Overview

Participants have the option to join before the host during meetings by enabling the feature allow participants to join first and then the host if the host is not available to attend. It is possible for the participants to join before the host joins the meeting, or even without him or her joining the meeting if you choose this option. In addition, you have the option to enable this so that participants can join at any time before the scheduled start time – whether that is five minutes, ten minutes, or fifteen minutes in advance.

As an example of this, if you select don’t host the meeting, participants will see a pop up dialog saying “the meeting is waiting for the host to join.” Alternatively, if you are the host, there is a button you can click to sign in and start the meeting as host.

You can also enable email notifications when participants join before host.

This article covers:

• Enabling join before host
  • Account
  • Group
  • User
• Enabling join before host for an individual meeting

Prerequisites

• Zoom account
• Host permissions for the meeting
• Custom Join Before Host time limit requires Zoom client version 5.4.0 or higher

Enabling join before host

As long as you have enabled “join before host” in the web portal, you will be able to see this option when scheduling meetings.

Account

All members on your organization will be able to request Join Before Host by default when scheduling a meeting for the first time, but they also have the option to turn it off when scheduling a meeting for the first time. It is recommended that you lock the setting in order to have this setting be applied to all meetings.

1. It is a good idea to sign in as an administrator with the ability to edit account settings on the Zoom web portal.
2. Select Account Management from the navigation menu, and then select Account Settings.
3. If this setting is disabled in the Meeting tab, you need to click the toggle to enable it. If the setting is enabled, click the toggle to activate it. If a verification dialog appears, click the Turn On button to make sure that the setting has been changed.
4. Lastly, you can check the Participants can join one host at a time checkbox (optional) to allow customized time limits on Join Before Host
   start time option (() minutes before the event time).
5. It is possible to make this setting mandatory for all users in your account if you click the lock icon. You will be prompted to confirm your choice by clicking Lock.

Group

Note:

After August 21, 2021, the Group Management page has been renamed to Groups if you signed up for a new Zoom account or if your account was enabled for the New Admin Experience.

All members of a specific group will be able to uncheck Join Before Host when scheduling a meeting, but it will be on by default for any newly scheduled meetings. You will need to lock the setting in order to force it on for all meetings.

1. Sign in as an administrator and edit user groups on the Zoom web portal.
2. Select User Management and then Group Management.
3. Under Settings, click on the name of the group.
4. Make sure Join before Host is enabled under the Meeting tab.
5. Toggle the setting on if it’s disabled. If a verification dialog appears, click Turn On to confirm the change.
   Note:
6. It is required to change it at the Account level if the option is grayed out.
7. Participants can join before host time limit should be checked in order to allow custom Join Before Host time limits
   () minutes before start time option.
8. Click the lock icon, and then click Lock to confirm the change. If you want this setting to be mandatory for all users in this group, click the lock icon.

User

As long as Join Before Host is enabled in your meeting settings, it will be on by default for any new meetings, but you have the option of unchecking it when setting up meetings.

1. Zoom’s web portal can be accessed by signing in.
2. Click Settings from the navigation menu.
3. Make sure Join before host is turned on in the Meeting tab.
4. Toggle the setting on if it is disabled. If a verification dialog displays, choose Turn On to verify the change.
   Note:
6.  A grayed out option indicates that it has been locked at either the Group or Account level, and you will need to contact the Zoom administrator if this is the case.
7. If you would like to set up custom Join Before Host time limits, you can do so by checking the Participants can join Before Host checkbox
   () minutes before start time option.

Windows | macOS

1. Log in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Select Schedule.
   You will see the meeting settings options in the scheduler.
3. Simply click on Advanced Options.
4. Select the Allow participants to join at any time option. Choose from 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or Anytime.
5. Simply click the Schedule button.

Notes:

• If a meeting has already been scheduled, you can also turn on Allow participants to join before start time. From the Zoom application, choose Meetings. Hover over the meeting you want topermitw participants to join before the start time. Click on Edit, then Advanced Options. Check Allow participants to join before the start time, choose how long you want topermitw them to join, and click Save.
• PMI cannot be used with custom joins before limits, and end-to-end encryption cannot be utilized when using custom joins before limits.

Web

1. Log in to the Zoom web portal.
2. Select Meetings.
3. Click Schedule a meeting or Edit this meeting to schedule or edit a meeting.
4. Check the box Allow participants to join before start time under Meeting Options and choose how long before the start time you want them to be able to join.
5. Then click Save.Note:
6. When using End-to-end encryption, custom joins before limits cannot be used with your PMI.

Linux

1. Log in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Select Schedule.
3. You can then select your meeting settings in the scheduler window.
4. To do so, click Advanced Options.
5. You can choose how long before the start time that participants can join by checking Allow participants to join before the start time.
6. Select Schedule.

Notes:

• If a meeting has already been scheduled, you can also turn on Allow participants to join before start time. From the Zoom application, click Meetings. Hover over the meeting you want to allow participants to join before the start time, click on Edit, then Advanced Options, check Allow participants to join before the start time, choose how long you want to allow them to join, and click Save.
• PMI cannot be used with custom joins before limits, and end-to-end encryption cannot be utilized when using custom joins before limits.

Android

1. Log in to Zoom on your mobile device.
2. Select Schedule.
3. Select Advanced Options.
4. Make sure Participants Can Join Before Host is checked.
5. After scheduling is complete, click Done.

iOS

1. Log in to Zoom on your mobile device.
2. Select Schedule.
3. Then tap Advanced Options.
4. Make sure Allow Participants to Join Before Host is checked.
5. Then click the Done button.

Notes:

• It is not possible to record meetings, mute or unmute the whole group, lock the meeting, or remove participants when the host is not present or logged in when the meeting begins.
• With regards to custom join before limits and end-to-end encryption, there are some restrictions.
• The host of the meeting can join the meeting without being logged into the meeting when Allow participants to join before start time is enabled.
•  In the case that you are not the host, but you still want to record the meeting, leave the meeting and login in Zoom. Click on the Meetings tab to start recording the meeting again.
• In the event of one meeting being in progress and someone attempting to start another meeting before the host on schedule:
  • If the second meeting is started by a Zoom Room, the first meeting will automatically close after the second meeting starts.
  • When the meeting is started by the host, then the host will have the option of closing the first meeting and starting the second.
  • The host will receive a notification that there is another meeting that is in progress if the meeting is started by a participant.
• Unless you have Waiting Room set up to allow certain users to bypass the Waiting Room, Join Before Host will not work for your meetings if Waiting Room is enabled in the meeting settings.
• It is necessary to turn on automatic cloud recording for the meeting if you want the recording to take place without the host attending the meeting.