By: Frank Engelman | Posted: February 18, 2022 | Updated: April 18, 2023
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The Problem to be Solved
Making Zoom Even Easier
Now that “Zooming” is a verb, knowing how to make video calls via Zoom is becoming an important life skill. The truth is Zoom is extremely easy to use, which is why it became so popular during COVID. But some people still have difficulties with some aspects.
My mom still has a hard time remembering to join the scheduled Zoom Meeting.
Here is a solution that automates the joining of the scheduled Zoom Meeting… no more having to remember to join, no more listening for a notification, or even pushing a button!
Sometimes she does hear the calendar reminder, but then she forgets how to join the meeting or misplaces the button
Automating “Joining” Zoom
Here is a solution that automates the joining of the scheduled Zoom Meeting… no more having to remember to join, no more listening for a notification, or even pushing a button!
This solution relies on an IFTTT applet detecting the Zoom Meeting event in your mom’s Google calendar and triggering Alexa Routines to join the Zoom Meeting.
There is no interaction required on your mom’s part.
If she is using a Fire TV Cube or Amazon Omni Fire TV, it can even turn the TV on when the meeting starts!!
Here is a video of this solution in action
Please note that the messages that Alexa speaks are up to you. You may choose NOT to have Alexa speak at all to your mom, if this could be confusing.
If your mom currently uses an Apple calendar, she can keep it, BUT the scheduled Zoom Meetings MUST be in her Google calendar for this to work
Here are the steps to get this set up and running.
To test it, add a scheduled Zoom Meeting to your Mom’s Google Calendar and wait for the event time to start. The IFTTT applet should detect the calendar event and launch the Alexa Routines as was show in the above YouTube video.
The Routines to Make it Work
Here is more information about the routines etc. To find specific example routines, see the Kit List below.
Alexa Sample Routines
Caption- Alexa Routine 1- Join Zoom meeting
View Alexa sample routine 1: Join Zoom Meeting in the Kit List below.
Caption- Alexa Routine 2- Say “OK”
View Alexa sample routine 2: Say OK in the Kit List below.
IFTTT sample applet
Caption- IFTTT applet- trigger on Zoom Meeting in Google calendar
Kit List
For specific hardware, software and sample routines to implement this, see the kit list below.
You can make some substitutions if you dont have an Amazon Omni TV. Instead of the Omni TV you can use either Echo Show 8 gen 2 OR (gen 1) OR Echo Show 10 gen 3
You also need the Google Calendar App
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Retired Intel Engineer wanting to share DIY technology tips for the children of parents wanting to remain living independently. I like posting ideas and answering technical questions. If a product or software has an issue making it hard for seniors to use, I try to offer workarounds and also try to contact the manufacturer for solutions. I write a column for this website in the Innovation- Homebrew Solutions & Ideas section
