How to Install Zoom Client on Fedora 35

Zoom is a communications technology platform that provides videotelephony and real-time online chat services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform and is used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education, and much more.

In the following tutorial, you will know how to install Zoom on your Fedora 35 desktop.

Prerequisites

• Recommended OS: Fedora Linux 35
• User account: A user account with sudo or root access.

Update Operating System

Update your Fedora operating system to make sure all existing packages are up to date:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y

The tutorial will be using the sudo command and assuming you have sudo status.

To verify sudo status on your account:

sudo whoami

Example output showing sudo status:

[joshua@fedora ~]$ sudo whoami
root

To set up an existing or new sudo account, visit our tutorial on Adding a User to Sudoers on Fedora.

To use the root account, use the following command with the root password to log in.

su

Option 1. Install Zoom Client Manually

By default, Zoom is not in Fedora’s default repositories, given it is not open source. So to install Zoom, you will need to download the .rpm package and install it manually from Zoom’s download page.

First, visit the downloads page and get an updated link if the current universal download link is broken; if not, proceed to run the following command to download Zoom:

sudo dnf install wget -y
wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_amd64.deb

When the download has been completed, install the .rpm package with the following command:

sudo dnf localinstall zoom_x86_64.rpm 

Example output:

Type “Y,” then press “ENTER KEY” to proceed with the installation.

Updates will need to be manually downloaded and installed in the same process as the initial installation, and you do not need to uninstall the older version.

Furthermore, execute the following command to remove the Zoom client using this installation method in your terminal.

sudo dnf autoremove zoom

This will remove the Zoom client and all traces of the installation.

Method 2. Install Zoom with Flatpack

The second option is to install Zoom with Flatpack that is default installed on your Fedora system. This method is quite popular as well with Fedora users.

First, you need to enable Flatpack for Fedora using the following command in your terminal:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Next, install Zoom using Flatpack as follows:

flatpak install flathub us.zoom.Zoom

Example output:

Type “Y” twice, then press the “ENTER KEY” twice to proceed with the installation.

Updates are handled by Flatpack automatically every time you log into your system. However, to run an update command, use the following:

flatpak update

Lastly, if you need to remove the Flatpack version of Zoom, run the following command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data us.zoom.Zoom

Example output:

Type “Y” twice, then press the “ENTER KEY” twice to proceed with the removal.

Method 3. Install Zoom Client as Snap Package

Zoom can be installed through the snap package feature that can be installed on Fedora. This is not as popular as other methods. Still, for users who are using Snaps or are interested in using them on Fedora, you can use the following to install the Zoom client on your desktop.

First, install snapd on your Fedora operating system:

sudo dnf install snapd

Example output:

Type “Y”, then press the “ENTER KEY” to proceed with the installation.

Once Snap is installed, it is highly recommended to log out and back in again or restart your service to ensure snap’s paths are updated correctly.

sudo systemctl restart snapd

After logging out or restarting your system, If you installed Snap for the first time, it is advised to install the core files to avoid conflicting issues:

sudo snap install core

Example output:

core 16-2.52.1 from Canonical✓ installed

Before you install Zoom, you will need to enable classic snap support by creating a symlink.

sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

Next, enter the following snap command to install the Zoom client:

sudo snap install zoom-client

Example output:

zoom-client 5.8.0.16 from Oliver Grawert (ogra) installed

Snap packages are more significant in size than traditional repositories through the DNF package manager for several reasons. However, the trade-off is more straightforward maintained packages that are often updated to the latest available version.

For the future, to update Zoom and any other packages installed by Snap, run the following command:

sudo snap refresh

If you no longer need to have Zoom installed, remove it using the Snap remove command.

sudo snap remove zoom-client

Example output:

zoom-client removed

Troubleshooting: If you are missing the Zoom icon in the show applications menu, reboot your PC entirely, and it should show up. This can happen with Snap packages on the odd occasion, but the system reboot fixes this.

How to Launch Zoom Client

In your terminal, you can open Zoom using the following command:

zoom

Alternatively, run the zoom & command in the background to free up the terminal:

zoom &

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your Fedora desktop to open with the path: Activities > Show Applications > Zoom. If you cannot find it, use the search function in the Show Applications menu if you have many applications installed.

Example:

The first time you open Zoom, you will be greeted by the following.

Please create a new account, or use your existing account to sign in, and that is it. Zoom has been successfully installed on your Fedora desktop.

Comments and Conclusion

In the guide, you have learned how to install Zoom using various such as manual installation, flatpak, and snap, along with keeping the client updated or removing it. Overall, Zoom is an exciting alternative to the most prominent platforms such as Skype for businesses and is recommended to check out if you are seeking something new.