Tech Forum

Just got a call from one of our Bishops. Zoom has now started requiring an (emailed) access code to log in (especially from a new device or from a new IP address). As the Zoom accounts are shared across several people in the Ward (leadership, ward tech specialists, and so on) this makes it impractical to use Zoom as easily as we used to. Associating each ward account with a single email address creates a single point of failure and/or adds a not-very-helpful complication to the process. To anyone from HQ who can influence this policy on behalf of all the Church-paid Zoom accounts, it would be very helpful to deactivate this additional authentication step.

While not ideal, I have a suggestion for everyone who has (or is about to) run into this problem:
Fortunately in our Stake, I created a separate email alias for each of the accounts (one for the Stake and one for each Ward). Because I control the email alias, I can create a distribution list and auto-forward the email messages with the 6-digit codes to everyone in each unit who typically uses Zoom. For those of you with other types of email accounts, many support creating an auto-forwarding rule (search for "automatic email forwarding" along with the name of your service for instructions), potentially passing the codes along to everyone who needs them.

In an ideal world, everyone would use a Password Manager (1Password, LastPass, or similar open-source solutions) which would allow sharing of an automatically rotating two factor authentication crypto key, eliminating the need for the email messages.

Again, a request to Church Headquarters: it would be helpful to deactivate this feature on Church Zoom accounts. There is a need for many people to have access without this extra step.

We just share the host key with the ward council so that they can use their own free zoom accounts but take control of any church zoom meetings as necessary.

I wouldn't be surprised if this change was made by Zoom (rather than made by the Church). I imagine that Zoom doesn't like several people sharing the same account.

sbradshaw wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:22 am I imagine that Zoom doesn't like several people sharing the same account.

While I'm sure that's true in general, it was my understanding that the church had an agreement with Zoom to allow this. That agreement is a good reason for the church to talk to Zoom about these changes.