I’m trying to share my screen during a Zoom meeting on my Mac, but it’s not working. I’ve tried clicking on the ‘Share Screen’ button, but nothing happens. Do I need to change some settings or give permissions? Any advice would be appreciated!
Hey there,
Looks like you’re running into the common issue of not having granted screen sharing permissions on macOS. This isn’t a Zoom-specific problem, but rather a macOS privacy setting that blocks apps like Zoom from accessing your screen. No worries though, it’s easy to fix!
-
Open System Preferences: You can access this by clicking on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen and then selecting “System Preferences.”
-
Click on “Security & Privacy”: After opening System Preferences, find and click on “Security & Privacy.”
-
Navigate to “Privacy” Tab: Once you’re in Security & Privacy, go to the “Privacy” tab (it’s one of the four tabs at the top).
-
Unlock the Settings: In the lower-left corner, you’ll see a padlock icon. Click it and enter your admin password to unlock changes.
-
Scroll to “Screen Recording”: On the left-hand side, scroll down until you see “Screen Recording.” Click on it.
-
Grant Permissions to Zoom: On the right side, you should see a list of apps. Find “Zoom.us” (this is the Zoom app) and check the box next to it to grant it permission to record your screen.
-
Restart Zoom: Close out of Zoom completely and then reopen it for the changes to take effect.
If you’ve done all that and it’s still not working, make sure Zoom itself is up to date. Sometimes outdated software can cause unexpected issues.
That should solve your problem! Remember, whenever dealing with macOS permissions, always give the necessary permissions before troubleshooting further—it’s often just a simple checkbox away from fixing your issue.
Good luck and hope you get that screen sharing working!
If you’ve already followed @waldgeist’s steps and are still stuck, check if you’ve granted permissions to Zoom for microphone and camera as well. Misconfigured audio/video permissions sometimes affect screen sharing.
Another thing: Try starting the meeting from the browser instead of the app. Visit Zoom’s web portal, join your meeting, and attempt to screen share this way. Sometimes, permissions might be bypassed when screen sharing through the browser.
Lastly, if you’re still facing problems, using a different user profile on your Mac might help. Create a temporary user profile, install Zoom there, and try to share your screen. This can indicate if there’s a specific issue with your primary user’s settings.
For future reference, always keep macOS updated. Screen sharing issues are occasionally resolved with macOS patches.
Hang in there! Tech issues can be a real pain, but you’ve got this. 