Zoom Phone FAQs
Below are the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Zoom Phone. For more information on Zoom Phone settings and features, you can check out our Zoom Phone page.
About Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone is a unified communication solution that combines phone and video meetings. It allows you to make and receive calls, share content, and participate in video meetings from the Zoom desktop and mobile apps. With Zoom Phone, you can make calls from your computer and mobile devices; the system will transcribe voicemail messages and seamlessly transition calls into video meetings. You can also send text messages using your College phone number and access self-service features through a unified web portal.
Zoom Phone is designed for remote, hybrid, and on-campus teams.
Why Zoom Phone?
- Integration - we can leverage our investment in Zoom Meetings and enjoy a more integrated and seamless experience. If you already have Zoom apps installed for meetings, they will automatically be upgraded with a new menu for phone use.
- Convenience and hybrid/remote work friendly - You will no longer be restricted to office phones. Instead, Zoom Phone offers a modern and user-friendly voice service that can be used on existing devices like computers and mobile devices. Essential functions such as call transfer, forwarding, conferencing, and voicemail will still be available, alongside additional features like call delegation, blocking, routing, business hour settings, and text messaging.
- Cost and sustainability - This transition will also lead to reduced costs and improved sustainability by minimizing phone hardware and maintenance. A small number of new phones will be available for use when circumstances require a physical phone. However, we expect that Zoom Phone will be used primarily via computers and mobile devices.
Softphone versus physical phone
- A softphone gives the ability to receive, make, and manage phone calls without the use of physical hardware. With Zoom, the phone function in the Zoom app is a softphone and allows you to receive, make, and manage calls and voicemail (and more) on any device you can download the Zoom app on - this includes desktops, laptops, and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
- A physical phone is the telephone hardware used for the purpose of receiving, making, and managing phone calls.
Voicemail
You can to set up a voicemail message and check your voicemail via the Zoom browser portal. By default, you will also receive emails with both audio and transcription of your voicemail messages. This feature can be turned off in the Zoom browser portal if you would like.
Can I get a desk phone?
We are adopting a softphone-first mindset to maximize Zoom phone capability. However, physical desk phones may make sense in some situations. There will be an opt-in process for individuals that require a physical handset.
Headsets
If you use a headset or headphones and a microphone to participate in Zoom video meetings they will work exactly the same way with Zoom Phone.
Headset recommendations
If you do not currently have a headset, but feel you may need one, most USB and BlueTooth headsets will work. However, Zoom Phone has a list of recommended devices, including headsets.
Using personal cell phones for Zoom phone calls
While you are not required to use your personal cell phone for work purposes, the option to use the Zoom app on your personal device for video conferencing and Zoom phone calls is available if you choose.
Will people see my personal number if I make a Zoom Phone call from my cell phone?
No. If you make a call through the Zoom app on your phone, the person you are calling will only see the college phone number associated with you.
Campus directory on Zoom Phone
The Contacts space in Zoom allows you to search by name, extension, or full number.
How reliable is Zoom Phone?
Zoom Phone runs fully redundant systems across a multitude of data centers around the world, ensuring services remain intact during maintenance, and it delivers a 99.99% service-level agreement (SLA) rating. Agreements with both Amazon AWS and Oracle OCI public cloud infrastructure provide built-in survivability in the event a data center loses internet, ensuring the highest level of uptime possible.
How private are my calls?
Zoom Phone provides enhanced privacy. Calls do go through the Zoom cloud but are encrypted with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES256). Both the call metadata used to establish a call and the actual voice content are encrypted and cannot be intercepted and heard. On-campus calls are fully encrypted end to end. Off-campus calls are encrypted from your Zoom app or physical phone to Zoom but may not be completely encrypted from Zoom to the off-campus caller depending on their carrier and their local telephone system. This is no different than with our calls using the current Cisco system as many telephone companies still use analog technology at least in part which is not encrypted. Calls are not stored at Zoom although voicemail, recordings, and transcriptions are encrypted and stored at Zoom until deleted by the user. Zoom supports Swarthmore’s compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as well.
Does Zoom Phone use Artificial Intelligence (AI) on our calls or other data?
Zoom does have a feature called Zoom AI Companion that can summarize meeting transcripts and chats today. Eventually, it will become possible to get an AI-generated analysis of recorded phone calls, and summaries of your SMS messages and voicemails. These are opt-in features for which the College is not using and has never used. Zoom uses no AI processing on Swarthmore meetings, calls, or other data even for training its AI system.
What if I have more questions or need more help?
See the Zoom Phone page for more information and links on how to use Zoom Phone and its various features.
If you have any questions or concerns contact us through the ITS Service Portal.