Following the concerns over Zoom security issues, many organizations and institutes have switched over to WebEx in the recent days. Mostly because it’s the best free alternative to Zoom with almost the same feature set.
If you’ve received an invite to join a WebEx meeting, here’s a guide to the various ways you can join a meeting on WebEx.
The best and most reliable way to join a meeting on WebEx is through their app for desktop and mobile devices. However, if you’re in a situation where you need to join a meeting quickly and there’s no time to install the app on your computer, WebEx has a fully functional web interface as well.
We’ll start with a tutorial to use the WebEx app to join a meeting because it’s a more reliable way to meet on WebEx.
Join WebEx Meeting from App
The WebEx Meetings app is available for both Windows and Mac computers. To download, open the webex.com/downloads link in a browser and click on the ‘Download for Windows’ button under the WebEx Meetings section.
Open the folder where you saved the file and then double-click/run the ‘webexapp.msi’ installer.
After installing the app, open it on your PC if in case it doesn’t automatically launch. You can search for ‘Cisco WebEx Meetings app’ on your PC to launch the app.
The WebEx app will open with the sign-in screen. If you have a WebEx account, use it sign into the app. If not, and you have to join a meeting quickly, click on the ‘Use as guest’ link to join a meeting as guest without a WebEx account.
Then, enter your Name and Email address in the required fields and click on the ‘Continue as guest’ button.
Once the WebEx app dashboard window opens, enter the meeting code or the meeting link into the ‘Enter meeting information’ box below the ‘Join a meeting’ section in the app.
Using meeting link
You can paste the entire meeting link into the box and click the ‘Join’ button to join the meeting.
Using meeting number
Or, you can also enter the Meeting number/code into the meeting information box and click the ‘Join’ button.
The WebEx meeting window will now open where you can set up your microphone and video options before joining a meeting. Click on the ‘Mic’ icon to mute yourself or the ‘Video’ icon to turn off your video if required by the host.
When you’re ready, click on the ‘Join Meeting’ button to enter the meeting room.
WebEx meetings are secure by default and require the Hosts’ permission for anyone to enter the meeting, even when you have received an invitation. Until the host admits you into the meeting, you’ll see the “You can join the meeting after the host admits you.” message on the screen.
Once admitted, you’ll be able to view and communicate with everyone in the meeting. A participants list will open on the right side of the window where you can see names of all participants in the meeting.
When you want to leave the meeting, first, click on the red cross button from the meeting controls options at the bottom of the camera view.
Then, on the confirmation dialogue that appears, select the ‘Leave meeting’ option and you’ll out of the meeting room.
You can also join a WebEx meeting from iPad, iPhone and the various Android devices. Download the WebEx Meetings app on your mobile device from the respect app store links below.
Join WebEx Meeting from a Browser
The quickest and easiest way to join a WebEx meeting is through the web app. All you need is the meeting link or the meeting number/access code.
If you’ve received an invitation to join a WebEx meeting by mail, click on the ‘Join meeting’ button in the mail to open the WebEx website with meeting details pre-filled.
As soon as you open the link, the cisco website will open and it’ll unapologetically begin downloading a ‘webex.exe’ installer for the WebEx Meetings Desktop app without your permission. But since we’re clearly only looking to join the meeting from the web browser, you can ignore the downloaded file and the nagging prompt to run the installer.
What you need to do is wait up to 10 seconds until you see the ‘Join from your browser’ link on the screen. And once it appears, click on it.
If you’ve got a WebEx account, use the ‘Sign in’ link or one of the SSO sign-in options. If not, then, enter your ‘Full name’ and ‘Email address’ in the respective input fields and click on the ‘Next’ button to join the meeting as a guest.
The WebEx meeting preview screen will now open and ask for permission to use your ‘Microphone’ and ‘Camera’, make sure you click on the ‘Allow’ button to be able to communicate in the meeting.
You can set up your microphone and video options before joining a meeting. Click on the ‘Mic’ icon to mute yourself or the ‘Video’ icon to turn off your video if required by the host.
When you’re ready, click on the ‘Join Meeting’ button to enter the meeting room.
Join from web using Meeting number
If you’ve got a WebEx meeting number as an invitation, then open meetingsapac.webex.com in your web browser and enter the meeting number into the input field.
A meeting information screen will show you the name of the meeting room, as well as the meeting link and meeting number that you’re about to join. Click on the ‘Join Meeting’ button to proceed.
Follow the rest of the procedure as mentioned above to join a meeting from web browser.
Joining a WebEx meeting is similar to that of Zoom. In fact, you’ll find most of the WebEx interface options similar to Zoom. The BIG thing you’ll be missing on WebEx Desktop app and website is support for virtual background images to hide your background in video meetings.
WebEx supports custom background on its app for iPhone and iPad, but the desktop app doesn’t yet support the feature. Microsoft recently added support for custom background images in Teams. We think WebEx development team should catch up on this one feature as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, you can always use and create a virtual camera on your computer using apps like ChromaCam to change background image in WebEx and Snap Camera to turn yourself into a potato.
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