How to Install Zoom on Fedora 40 or 39

Zoom is a leading video conferencing and online meeting platform that has become essential for remote communication. It offers high-quality video and audio conferencing, screen sharing, and collaboration tools, making it suitable for business meetings, webinars, and personal communication. Zoom’s flexibility and ease of use across different devices and operating systems make it a popular choice for users worldwide.

On Fedora 40 or 39, Zoom can be installed using two primary methods. The first method involves manually downloading the Zoom RPM package from the official website and installing it via the command-line terminal. This approach ensures that you have the latest stable version directly from Zoom. Alternatively, Zoom can be installed via Flatpak from Flathub, which provides a sandboxed environment and might offer more straightforward updates and additional security. This guide will walk you through both installation methods, helping you choose the one that best suits your setup.

Method 1: Install Zoom via RPM

Update Fedora Before Zoom Installation

Before you begin, ensure your system is up-to-date to avoid any conflicts during the installation, and for good practice, use the terminal command as follows.

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Download Zoom RPM Package

The first method is to install the RPM directly from the Zoom download center. While this is often the best for users who do not want to use a third-party repository such as Flatpak, you must download the RPM manually each time Zoom releases a binary update, which is the only drawback.

First, ensure your Fedora desktop has the wget package installed.

sudo dnf install wget -y

Ensure you visit the Download Center to grab the latest version. The below is an example command only; it will not work.

Below is an example:

wget https://zoom.us/client/{version}/zoom_x86_64.rpm

Install Zoom via DNF Command

Now install the Zoom client using the following command.

sudo dnf install zoom_x86_64.rpm

Method 2: Install Zoom via Flatpak with Flathub

Opt for the Flatpak package manager as your second-best installation option. Fedora comes with Flatpak installed, offering a popular alternative to Snap. Flatpak, featured in many distributions, is an alternative third-party installation package manager for up-to-date packages.

Enable Flathub For Zoom Installation

First, you must enable Flathub using the following command in your terminal:

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

Install Zoom via Flatpak Command

Now run the installation using the following flatpak command.

flatpak install flathub us.zoom.Zoom -y

Troubleshoot Zoom Flatpak Installation

First, the most common error when installing a Flatpak from Flathub is the following error output.

"error: Unable to load summary from remote flathub: Can't fetch summary from disabled remote 'flathub,"

The fix is simple: run the following command to enable Flathub.

flatpak remote-modify --enable flathub

Launch Zoom Client UI

With Zoom now installed, you can launch the software using cli or the GUI icon.

CLI Commands to Launch Zoom Client

First, for RPM installations, you can run the following command:

zoom

Secondly, Flatpak installations can run the alternative cli command:

flatpak run us.zoom.Zoom

GUI Path to Launch Zoom Client

Most desktop users prefer to open the Zoom application icon using the following path. A hot tip is to right-click the application icon and

Activities > Show Applications > Zoom

Additional Management Commands For Zoom

Update Zoom

For Flatpak installations, use the following command:

flatpak update

RPM installations follow the original steps to upgrade by downloading the new RPM package and running the install command; this will automatically upgrade the installation.

Remove Zoom

Use one of the following commands if you no longer require the application:

RPM Zoom installations run the following command

sudo dnf remove zoom

Flatpak Zoom installations alternatively need to run the following command:

flatpak remove  --delete-data us.zoom.Zoom -y

Conclusion

Installing Zoom on your Fedora system using either the manual RPM download or Flatpak with Flathub ensures that you have a reliable and feature-rich video conferencing tool. The manual installation via RPM offers direct access to the latest stable release, while Flatpak provides the benefits of isolation and easy updates. Regular updates through these methods will keep your Zoom installation secure and up-to-date, allowing you to maintain seamless communication on Fedora.