The COVID-19 pandemic has altered education across the globe in unprecedented ways. Higher education institutions were forced to rethink and innovate in order to save the academic year under these extraordinary circumstances. This study explored the experiences of students and lecturers at a university in Zimbabwe with using "WhatsApp" to communicate during these unprecedented times. Drawing from cultural historical activity theory, the researchers analysed the adoption and adaptation of "WhatsApp" in a postgraduate program. The researchers engaged in a qualitative cyber-ethnography study, wherein data were generated using semi-structured interviews and observations with a purposive sample of five lecturers and ten postgraduate students. The findings established that a simple solution was adopted for the extraordinary circumstances imposed on higher education in Zimbabwe by the COVID-19 pandemic. "WhatsApp" use proved to be a simple solution that was easy and convenient for both lecturers and students. It supported interaction between lecturers and students at a time when face-to-face was prohibited due to lockdown regulations. The participants had positive experiences with the integration of "WhatsApp" into teaching and learning during the pandemic. The participants' prior familiarity with "WhatsApp" was instrumental in its adoption at the sampled university.