Enable and Manage the Waiting Room

One our recommended security features is the Waiting Room. This feature enables you to screen participants before you admit them to your meeting. Some 'Zoombombers' may receive password information from enrolled students, so a password would not stop those intruders. The Waiting Room will help you prevent any unwanted participation.

The waiting room will also help with open office hours, allowing you to meet with one student while another waits in the waiting room, and then allow the student waiting to join the meeting when you’re ready.  

 

Enable the Waiting Room

  1. Click Settings from the left-side navigation menu
  2. Click the Meeting menu at the top of the screen
  3. Scroll down to “Waiting Room” and toggle the button to the “on” setting.
    Settings > Waiting Room (Enable)

Admitting Students to the Live Meeting 

Once you are in the meeting, you will be notified when participants are waiting.  Click on the message to 'See waiting room. The Manage Participants icon will also open the Participants window where you can see who is in the room, and if any others are in the Waiting Room.

Waiting room message
 

When you want to let a student in, select their name and press Admit.  

Admit button next to participant's name

Once a participant is in the room, you have the option to move them back into the Waiting Room.  Hover over the name, and select Put in Waiting Room.  

Note: 'Remove' takes the participant out of the meeting, and will not allow returning to this session.  

 

Tips for Managing Your Waiting Room Effectively

  • Customize the Waiting Room screen Links to an external site. to make it inviting/friendly.
  • Ask students to sign in early to your Zoom meeting using their real name so that you can admit as many as possible before the official start time. If anyone in the Waiting Room has not provided their real name, you may remove them from the Waiting Room. 
  • Greet students with a chat message Links to an external site. to the Waiting Room. You can’t use your audio or video with waiting room participants, and they are not able to respond (they cannot turn on audio, video, or use chat messaging). 
    Sample chat message you might have handy for repeated sending to the waiting room:
    Welcome to our class meeting - I am glad you are here! I will let everyone into the meeting whose name I recognize. If you did not provide your name when joining the meeting, please leave the meeting and re-join using your real name.
  • Admit known students Links to an external site.. If everyone in the waiting room has a real student name, you can admit all at once; otherwise admit individually.
  • If you are not comfortable with the process of admitting latecomers from the Waiting Room once class begins, consider designating a trusted student as a co-host Links to an external site. to help with that.

 

More information about Zoom's Waiting Room Links to an external site. Feature