It is recommended that Zoom Room devices optimized for work from home environments use specific settings to make them Home Office Zoom Rooms (HZRs). In a HZR setup, certain settings, such as scheduling, aren’t applicable. It is not recommended to conduct nightly audio tests, for example. This page recommends using the default settings if no specific settings are mentioned.

Prerequisites

• License for Zoom Rooms
• Permissions as an administrator
• Devices for Zoom Rooms

Pre-setup Checklist

• A process should be developed that would allow Zoom Rooms administrators to allow home users to suggest their favorite contacts for inclusion in Zoom Rooms that are assigned to their Home Offices.
• There should be some discussion among the Zoom Rooms administrator and the home workers to determine if they have enough bandwidth for the minimum system requirements. In addition, they should discuss whether their devices can support the group HD setting for Zoom Rooms.
• It may be necessary to grant view only access to Zoom Room settings if there is a need for home users to have access to the settings of their Home Office Zoom Rooms on the web.
  Note: All Zoom Room settings will be accessible to these users as long as they have view only access.

How to setup a calendar

• A Zoom Rooms administrator will need a Google Workspace account if Google Calendar is used to manage the existing Zoom Room calendars for the organization, or they will need access to the existing Google Workspace account if it manages the existing Zoom Room calendars for the organization. A calendar subscription feature is also necessary to ensure that users are able to keep track of events.
• Administrators have two options when it comes to setting up their calendars:
  1. Subscribing to the home worker’s calendar on the calendar service that your Zoom Rooms are currently using on your account requires you to sign in. Follow these instructions if you still need to set up a calendar service on your account in order for Zoom Rooms to work.
  2. Subscribe to the home worker’s calendar by creating a new calendar service and subscribing to it. It is recommended that all users of the Home Office Zoom Room use this separate calendar service.

How to add a new Zoom Room

1. When you sign in as an administrator, you will see Zoom Rooms under Room Management.
2. Select Add Room from the menu. The best name for the room is the home worker’s name, such as “Jeff’s Zoom Room”.
3. (Optional) Add a calendar.
4. Zoom Room should be selected as the room type.
5. Click Finish after selecting a location.

When the setup is complete, send the customized information to the home user:

• In order to activate the user, you will need the activation code
• Password for the room
• Link to the personal page of the room
• Key for the host
• Password for the room meeting ID (if it is enabled)

How to configure the recommended settings

You can edit the newly created Zoom Room in the web portal by clicking Edit on the Room Management page. For home office Zoom rooms, make the following changes. Keep the default settings if they are not listed below.

• Rooms Profile tab
  • Rooms Profile – Basic
  • Avatar: If you have a profile picture, add it.
  • Room name: The user name will be defaulted to the room name.
  • Calendar: Above is the setup for the calendar.
  • Room Passcode: You can use the last four digits of the user’s phone number as a unique identification.
  • Hide Room in Contacts: Set to On.
  • Rooms Profile – Setup
  • Room Personal Link: If you’re having trouble remembering this string, make it all lowercase (for example, johnsmithpzr).
  • Host Key: User-specific information should be created.
  • Default Call in Country/Region: This should be set to the location of the user’s device.
  • Rooms Profile – Room Location
  • In case you need to change the location, you can do so here.
  • Rooms Profile – Phone Integration
  • For Zoom Phone: To manage users and rooms, click Phone System Management. To add a Zoom Room, click on the Zoom Rooms tab. Select a site. You can choose the name of the zoom room you created for your Home Office.
  • Rooms Profile – Devices
    Leave the defaults as they are.
  • Rooms Profile – Control System API
    The default settings should be kept.
  • Rooms Profile – Device Management
    Don’t change anything.

• Meeting tab
  • Meeting – Zoom Rooms
  • Display Meetings on TV: Personal data may be collected here. Locate the device where the user intends to place it. This setting may need to be turned off if you are in a highly trafficked area (where passersby may be able to see the schedule). Transform all meetings to private can also be turned on by the Zoom Room admin (see below).
  • Automatically accept incoming call and far end camera control: Set this to Off for personal locations.
  • Lock speaker volume control on controller: Off
  • Automatic direct sharing using ultrasonic proximity signal: Whenever you are placing the device in a place where young children or dogs may be susceptible to ultrasonic signals, it is best to set the setting to Off.
  • Automatic start scheduled meetings: Off
  • Automatically stop  webinar page. Here you will see a list of scheduled meetings: Off
  • Audio Device Daily Auto Testing: Off
  • Encrypt direct share content:
  • Show call history in Zoom Rooms: On
  • Show contact list on controller: On
  • When your device is in a location where a family member or other individual may be seen in the background, it is recommended to turn Off the Count Attendees feature.
  • Meeting – Schedule Meeting
  • Use RMI when starting an instant meeting: Off
  • Require a password when scheduling new meetings:
  • Require a password for instant meetings:
  • Require a password for Room Meeting ID (Applicable for Zoom Rooms only):
  • The user’s password should be unique. The password generated should be written down and given to the home user.
  • Meeting – In Meeting (Basic)
  • Enable chat notifications on TV: On
  • The user’s home network must be capable of supporting HD video for group video.
  • Annotation:
  • Meeting – In Meeting (Advanced)
  • Breakout Rooms: Off
  • Far end camera control: Off
  • Waiting Room: On
  • Meeting – Recording
    Keep the defaults.
  • Meeting – Security
    Keep the defaults.
  • Meeting – 3rd Party Audio Conferencing
    Keep the defaults.

• Display tab: Leave the defaults as they are.

• Alert tab: It is more likely that devices will go on and off in a home environment, or bandwidth issues will occur. It is possible for home users to become annoyed by several alerts if these are common problems.

• Digital Signage tab: Retaining the default settings is recommended.

• Schedule Display tab: For home users, we recommend turning off all of these settings. The Home Office Zoom Room can be setup as a business environment in the screenshots below.

Home Office Zoom Rooms in a business environment

Users should be able to determine whether the Zoom Room is busy by configuring them as they would for a common area Zoom Room.

• Schedule Display tab
  • Instant Room Reservation: Off
  • All to reserve other rooms: Off
  • Background Image: Make sure the image represents the person who owns the Home Office Zoom Room. Alternatively, you can set the background image to the same as that of Zoom Room if it is not available.
  • LED Enclosure Integration: It should be set to the default setting for the company.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a good zoom room?