By: Frank Engelman | Posted: March 26, 2021 | Updated: April 27, 2023
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The Problem to be Solved
Hearing Challenges and Video Calls
Some people with hearing issues find video calls challenging because they can’t always make out what people are saying. We wanted solutions that could help with that.
The above steps only need to be performed once. This adds the “Live Transcription” option to all future meetings.
You can enable this feature when starting a Zoom meeting on a mobile device with IOS/Android or from a PC/Mac using the Zoom app or web browser.
Starting a Zoom Meeting from a mobile device
Start the meeting normally and then tap on the “more” icon (3 dots)
Tap on the “Enable Live Transcript”
This will start closed captions for your meeting.
Note: You can also enable “Full transcript”, but this is overlayed on your meeting participants video images.
iPad fixed text size Android with Accessibility Settings
You won’t have the PC/Mac options shown below that able the ability to move the text around on your screen. However, if you are using an Android device, you can make your text larger using Accessibility Settings.
Starting a Zoom Meeting from a PC/Mac
Meeting Host steps:
Launch the Zoom Meeting
Click Live Transcript
Click Enable Auto-Transcription
Click on the “^” next to the [CC]
Click Show Subtitle
Click Show Full Transcript (if you want to see the names attached to the captions)
You can also save a transcript of the meeting
Start by testing without inviting anyone to be sure that Live Transcript is working.
Click Subtitle Setting, if you wish to change the text size.
You can drag the captions around your screen.
Loved one’s Zoom Meeting steps on an IOS or Android device:
They will join the Zoom meeting using their usual procedure. There are no settings for them to make, and your captions will automatically appear on the Zoom Mobile app. The text position is not adjustable, while the text size can be adjusted by Accessibility Setting on Android devices.
Loved one’s Zoom Meeting steps on an Echo Show 8:
They will join scheduled Zoom meeting using their usual procedure.
In the meeting they will need to tap the small red dot
Tap “Settings”
Enable Transcription Options
Note- this may take several “taps” or a longer hold to activate
They will then see your voice captioned.
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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
