Zoom is a cloud-based video calling software that allows to set up virtual video and audio conferencing, live chats, webinars, screen-sharing, and other collaborative opportunities when there’s no scope for real meetings.
For joining the Zoom meeting, there’s no need to create an account on Zoom which reduces the efforts and becomes the unique selling point of this software. It’s compatible with almost every platform that’s available onboard including Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android smartphones which results in almost anyone having the ability to access it.
Since the pandemic shook everyone around the globe, Zoom turned into a widely used video conferencing app for a lot of students to attend their classes or for business and work meetings. How simple and straightforward to use this app sounds, the more complicated problems are being encountered sometimes.
One such problem which almost every Zoom user faces while attending video conferences is the error ‘Your internet connection is unstable and you’re out there looking for a permanent solution to put a full stop to this problem for a much more fluid video conferencing experience than you’ve come across at the right spot.
In today’s article, we’ll be troubleshooting one method to fix the ‘Your internet connection is unstable’ error in Zoom.
Why is Zoom saying that the Internet connection is not stable
Before actually breaking down various solutions to fix this issue permanently, let’s understand the problem first which will help address his issue later. It’s quite obvious from the error pop-up in the prompt box that there are some reliability issues with your internet connection.
This issue states that the Zoom app is not being established to establish a strong connection between the internet for a lag-free video conferencing service. The prompt says that “Your internet connection is unstable” which refers to the fact that your provided PC/Smartphone doesn’t have the long internet connectivity to run the video conferencing as this usually leaches a lot of internet data.
To confirm that it’s an active internet connection problem, in that scenario, it will flash an error which will flash “Unable to connect” with an error code 5003.
Other Reasons For Connection Issues in Zoom
In some scenarios, there is not just this error message which reflects that there is a problem with your active internet connection. Apart from this prompt, there are various possibilities that there are some instability issues in your internet connection that causes such problems within the app. Such reasons are listed below:-
- Screen freezing issues or dropping video’s frame rate is yet another sign that you are connected with a non-reliable internet connection.
- Loading windows takes a longer time than usual, clearly witnessing that it’s taking longer than expected to connect with your internet connection.
- Poor video quality during video conferences is one more sign that the internet bandwidth is struggling to establish fast and stronger internet connectivity.
- Kicking out from a meeting unnecessarily is another reason that there is a problem with your internet service provider through which you’re facing bad internet connectivity.
The problem which causes the ‘Your internet connection is unstable’ error
After addressing all the problems above, it’s crystal clear that the Zoom app is not catching a good amount of internet bandwidth to run the video conference normally. There is a possible chance that your internet connection is not stable/fast enough to run the Zoom app flawlessly. However, some users have a fast internet connection that is strong enough to run 4K videos on Youtube in the blink of an eye.
Even after this much reliable and fast internet connection, you’re still facing the ‘Your internet connection is unstable’ error in the Zoom app. If there are no such issues within your Internet connection and it’s working blazingly fast then there must be another reason why the Zoom app is encountering instability issues with the internet connection. The following reasons mentioned below can also cause zoom to feel instability in your internet connection:-
- The distance between the router and PC is too far from each other
- Poor Wi-Fi connectivity.
- A bit outdated networking hardware
- ISP (Internet Service Provider) problems
- Bugs within the Zoom app.
Fix Your Internet Connection is Unstable Error Zoom
Nevertheless, whatever the reason is for persisting such a problem, we are about to share six working methods to address this problem to enhance Zoom’s user experience. These methods include troubleshooting network-based problems as well as software-based incompatibility issues.
1. Check Your Internet Connection
The first and the most obvious reason why Zoom is encountering such a problem is the internet connection. The error message flashes that the provided internet connection is not stable and hence you’ll need better internet connectivity or have to check whether your current internet connection is working perfectly fine with the data speeds or not.
Before moving forward on other solutions, following these methods can make your current internet connection a bit better.
- Ensure that the distance between the Wi-Fi router and PC/Smartphone is minimum.
- Check whether there are other devices connected with your network and disable them.
- Use an ethernet cable for a much more stable and fast internet connection than Wi-Fi.
- Restart your router once.
- Switch to another Wi-Fi channel for better internet bandwidth.
Following the steps above will ensure that there is no problem with your internet connection and working fine with your PC/Laptop or Smartphone as well. If the above methods don’t work for you, the other methods will resolve the problem.
2. Reset Your Wi-fi Router
If restarting the router doesn’t work for you, then the other solution is to reset your Wifi router once to ensure that there are no stored cache files and the network is being delivered with an entirely refreshed firmware. To reset your router:-
Step 1: Search for the rest hole on the router which is mostly placed at the back of the router.
Step 2: Put a pin inside that hole and keep it pressed for 3-5 seconds to reset the router.
Step 3: As soon as your Wi-fi router is reset, the Wifi’s connection name and password will be reset to the default one. The default password is printed on the back of the router, use that password to reconnect the Wifi-router again for internet access.
Step 4: Now, launch the Zoom app and see if the problem persists for you.
3. Reset Your Modem
If resetting the Wi-fi router doesn’t work for you, then there are some problems with your Wi-fi signals or the ethernet connection that is coming from the Modem. After resetting the router, the other step is resetting the modem for much stronger wifi signals. With that, by following the method which is mentioned below to resetting your modem:-
Step 1: Unplug the modem from the power socket.
Step 2: Keep it disconnected for at least 3-5 seconds and plug it again into the power socket.
