Wayland screen sharing broken with GNOME 41 on Fedora 35

[intrlocutr]

Hi,

I recently updated to Fedora 35 with GNOME 41. This GNOME release restricts the screenshot API which Zoom has used for screen sharing on Wayland, so the screen sharing functionality no longer works (see here on Ask Fedora).

I require screen sharing for school, and I'm sure many others have a similar requirement/system configuration. With Wayland increasingly becoming a de facto standard on Linux, it is crucial that Zoom support Wayland screen sharing.

[despdx]

Looks like 5.10.0 (2450) was out a week ago.  It doesn't fix this problem, according to the release notes.  I didn't check, though, because the flatpak channel hasn't been updated.  ...Or so I thought.  It actually *was* updated, but it completely broke, so they backed out the change.  Bother.

[es-kyra]

I saw the release notes drop last Monday, but I haven't seen any updated downloads. Does anyone have the .rpm file for version 5.10.0 (2450)?

[despdx]

Oh geez.  So, it was completely broken, then, not just on flatpak.

[es-kyra]

One of my laptops now shows the 5.10.0 version on the download page, but it doesn't show up for my other systems. Either way, just tested, it still isn't fixed.

[idkman]

Audacity of these devs to release some pwa that 3 people would use and not work on Wayland support

[despdx]

Hmm, I can't find it anywhere.  I can't believe the release notes still show this version, even though it cannot be downloaded.

[es-kyra]

Uploaded my copy: https://mega.nz/file/h90khYoR#TQLrKBM-2pNt-wmdkYp-pSQtn1p_YiTMnd66oDG5UWU

You should verify that it was signed by Zoom's GPG key to know I haven't done anything fishy.

[despdx]

Looks like 5.10.0 is actually available, now.  No change to the release notes or sub-version, which is insane.  But, flatpak is still broken.  I think this is the 4th workaround that I've tried *and* has been broken after I adopted it.

[chutchins]

Weekly bump to keep the thread from going stale

[YaBoiB]

Hello @chutchins, 

 I check this thread nearly every day that I am at work. Trust me that it will not go stale, but thank you for your concern. 

[YaBoiB]

Hello All, 

 We are targeting releasing the solution in either 5.10.6 or 5.11.0. More information to come. 

As always thank you all for your patience and understanding on this issue. I am so appreciative of the troubleshooting that I have been able to perform with a handful of our customers. I look forward to providing a solution to you all. Have a great day! 

Regards,

Brandon

[idkman]

so I was right, the patch was just chillin in the master branch

[es-kyra]

That's great news. Could you see if my account could be added to the beta program?

[idkman]

do you have any time estimate?

[YaBoiB]

Hello @idkman, 

 No, not at this time, but as soon as I know, you all will know. 

Thanks, 

Brandon 

[eamonnsullivan]

I just updated to Ubuntu 22.04, which defaults to Wayland (finally). It's annoying to have to remember to switch to Xorg each time I log in. Is there a beta I can try? We have a few people on my team in a similar position.

[YaBoiB]

Hello @eamonnsullivan, 

 I am sorry but we are not offering a beta release for this software. I apologize for the inconvenience. 

Thanks, 

Brandon

[despdx]

Yeesh.  Another release (5.10.4), but this issue and flatpak are still broken.

[idkman]

bro he literally said, " We are targeting releasing the solution in either 5.10.6 or 5.11.0. "

[despdx]

At least the flatpak version got updated.  Now we're back to the most recent, partial workaround.

[johnfparis]

Not sure why @despdx refers to a "partial" workaround. The most recent workaround, so far as I know, is complete. Once you've finished the installation (which has many steps but is straightforward), it Just Works. I did discover recently that you need to turn on the OBS Virtual Camera before joining the Zoom meeting.

https://community.zoom.com/t5/Meetings/Wayland-screen-sharing-broken-with-GNOME-41-on-Fedora-35/m-p/...

[despdx]

Right, I was just referring to the set of the workarounds provided by  Zoom.  That OBS hack is cool, but I wouldn't call it a "workaround", since it requires a massive, additional tool.  That's probably splitting hairs on the definition of a "workaround", but regardless, it's not one that Zoom can legitimately offer to the community.  You are right, though; For getting 100% functionality, it is the only option.

[despdx]

I haven't been testing lately, since we expect to see this mentioned in the release notes when it gets fixed.  But, I just did a test to see if anything has changed, and the latest version (2845) and found that you can share the whole screen or a portion of the screen in GNOME.  I want to say that's an improvement, but honestly, it's been so long I cannot remember.

You still cannot share just one application window, so I don't consider this bug fixed.  Since we were recently discussing workarounds, however, I might consider this partial screen share option as an acceptable workaround.  It actually works in GNOME, doesn't require any additional tweaking, doesn't break security (too much), and doesn't use a third-party feature.  It's just a workflow change; that's a legitimate "workaround".  I think I will try living with this for a while (rather than running Xorg, which was how I was getting along, before).

[johnfparis]

This is not my experience with 5.10.4.2845-1. Here's what I did ...

1. Downloaded and installed 5.10.4.2845-1. Would not launch, even from a terminal window.

2. Signed off and signed in to Gnome. Now it launched.

3. Created a meeting. Clicked on Share Screen. "Basic" tab offered Whiteboard, no Screen option. "Advanced" tab offered Portion of Screen.

4. Chose Portion of Screen. Other participants saw endless "so-and-so is trying to share his screen" with no actual sharing.

5. Left meeting. Rejoined, this time using the "Share Screen" option so my screen would be seen the moment I joined. Other participants could not see screen.

