Is Zoom’s Waiting Room Feature Default? How to customize and disable settings

As a result, the new default feature is the Waiting Room.

This time, I will explain in detail about the waiting room of Zoom. Let’s also check how to customize in detail and how to disable the waiting room.

This article is for people who:

• People who want to know how to use the Zoom waiting room
• People who don’t know how to customize Zoom’s waiting room
• People who want to disable Zoom’s waiting room

Participants can be controlled in the Zoom waiting room

When the waiting room setting is enabled in Zoom, the host (host) needs to allow and approve the participants of the meeting.

Having a waiting room will take some time before the meeting can take place, but it will prevent unauthorized entry into the room. Therefore, web conferencing with higher security can be realized.

By the way, when you join a meeting that has a waiting room set up, the message “Please wait for the host to start this meeting” is displayed on the guest (participant) screen. By changing the settings, you can also display company name logos and comments on the waiting room screen.

How to enable Waiting Room in Zoom Meeting

As I mentioned earlier, the waiting room has become the default setting since Zoom’s April 2020 update. You can use the waiting room function not only in the paid plan but also in the free plan. However, if the waiting room is disabled for some reason, you will not be able to use the waiting room unless you configure it yourself.

In this chapter, we will introduce how to enable the waiting room setting in a Zoom meeting in an easy-to-understand manner for each case. There are 5 cases in all, so let’s customize Zoom to suit you.

Setting method (1) Setting for each account

The procedure to set up a waiting room for each Zoom account is as follows.

1. An administrator with account editing privileges signs in to Zoom
2. Select “Account Settings”
3. Select the “Meetings” tab
4. Go to the Waiting Room option
5. click the toggle switch
6. Select “Turn on” in the displayed confirmation dialog

Setting method (2) When setting for each group

If you want to set the Zoom waiting room function for each group, follow the steps below.

1. An administrator with permission to edit user groups signs in to Zoom
2. Select “Account Settings”
3. Select the group name for which you want to set up a waiting room
4. Select the “Settings” tab
5. Select the “Meetings” tab
6. Go to the “Waiting Room” option under “In a meeting (advanced)”
7. click the toggle switch
8. Select “Turn on” in the displayed confirmation dialog

Note that if the waiting room option is greyed out, it means that it is locked per Zoom account. To change the settings, you need to check the contents of the lock from the key-shaped icon displayed on the screen.

Setting method (3) When setting in a meeting where you are the host

If you host a meeting on Zoom, follow the steps below to enable the Waiting Room setting.

1. Sign in to Zoom’s web portal
2. Select the “Meetings” tab
3. Go to the “Waiting Room” option under “In a meeting (advanced)”
4. click the toggle switch
5. Select “Turn on” in the displayed confirmation dialog

Zoom account administrators need to change from “My Meeting Settings“. Account members can change the Waiting Room settings from the “Meeting Settings” introduced above.

Setting method (4) When setting in Personal Meeting

A personal meeting is an individual meeting room given to each Zoom user.

If you have frequent meetings using Zoom, you can conduct meetings and webinars smoothly by exchanging personal meeting IDs between the host and participants.

If you want to enable the Waiting Room and allow participants in your Personal Meeting, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Zoom
2. Select “My Meetings”
3. Select the Personal Meeting tab
4. Select “Edit this meeting”
5. Select “Enable Waiting Room” from the meeting options
6. Select “Save”

Setting method (5) When setting for each meeting

If you want to set up a Zoom waiting room for each meeting, here are the steps:

1. Log in to Zoom
2. Select “My Meetings”
3. Select “Schedule a new meeting”
4. Select “Enable Waiting Room” from the meeting options
5. Select “Save”

If you have already scheduled the meeting on Zoom, you can also select the topic of the existing meeting and edit the settings.

How to use the waiting room for meetings

Next, we will introduce various operation methods for holding a Zoom meeting with the waiting room enabled.

Since the operation method differs slightly depending on the device that uses Zoom, this time we will divide the procedure into two steps: “Meeting using Windows or Mac” and “Meeting using the iOS or Android app”. I will explain.

Equipment used: Windows, Mac

We will introduce the procedure for holding a meeting using the Zoom waiting room on a Windows or Mac computer.

[Approve all participants in the waiting room]

1. Meeting host selects “Manage Participants”
2. Select “Allow everyone to enter”

[Approving participants in the waiting room during a meeting]

1. Meeting host selects “Manage Participants”
2. Select “Allow” to approve entry

[Put participants in the waiting room during the meeting]

1. Meeting host selects “Manage Participants”
2. Select “Details” next to the name of the participant you want to add to the waiting room
3. Select “Send to Waiting Room”

Device used: iOS, Android app

We will explain various operation procedures when holding a meeting with a waiting room using the Zoom app for iOS and Android.

[Approve all participants in the waiting room]

1. Meeting host taps “Participants”
2. Tap “Allow everyone to enter” displayed on the screen

[Approving participants in the waiting room during a meeting]

1. Meeting host taps “Participants”
2. Tap “Allow” next to the name of the person you want to authorize entry

[Put participants in the waiting room during the meeting]

1. Meeting host taps “Participants”
2. Tap the name of the participant you want to put in the waiting room
3. Tap “Send to Waiting Room”

How to disable Zoom’s Waiting Room?

Zoom’s waiting room is a convenient function that can solve the problem of unauthorized entry and exit to the meeting room, but there may be cases where it is troublesome to allow participants or there is no problem even if it is canceled.

In this chapter, we will introduce how to cancel the waiting room function that has become the default setting of Zoom. The setting method differs depending on when you want to cancel the waiting room, so we will explain it separately for “before the meeting” and “during the meeting”.

Setting method (1) When disabling before the meeting

If you want to disable the Waiting Room before you host a meeting or webinar on Zoom, here are the steps (if you set it up on the web):

1. Log in to Zoom
2. Select the gear icon (Settings)
3. Select “Show more settings”
4. Press the toggle switch in the waiting room to change it to gray

Setting method ② Disabling during a meeting

If you have held a webinar meeting on Zoom without removing the waiting room setting, the procedure for disabling it is as follows (when setting on the web).

1. Select “Security”
2. Uncheck “Enable Waiting Room”

summary

Zoom’s waiting room is, so to speak, a waiting room for the guests (participants) of the meeting. By making good use of the waiting room, the host can properly manage the entry of participants, so the meeting can be held more safely.

If you have downloaded or updated Zoom since April 2020, the waiting room is the default setting. However, if the setting is off for some reason, you will not be able to use it unless you enable the waiting room according to the flow introduced this time.

There is also a way to disable Zoom’s waiting room, so let’s customize it for your convenience.