Step 3: Let the modem reboot properly to deliver the Wi-fi signals and ethernet connection.
Step 4: Afterwards, connect your PC/Laptop to the Wi-fi or ethernet and launch the Zoom app and see whether the issue is fixed or not.
4. Run Built-in Network Troubleshooter
After sorting the network’s hardware which should start delivering a reliable internet connection, it’s the moment to run the built-in troubleshooter on your PC/Laptop. Following this method will fix the internet connectivity issues from the software end.
However, the methods for both Windows users and MacOS users are different which will be elaborated on further below. That being said, here are the following steps listed below on how to run the Troubleshooter for Windows and the Network Diagnostics for MacOS as well.
Run Network Administrator in Windows
Step 1: Run Settings by pressing Win+I on the keyboard on your PC/Laptop.
Step 2: Navigate towards System – Troubleshoot- Other troubleshoots.
Step 3: In the Most frequent section, hit on the Run button of the Internet Connections to run the internet connection troubleshooter.
Step 4: On the troubleshooting prompt window, hit on the Troubleshoot my connection to the internet option.
Step 5: Let the troubleshooter do its job to check if there’s any problem you’re encountering with the internet connection and follow the on-screen instructions to get rid of this issue. Likewise, run the Network Adapter under the other section which will fix the issue.
Run Wireless Diagnostics on Mac
Step 1: Long press the options button on the keyboard and hit on the Wi-fi icon from the top-down menu. Doing so will open an advanced Wi-fi menu on your Mac.
Step 2: In the advanced list, Run the Open Wireless Diagnostics option. It will open a Wireless Diagnostic prompt window on your screen.
Step 3: Hit on the continue button which will let the diagnostics look for other issues in the wireless connectivity and then follow some on-screen instructions to fix the onboard issues.
5. Reset the Network
If the built-in troubleshooter doesn’t fix internet connectivity issues for you then this boils down to that there are some saved cache and unnecessary files which are making an interruption in delivering a reliable internet connection.
To make sure there is no saved cache or other files left, resetting the network will fix those issues for you. However, the methods for both the Windows and Mac users are different; here’s a breakdown of how to reset the network on Windows as well as macOS.
Reset Network On Windows
Step 1: Search and hit run the command prompt on your windows and run it as an administrator.
Step 2: On the Command Prompt window, write the following commands to reset the TCP/IP and Windows sockets separately.
- ipconfig /release
- ipconfig /renew
- ipconfig /flushdns
Step 3: After running all the commands mentioned above, it’s time to restart your PC.
Reset Network on Mac
Step 1: Click on the apple logo which is located at the top bar and hit on System Preferences.
Step 2: Navigate towards the network under the system preferences.
Step 3: Select your source of active internet connection which you’re currently using and hit on the Advanced option.
Step 4: Switch to the TCP/IP tab and hit on the Renew DHCP Lease. Afterward, hit on Ok and restart your Mac
6. Change the DNS server
The other reason for the instability in your internet connection can be due to temporary issues in the default DNS server which is provided by your ISP. In such scenarios, try switching to more reliable DNS servers like Google (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4), Open DNS (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220), and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1).
All the DNS servers that are written above are free to use and provide a reliable connection. However, if you don’t know how to change DNS servers on Windows and Mac, the following steps are mentioned below:-
Change DNS Server On Windows
Step 1: Open the Windows setting by pressing Ctrl+l on the keyboard of your PC/Laptop.
Step 2: Open Network & Internet – Advanced network setting.
Step 3: Now hit on the ‘More network adapter’ option which is available under the Related settings section. Afterward, hit on the right click on the active network adapter and select the appropriate network which you’re using to access the Internet whether it’s Ethernet or Wi-fi connectivity.
Step 4: Then click on properties, Double-click on the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and tick the ‘Use the following DNS server addresses option. Later on, Enter your desired new preferred and alternate DNS server addresses.
Step 5: After completing all the steps mentioned above, restart your PC/Laptop.
Change DNS server on Mac
Step 1: Click on the Apple menu and choose the system preferences.
Step 2: Navigate towards Networks and then choose your active internet connection and click on advanced settings.
Step 3: Later on, Switch towards the DNS tab and hit on the ‘+’ icon under the DNS section and add the DNS server, and hit enter.
Step 4: After doing so, it’s time to reboot your PC/Laptop.
Once you’ve successfully switched to a newer DNS server, re-launch the Zoom app to check if the issues are fixed or not.
FAQs
How do I fix an unstable Internet connection in Zoom?
To fix an unstable internet connection in the zoom, various methods fix both hardware-centric as well as software-based problems as well which are listed above, and following them will lead you towards the fix for this nuisance.
Why does zoom keep saying my internet is unstable?
This happens because it’s not connected to a reliable internet connection which creates such a problem while using the Zoom app.
Final Words
That being said, we hope that the mentioned troubleshooting solutions have worked for you and fixed the instability issues within the Zoom app to bring a hassle-free video-conference experience.
Also, make sure that your Zoom app is updated to the latest build version and even if you’re not able to run the Zoom app fluently then it means that you need to contact them for further assistance.
However, if all the methods that we’ve mentioned don’t fix the Zoom app for you then it’s that moment when you have to call your nearest Professional computer technician to take a further look at this serious problem.
Glad you would have liked our fix for the Zoom app. If you have other queries or questions, feel free to mention them in the comment section below and we’ll be more than happy to assist you regarding your problem.