6. Left meeting. Rejoined normally. Tried sharing Portion of Screen. This time something happened. But what happened is that a portion of the background (desktop) was shared -- no application windows visible, even though they were open on my screen.

So this leaves us more or less where we were two months ago. The OBS workaround (and yes, it's a user-supplied workaround, not a Zoom-supplied workaround) works.

But the good news is that the web client does appear to work! And even offers the option to share an individual application screen, or the full screen. In order to get this to work, the host needs to change settings when creating the meeting. This is not an obvious setting, see https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005666383

[despdx]

I stand corrected.  I failed to use another computer in my test to see if meeting participants were actually seeing anything when I share a partial screen.  You are right; it doesn't work.  I tested again, just now, and did just that.  As a participant, I didn't even see the desktop background; I just see some junk pattern.

I also didn't find the option to share the full desktop, this time.  Very strange.  I'm 100 % certain it was there a few hours ago.  I'm really looking forward to not having to use Zoom in the future.

[phils1]

@YaBoiB Any update how the testing is going? We're also eagerly awaiting this feature here. I could offer my testing help and maybe one or two colleagues as well that are suffering from the current lack of this feature.

[YaBoiB]

Hello @phils1, 

 Testing is going well and this case is now in the hands of the UI designer. Although I appreciate the offer, the team has indicated that they are good right now. The Zoom team is working on this issue and they will release the fix in a future version. TBD at a later date. Thanks for your patience. 

Regards,

Brandon

[es-kyra]

Wow, implemented and tested before designed? Impressive! I wish I could say I was unfamiliar with that type of process hahah

But seriously, thanks for the update

[jasonriedy]

So when you release it, and it's still broken for many/most, we have to wait this long again?

[Veles]

@YaBoiB Its May 1st now 🙂 Is there any news on the release of the fix?

[YaBoiB]

Hello @Veles, 

 No new news to relay. Apologies. 

[jasonriedy]

It does appear that Google Chrome's interface works.  Not Chromium or Firefox for me.

[despdx]

Hmm, Firefox works fine.  I was able to screen share the other day using Firefox.  The problem with the web client is that it lacks other features.  Seems to be improving all the time, so it's hard to say for sure.  Given that this bug has existed for over a year, a lot has changed under foot in that time.  I don't think anyone would be here if the web client was full-featured.

[jasonriedy]

Just Debian's versions for me.  This is nuts.  And I'm seeing more folks move to Zoom even with this nonsense.  About to start hosting work meetings on my home 2Gb connection via jitsi / ring (whatever it is called this month).  But Windows.  And people just wanting a name.  blah.

[johnfparis]

We now have two reports that the "latest version" (unstated in one report, 5.10.4.2845-1 in the other) allows screen sharing. That is not my experience.

Here's what happened to me.

1. I went to the Zoom site, downloaded and installed 5.10.4.2845-1.

2. Launched zoom. Nothing happened.

3. Opened a terminal to launch zoom to see what error messages might occur. Nothing happened.

4. Signed off and signed in to Gnome. Launched zoom. This time it launched.

5. Created a meeting and went to Screen Share. This time there was a new option, under Advanced to share Portion of Screen. No option to share the full screen.

6. Shared Portion of Screen. Other participants saw nothing.

7. Left meeting. This time, before entering meeting, I clicked on the Share Screen button to *start* sharing my screen when I entered the meeting. This successfully took me into the meeting, but other participants could not see my screen.

8. Left meeting again and rejoined normally. Tried sharing Portion of Screen. This time they could see the BACKGROUND (Desktop) of my screen, but no application windows.

This is more or less the same status that I reported previously:

https://community.zoom.com/t5/Meetings/Wayland-screen-sharing-broken-with-GNOME-41-on-Fedora-35/m-p/...

That link, by the way, provides the workaround that works for this problem.

The good news is that the Zoom engineers seem to be making some progress, at least insofar as bringing us back to where we were a couple of months ago.

[YaBoiB]

Hello All, 

 Engineering has informed me that the fix for this issue should be introduced in the 5.11.x version. I got this information last Thursday, but just got around to providing it to you all. My apologies for the delayed response. 

That is all of the information that I have as of this writing. 

Kind Regards,

Brandon

[es-kyra]

Thank you so much for the update. I understand the desire to close this thread, but I don't think you should tell people to accept this solution before we get to try it. Hopefully the new version fixes all of these issues with sharing and audio.

Has the engineering team made any investigation into how this will be prevented in the future?

• Ensure your  support agents don't brush off tickets where customers described this issue years ago
• Actively testing all supported desktop linux OSes—and beta releases to detect upcoming issues
• Form closer ties with the Free Software/Open Source community and benefit from all the effort that volunteers put into diagnostics and debuggin
• Actively monitor official channels for API deprecation
• Employ developers that use a modern GNU+Linux OS as their daily driver

[es-kyra]

@YaBoiBit seems you skipped this one but it has received several 👍s. Could you shed some light on this aspect as it would help restore some of the lost trust of customers moving away from Zoom because of the issue. Thanks

[jasonriedy]

I strongly suspect that the problem is at the management level.  I'm not sure complaints matter to them unless from higher-valued accounts.

[chutchins]

Agreed with es-kyra on this. Again thank you Brandon, we all fully get that you just are acting as a go between for the engineers. But we don't know for certain they even implemented this correctly. Again the accepted method from the wayland contributors is to specifically use their new screensharing api as opposed to zooms previous workarounds--And until we actually see their solution in action we won't actually know if they've done it properly or limited it by distro again. Unfortunately zoom doesn't have a lot of community support from their linux users at the moment.