Issue Assigning Alternative Hosts After Email Domain Change

[DPISPI]

Good day,

We have a licensed Zoom account and regularly assign two alternative hosts for our meetings. Recently, we changed our email domain, and since then, we’ve encountered an issue when assigning these hosts using their new email addresses.

Whenever we try to assign them as alternative hosts, we receive the following error:

“Unable to assign [new email] as an alternative host because the user cannot be selected at this time.”

However, assigning them using their old email addresses still works without issue.

Could you please advise how we can assign them as alternative hosts using their new email domain? We want to ensure our Zoom setup reflects our updated contact information.

Thank you for your assistance.

[iambobsat]

Hi, 

Thanks for reaching out! 

When you see the error: “Unable to assign (new email) as an alternative host because the user cannot be selected at this time,”

it usually means that Zoom does not recognize the new email address as a valid, licensed user within the same Zoom account/organization. Even though you changed your company email domain, Zoom still associates users with their old accounts unless certain updates are made.

Possible Causes

1. Users have not been re-invited or accepted the new email domain in Zoom.

   • Zoom still sees the old email as the valid user identity.

2. The new email accounts are not yet part of your licensed Zoom organization.

   • They may be listed as separate, free (Basic) Zoom users — not under your company’s admin control.

3. The old user profile was not updated in the Zoom Admin Portal.

   • If users simply changed their email addresses in your company system (e.g., Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace) but not inside Zoom, Zoom will not automatically detect the change.

Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Verify Both Users Are in the Same Zoom Account

1. Go to Zoom Admin Portal → User Management → Users.

2. Search for the users with their new email addresses.

3. If they don’t appear, you’ll need to add/invite them to your organization using the new email.

Tip: Users must accept the invitation before Zoom recognizes them as part of your account.

Step 2: Update User Email Addresses in Zoom (Instead of Creating New Accounts)

If the users already exist under the old email, update their email rather than adding a new one:

1. In the Zoom Admin Portal, find the user with the old email.

2. Click Edit.

3. Change the email address to the new domain (e.g., from: ***********  to ***********)

4. Zoom will send a confirmation link to the new email — the user must click it to confirm.

5. Once confirmed, the new email will officially replace the old one.

Step 3: Confirm License and Domain Association

After updating:

• Ensure the users’ License Type is still Licensed (not Basic).

• Verify your new domain is added and verified under:

  • Admin → Account Management → Account Profile → Associated Domains.

• If your IT team recently changed the company email system, this step ensures Zoom recognizes the new domain as part of your organization.

Step 4: Reassign Alternative Hosts

Once the users’ new emails are properly recognized:

1. Edit your recurring meetings.

2. In the Alternative Hosts field, enter their new email addresses.

3. You should now be able to assign them successfully.

Step 5 (Optional): Clean Up Old Accounts

If users were re-added instead of updated:

• Remove or deactivate the old accounts (so you don’t see both old and new emails in user lists).