The “Join Before Host” feature allows attendees to join a meeting before the host joins. In other words, participants can join the meeting without a host.

The feature known as “Allow Participants to Join Before Host” grants attendees the ability to enter a meeting before the host arrives or in cases where the host is unable to attend. Opting for this feature allows participants to access the meeting before the host arrives or in their absence. This option can be configured to permit participants to join at any time before the scheduled start, or specifically 5, 10, or 15 minutes prior to the designated start time.

Conversely, if you choose not to enable the “Join Before Host” option, participants will encounter a pop-up dialog stating, “The meeting is waiting for the host to join.” In such instances, the host, upon seeing this message, will find a login button available to log in and initiate the meeting in their capacity as the host. This ensures a seamless initiation of the meeting, even if the host is not present at the onset.

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

Before enabling the “Join Before Host” feature, certain prerequisites must be met to ensure a seamless experience for both hosts and participants:

1. Zoom Account: To utilize the “Join Before Host” feature, you need an active Zoom account. This ensures that you have the necessary access and privileges to configure meeting settings.
2. Host Permissions: The host must have the appropriate permissions for the meeting. This includes the ability to modify meeting settings, where the “Join Before Host” option can be enabled or disabled.
3. Zoom Client Version: If you plan to set a custom “Join Before Host” time limit, it is crucial to have the Zoom client version 5.4.0 or higher installed. This ensures compatibility and access to the specific customization options related to the time limit.

How to enable join before host for all meetings

To enable the “Join Before Host” option when scheduling meetings, follow these steps in the Zoom web portal:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator with the privilege to edit account settings.
2. In the navigation menu, click on “Account Management” and then select “Account Settings.”
3. Navigate to the “Meeting” tab and verify that “Allow participants to join before host” is enabled. If it’s disabled, click the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog appears, choose “Turn On” to confirm the change.
4. (Optional) To permit custom “Join Before Host” time limits, check the “Participants can join () minutes before start time” option.
5. (Optional) If you want to enforce this setting for all users in your account, click the lock icon, and then click “Lock” to confirm the setting.

Set for members of a specific group

To activate the “Join Before Host” option for all members of a specific group in Zoom, follow these steps in the web portal:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator with the privilege to edit user groups.
2. Click on “User Management” and then select “Groups.”
3. Choose the name of the specific group, and then go to the “Meeting” tab. Verify that “Join Before Host” is enabled.
4. If the setting is disabled, click the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog appears, select “Turn On” to confirm the change. Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at the Account level and needs to be adjusted at that level.
5. (Optional) To allow custom “Join Before Host” time limits, check the “Participants can join () minutes before start time” option.
6. (Optional) If you wish to make this setting mandatory for all users in this group, click the lock icon, and then click “Lock” to confirm the setting.

User

To enable the “Allow participants to join before host” setting in your Zoom meeting configuration, follow these steps in the web portal:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click on “Settings.”
3. Navigate to the “Meeting” tab and verify that “Allow participants to join before host” is enabled.
4. If the setting is disabled, click the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog appears, select “Turn On” to confirm the change.
5. Note: If the option is grayed out, it may have been locked at either the Group or Account level. In such cases, you should contact your Zoom administrator for further assistance.
6. (Optional) To permit custom “Join Before Host” time limits, check the “Participants can join () minutes before start time” option.

Allow participants to join before host

How to enable join before host for an individual Zoom meeting in Windows or mac

To enable the “Allow participants to join before host” setting in the Zoom desktop client, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. On the “Home” tab, click on “Schedule.” This will open the scheduler window, where you can adjust your meeting settings.
3. Click “Advanced Options.”
4. Check the box for “Allow participants to join anytime.” You can then select a specific time duration, such as 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or “Anytime.”
5. Click “Schedule.”

Notes:

• If you wish to enable “Allow participants to join before start time” for an already scheduled meeting, click on “Meetings” at the bottom of the Zoom application.
• Hover over the meeting you want to modify, click on “Edit,” then go to “Advanced Options.”
• Check the box for “Allow participants to join before the start time,” choose the desired time limit, and click “Save.”

How to enable join before host for an individual Zoom meeting in Web

To enable the “Allow participants to join before start time” option in the Zoom web portal, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. Click on “Meetings.”
3. Schedule a new meeting, or select an existing meeting and click “Edit this meeting.”
4. Under “Meeting Options,” check the box for “Allow participants to join before start time” and choose the desired time duration.
5. Click “Save.”

Note: Custom join before limits are not applicable to your personal meeting ID (PMI) and cannot be utilized when using End-to-End encryption.

How to enable join before host for an individual Zoom meeting in Linux

To enable the “Allow participants to join before start time” setting in the Zoom desktop client, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. On the “Home” tab, click on “Schedule.” This will open the scheduler window where you can configure your meeting settings.
3. Click “Advanced Options.”
4. Check the box for “Allow participants to join before start time” and choose the preferred duration for allowing participants to join early.
5. Click “Schedule.”

Notes:

• If you want to enable “Allow participants to join before start time” for an already scheduled meeting, click on “Meetings” at the bottom of the Zoom application.
• Hover over the meeting you wish to modify, click on “Edit,” then go to “Advanced Options.”
• Check the box for “Allow participants to join before start time,” select the desired early join duration, and click “Save.”

Remember that custom join before limits do not apply to your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) and cannot be used when implementing End-to-End encryption.

How to enable join before host for an individual Zoom meeting in Android

To enable the “Allow Participants to Join Before Host” setting in the Zoom mobile app, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Zoom mobile app.
2. On the “Meetings” tab, tap “Schedule.”
3. Tap “Advanced Options.”
4. Toggle the switch for “Allow Participants to Join Before Host” to the “on” position.
5. Click “Done” to finish scheduling.

How to enable join before host for an individual Zoom meeting in iOS

Here are some important notes related to hosting meetings and utilizing the “Allow Participants to Join Before Host” feature in Zoom:

• If the host is not present or logged in during the meeting, essential host controls such as recording, mute/unmute all, lock meeting, or removing attendees are not available.
• Custom join before limits cannot be applied to your personal meeting ID (PMI) and are not compatible with End-to-End encryption.
• When “Allow participants to join before start time” is activated, the host can join the meeting without being logged in. If host controls are not available, such as recording, the host should leave the meeting and log in to the Zoom application. Subsequently, the host can start the meeting again from the Meetings list.
• If a second meeting with “Join Before Host” enabled is initiated while one meeting is already in progress (scheduled by the same host):
  • If a Zoom Room initiates it, the second meeting will start and end immediately after the first meeting.
  • They will have the option to end the first meeting and begin the second, if the host so chooses.
  • If a participant starts it, they will get a message saying that the host is currently holding another meeting.
• If the waiting room is enabled in your meeting settings, “Join Before Host” will not function unless the Waiting Room is configured to allow certain users to bypass it.
• If you want a meeting to be recorded without the host attending, automatic cloud recording needs to be turned on for the meeting.

These notes provide important insights into the functionalities and limitations associated with hosting meetings in Zoom.

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Frequently Asked Question

How do I join a zoom meeting without the host knowing?

1. It is recommended that you open the Zoom client on your desktop.
2. To join a meeting, click the Join a Meeting button at the top of the screen.
3. If you wish to join a meeting, please enter the number of the meeting to which you wish to participate.
4. If you want your name to appear in the meeting, you will need to enter it here.
5. You can enable the option to turn off the video on your computer.
6. Please click on the Join button to begin the process.

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