zoom allows you to share audio with others by sharing the screen. This is useful if you want to watch YouTube videos with others or play music during breaks in a meeting.
If you’ve never done it before, this guide will show you how to share audio on Zoom. Learn how to present a YouTube video with audio to other Zoom meeting participants and learn how to share Spotify music with your audience.
How to share your computer’s audio in Zoom for Windows or Mac with screen sharing
To share your computer’s audio during a Zoom call, you’ll need to open the app and start a new meeting. You don’t need other members to start sharing your computer’s audio on Zoom. This is easy to set up before anyone joins using the Zoom screen sharing feature. The steps to use this feature are similar to Zoom on Windows and Mac.
After starting a new Zoom meeting, click the green Share Screen button on the meeting toolbar at the bottom of the window. As the name suggests, this is used to share the screen in Zoom, but every time you want to share your computer’s audio, you need to turn on another option.
You can now select the box next to the Share Audio button in the bottom left corner of the window. This ensures that the sound from your computer is not muted when you share your screen. Select the application you want to share the audio with, and when you’re ready to start sharing, click the blue Share button in the bottom right corner of that window.
How to adjust audio quality shared with screen sharing
Zoom lets you share computer audio in mono and stereo quality. The Zoom app optimizes settings to save bandwidth, so screen sharing is mono by default. If you don’t like it, you can share the high-quality audio with Zoom meeting participants.
To do this, start a Zoom meeting and click the Share Screen button. This will open the screen sharing window where you can select the small down arrow next to the Share Audio button. A drop-down menu appears with two options. Select Stereo (High Quality) to share high quality audio from your computer. Check the box next to the Share Audio button to allow audio from your computer to be shared with Zoom.
Click the Share button to start screen sharing, allowing attendees to listen to music and other audio files in stereo quality.
How to Share YouTube Video Audio in Zoom
If you use Zoom for classes or presentations, consider watching YouTube videos with your audience. You can easily do this by combining screen sharing with Zoom’s audio sharing features.
To do this, you first need to open a YouTube video on your computer. If you have a video open in your browser, make sure the video you want to watch with screen sharing is in the active tab. If it’s open in the background tab, you’ll need an extra click to open the video during screen sharing. To avoid this, put the video in the foreground first.
Then open Zoom, start a new meeting and click the Share Screen button. When the screen sharing window appears, select a YouTube video from the list of tiles and check the Share Audio box.
Finally, you can click the Share button to start watching YouTube videos with your Zoom audience using screen sharing. The video starts as soon as you press the play button on YouTube.
How to Share Spotify Audio for Zoom via Screen Sharing
Relaxing instrumental music can serve as good filler while other participants are waiting to join the meeting or take a break during a long Zoom meeting. You can also share audio from Zoom via Spotify using the screen sharing feature.
To do this, open Spotify on your computer and find the song you want to listen to. You can then start the meeting in Zoom, click the Share Screen button, and select Spotify from the list of thumbnails. Don’t forget to start sharing your screen by selecting the Share Audio button in the bottom left corner and then tap the Share button in the bottom right corner.
Finally, you can share the song via Zoom by clicking the Play Spotify button on your computer.
How to Share Audio in Zoom for iPhone and iPad
You can share audio from your iPhone or iPad using Zoom’s screen sharing feature. It’s very easy to enable, as when you initiate screen sharing, audio from your Apple device is automatically shared with Zoom meeting participants.
So, all you have to do is start a new meeting in Zoom for iOS or iPadOS and tap the green “Share Content” button. You can start sharing your screen with Zoom for iPhone or iPad by selecting your screen from the list of options and tapping Start Broadcasting. When you have done this, you will see a blue button that says Device Audio Sharing: On. This means your iPhone or iPad is sharing audio with Zoom.
To stop sharing your audio, click the red Stop Sharing button. This ends up screen sharing with your Zoom session.
How to Stop Computer Audio from Joining Zoom
When you’re done sharing your screen with Zoom, you can stop sharing until your audience’s attention is on your Spotify song or YouTube video. To stop sharing your screen, tap the red Stop Sharing button at the top of the screen. I share the green screen next to the button.
Click the red button and Zoom immediately stops sharing audio and video from your computer with other meeting participants.
How to Share Audio in Zoom for Android
Zoom’s screen sharing feature on Android allows you to share your device’s audio with other meeting participants. The only difference is that audio sharing is disabled by default in Zoom for Android. To share your phone’s audio with others in a Zoom meeting, open Zoom on Android and start a new meeting.
When the meeting starts, press the green share button in the bottom center of the toolbar. Scroll slightly and tap the screen. This will start screen sharing with Zoom on your Android phone. By default, Zoom takes you to the home screen and displays a floating toolbar with the option Share Audio: Off. Share Audio: Single-click to toggle this option.
This will start sharing the audio with other participants. Click the red Stop Sharing button to stop sharing your screen and stop sharing audio with other Zoom meeting participants.
Zoom Game Enhancements
Zoom may have started as a video conferencing enhancement tool, but it has evolved into a versatile service for presentations and training. You can simplify your Zoom meeting by enabling captions and transcripts.
Sharing audio with Zoom is a great way to break the monotony of a boring video conference, but it’s just one of many. What’s your favorite tip for making video calls less boring? Share your tips in the comments section below.