Participants Can’t Join My Zoom Meetings on Basic Plan—No Admin or Organization

[JoyZiaja]

Hi,
I have a personal Zoom account (Basic/free plan) and I’m the only user—there’s no admin or organization involved. Until this morning, everything worked fine, but now my meeting participants can’t join any meetings, even when I start a new meeting and share the correct Meeting ID and passcode.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

• Scheduling new meetings (not using my Personal Meeting ID)
• Double-checking the Meeting ID and passcode
• Making sure the waiting room is off and no restrictions are set
• Having participants try different devices and networks
• Checking my account status and settings

Despite all this, participants still get errors and can’t join. I don’t see any alerts or issues on my Zoom profile, and I don’t have access to direct Zoom Support as a Basic user.

Is there anything else I can do to fix this, or could there be an issue with my account after downgrading from Pro to Basic? Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you!

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[Ray_Harwood]

Welcome to the Zoom Community, @JoyZiaja.

You don’t give any information about what specific errors attendees are getting. That would help us help you. 

[JoyZiaja]

Thanks for your feedback. It just says something about a problem with the host account. 

[JoyZiaja]

It gives the participant this error 13215 and says Host account error

[Ray_Harwood]

@JoyZiaja, here’s something specific to the error code you mentioned, from one of my Zoom contacts:

@Ray I don’t know if this is helpful, but I see that she mentioned an error code. AIC gave this advice:

Error code 13215 occurs when participants try to join a Zoom meeting using the web client in an unsupported browser. Specifically, it is triggered if they are not using Google Chrome and are attempting to access the meeting via the browser rather than the Zoom desktop or mobile app.

So if this is the case, it’s likely not related to your Host account change. 

[JoyZiaja]

Hi,
I have a personal Zoom account that was previously on a Pro plan, but I recently downgraded to the Basic (free) plan. Everything was working fine until this morning, but now my meeting settings (especially my Personal Meeting ID) are “locked by admin,” and I can’t change them. I am the only user on this account—there is no admin or organization associated with it.

Because of these locked settings, my meeting participants can’t join, even when I start a new meeting and share the correct Meeting ID and passcode. I’ve tried scheduling new meetings and checking my account status, but nothing has worked. The message says, “Per new security guidelines, you cannot change this setting. Please contact your account admin for more information,” but I am the only user.

Since I’m on the Basic plan, I don’t have access to direct Zoom Support. Can someone from Zoom help me unlock my account settings or reset my Personal Meeting ID so I can host meetings again? This is a BIG problem!!

Thank you for any help!

[Ray_Harwood]

Hi, Joy. Thanks for the additional info and for adding your other post here.

Updated Response 12/16/2026:

I’ve researched your options as a Basic user, and unfortunately the only option where you can get some official assistance to review your account would be to upgrade back to Pro.  There’s simply no way to get “backend support” for Basic accounts. 

Original Response:

My original reply is preserved here, for Licensed/paid users future benefit. 

Your situation is complex and unusual, for sure. The Zoom Virtual Assistant (ZVA – I call her Ziva) has gotten a lot better the last few months at coming up with good answers … often even better than I can. I posted your text here, and this is what she responded with:

Thank you for explaining your situation in detail. Since you are the only user on a personal Zoom account and recently downgraded from Pro to Basic, but now see “locked by admin” messages and cannot change your Personal Meeting ID or meeting settings, this is unusual for an individual account.

Here are some steps you can try to resolve this issue:

1. Sign Out and Back In: Sometimes, account changes (like downgrades) can cause temporary glitches. Sign out of your Zoom account on all devices, then sign back in and check your settings again.

2. Clear Browser Cache or Try a Different Browser: If you’re using the Zoom web portal, clear your browser cache or try accessing your account from a different browser or device.

3. Check for Account Profile Issues:

   • Go to your Zoom Profile page and verify that your account type is listed as Basic (free) and that you are the only user.
   • If you see any references to an organization or admin, let me know.

4. Reset Personal Meeting ID (if possible):

   • Go to Profile > Personal Meeting ID.
   • If the option is still locked, this confirms the settings are being enforced at the account level, which should not happen for a personal Basic account.

5. Password Reset: Sometimes, resetting your password can refresh your account permissions. Try resetting your password and then check your meeting settings again.

6. Check for Linked Accounts: If you ever signed up with Google, Facebook, or SSO, make sure you’re logging in with the correct method.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, it’s possible your account is experiencing a backend configuration problem due to the recent downgrade. Since you’re unable to access direct support on a Basic plan, I recommend the following:

• Submit a request through the Zoom Support Request Form and select “Account & User Management” as the topic. Clearly explain that you are the only user, your settings are locked, and you cannot host meetings.

• In your request, mention the exact error message: “Per new security guidelines, you cannot change this setting. Please contact your account admin for more information,” and clarify that you are the only user and account owner.

• If you receive any automated responses, reply to them to escalate your case.

This issue is not typical for Basic accounts, and only Zoom’s support team can unlock or reset your account settings if they are stuck in an “admin-locked” state after a downgrade.

The link she recommends isn’t correct, unfortunately — I’ll work on getting the link for Basic accounts selecting Account & User Management.