From May 30, 2020, to use Zoom you must update the application to version 5.0. If you try to join a meeting with an older version, you will see the notice "Update required" and you will not be able to connect. Unfortunately, this version 5.0 of Zoom requires the device to have an operating system Android 5.0 or higher, so many will not be able to install that version. That was the case with my Samsung Galaxy Tab E SM-T561M tablet, which only has Android 4.4.4..
It is a futile attempt to want to install the Zoom 5 APK on a device with Android 4.4 or lower. If you download it from the Zoom official website, the APK indicates that it is version 5 and it will be installed on the computer, but when you open the app on the welcome screen you will see that it is version 4.7 (I don't know for what reason) and the The update request window will reappear.
Zoom is not compatible with your tablet?
Unable to install Zoom 5.0 on a device with Android 4.4.4
I have also tried to download the Zoom 5.0 APK from apkmirror.com (its normal APK version, since the "bundle" version, although it can be installed with "APKmirror Installer", this app is not compatible with my device) and from Apkpure (both the APK normal and the XAPK , which is installed with the APKPure APP Store app) but in both cases the error "An error occurred while analyzing the package" or "Installation failed" appears..
The simplest solution to this problem is to use Zoom in the browser (although it is not guaranteed to work), or what is more technical, try modifying the Zoom 5.0 APK to force it to work on Android 4.4 or lower (something that apparently does not work) or finally install a ROM based on Android 5.0 on your device (which I have not been able to do on my tablet, since there is no ROM).
Use Zoom in the browser
Instructions for Allowing Users to Join Zoom Meetings from the Browser
The easiest way to use Zoom on older devices is to join a meeting from the browser, from the link that says "Join from the browser" and that appears when you click on a meeting link in Zoom ( tutorial in English )..
However, first of all, for this link to appear and you can join, it is necessary for the administrator or host of the meeting to activate this possibility in their account settings from a web browser, as indicated here . Therefore, you must contact the host to request that they make this change and you can join from the browser of your old Android device.
Secondly, once the host has activated the indicated option, create a meeting (from a PC or mobile APP) and invite you, you will have to force the "Join from the browser" link to appear. To do this, click on the meeting link to open it in the browser. Once there, activate the "View desktop site" option from the browser menu (three-dot button at the top) so that the link "Join from browser" or "Start through your browser" will appear.
Once inside the meeting, it is quite likely that you will find another problem: a completely black or white screen, without image, video or audio. Unfortunately this is due to a lack of support or compatibility of Zoom with mobile browsers, be it Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge (I have tested it on all of them). In this case, it only remains to wait for Zoom to fix this problem. There are a couple of threads on the Zoom support forums, here and here , that mention this situation and it appears to be in the process of being fixed.
Modify the Zoom APK
Minimum API levels required (minSdkVersion) for an application to function correctly on a certain version of Android
This is a reverse engineering procedure that requires editing the manifest.xml file of the APK and changing the android: minSdkVersion attribute ( minimum API level that the app requires to function) by the API corresponding to the Android version of the old device. In the case of my tablet with Android 4.4.4, whose API is 19, I should change the number 21 that the original Zoom manifest should have (and it should look as indicated below) by the number 19.
<manifest>
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion=" 21 ">
...
</manifest>
However, to do this, it is necessary to decompile the APK with tools such as APKtool or Android Studio ( 2 ), and once the change is made, recompile the APK and then install it.
No es algo que haya probado. Zoom actualizó la app debido a problemas de privacidad/seguridad de los usuarios y usar la nueva encriptación GCM AES de 256 bits. Es probable que este cambio haya requerido cambiar la API mínima de la aplicación, pero si éste no fue el caso y realmente no necesitaba hacer eso (algo poco probable y de hecho alguien abajo en los comentarios ha probado lo que he dicho sin tener éxito), entonces la app se instalará en el dispositivo antiguo y podría funcionar.
Instalar una ROM actualizada
El sistema Android 4.4.4 de la Samsung Galaxy Tab E no permite continuar usando Zoom, porque la última versión de esta app (5.0) requiere sistema Android 5.0
That is, update the operating system of your old device to Android 5.0 or higher. Surely there will not be an official firmware of this version of Android for your device, so you should look for an unofficial ROM based on this version of Android, such as Cyanogenmod 12, or any other higher. Also look for ROMS Lineage OS 13 (Android 6.0.1) or higher.
If possible, it is highly recommended that you install a custom recovery on the device, such as TWRP, and do a nandroid backup , since many of these ROMs may not be stable and not work at all well. With nandroid backup it will be very easy to return to the state your device was in before installing the ROM.
Amazon Fire HD
The other alternative is to buy a new tablet with a more modern Android system, such as the Amazon Fire HD, which come in sizes of 7, 8 and even 10 inches. These come with the Fire OS 6 operating system, a variant of Android 7 , so there is no problem installing and using Zoom on them.
The great advantage of these tablets is their price. The smallest version, Amazon Fire HD 7, 7-inch screen retails for $ 49 at Amazon . The cost will be slightly higher in Latin America, but it is still probably the best price you can find for a tablet of this size. And unlike Chinese tablets in this price range, which I personally do not recommend buying, this Amazon tablet is much more guaranteed due to the company behind its manufacture.
The disadvantage of these tablets is that they have a lot of Amazon advertising and although you can install Zoom simply by downloading its APK from sites such as apkmirror.com, they do not come with the Play Store, although the latter can be installed without major problem by installing the packages of the Google services .
Gruveo, online call and video call service, without applications or accounts involved
About calls on Facebook Messenger LITE
How much mobile data a WhatsApp call consumes per minute