Zoom participants are not visible as waiting in waiting room

[NewBroom]

I receive an e-mail saying that the participant is waiting, but in the meeting I only see one participant: me. 

My participant gets the screen message that I have to let him in, but of course that never happens, because even when they call me to tell me they are in the waiting room, I cannot let them in: Zoom doesn't see anyone there for me to let in. I even tried the option to leave the meeting, and to click on the link in the email message, but to no avail.

This has led me to stop the waiting room as a function because I lost a lot of valuable time on technical issues with my clients, which looked pretty unprofessional (despite being an experienced Zoom user). 

I cannot find any article or suggestion on how this can happen. The Waiting room feature has always been enabled in every case, I checked. Is this a bug?

[RN]

Hey @NewBroom super interesting, I would double-check that you and the participants are up-to-date running the latest version of Zoom. Also, you can try in-meeting disabling and reenabling to see if you're prompt to admit participants in. the waiting room under the 'security' tab. However, if it's automatically enabled, you will see something like this ⤵️

Host View (On Desktop)

Participant View (On Mobile)

And our KB article, on Waiting Rooms. Also, another useful tip while in-meeting/another notification -- click on 'participants' under 'More', make sure "Play Join and Leave Sound" is ✅

[ProgramsBWNC]

I am having the same issue.   I selected the waiting room as my required security option (didn't have a choice to have no security features).  and have learned this week that people are waiting in the waiting room but I have no evidence of such in the actual meeting.  This is a new issue--I have used my personal meeting room for months with no issue.  This new issue results in my thinking no one has joined my meeting and my attendees assuming I've forgotten my own meeting (neither are true).    I'm using the most current version of zoom 5.9.1.  I can't ensure that new clients/attendees all have most current zoom updated.  This is an embarrassing dynamic to navigate.  Thank you for any additional guidance.

[NewBroom]

I have been disabling the function since this issue as it is extremely disrupting if you have to give an online training and people remain invisible to check in. It really seems to be a technical malfunction and not an update error. Hopefully Zoom will find a solution to this, I feel the same way as you do!

[NewBroom]

Sorry, I had not seen your reply yet. But yes, they are up to date on Zoom. 

Given the fact that I see two people below with similar responses, I am not the only one with an unusable waiting room. 

I have been disabling the function since this issue as it is extremely disrupting if you have to give an online training and people remain invisible to check in. It really seems to be a technical malfunction and not an update error. 

[Mosen]

I have a different, strange problem: the invitee calls me ans says he is in waiting room and I need to let him in, but I couldn't see any notification and there was no other way to let him in.  I checked "Participants" button and it only shows me. I haven't changed anything since the last time that it worked. Any ideas? 

[NewBroom]

Hi Mosen, no, this is the exact same problem I have: my participants are waiting but I don't see that they are. Super annoying and so far, no solution has been provided by Zoom or any other user. So I have been disabling the waiting room in every meeting I organise. Not ideal, but the alternative (missing people) is worse.

Hope someone has an idea on how to solve it!

[Mosen]

Sorry didn’t read your post properly. Yes, in several meetings I finally had to ask them to dial in, then put them on speaker.

[Jweda]

I've been using Zoom for teaching online for over 2 years now, and recently I started facing this same problem of NewBroom. It is very frustrating and as I believe it is related to Zoom, and moreover, there is no solution offered!!!

[DorothyE]

I am having this problem a well - and yesterday it cost me a big chunk of money on a refund. All participants were using the same link off of an email. Most of them I could see and admit with no problem. Two people were there and I couldn't see them. I was getting angry emails and other communications. They never did show up despite them trying several times. I experienced this is two other meetings this week - one where I was the 'invisible person' in another person's meeting. All of us who have experienced this are using randomly assigned meeting numbers, not personal meeting room.  This is serious and costing $$$ (I had to refund fees). What is going on here?

[NewBroom]

Hi Dorothy,

It's super annoying, and still hasn't changed for me. The only workaround (it's not a solution in the formal sense) is to disable the waiting room entirely. It's the only way to be sure that your participants are able to enter.

Zoom is really dropping the ball on this one! Such a shame. 

[DorothyE]

I'm going to stop using waiting room as the security on entry and use a simple code instead that is easy to remember. You probably know this, but you can select code instead of waiting room in the settings and you can customized the code. 

[Jess20]

I am having the same problem where they are the host and they can only see themselves but not as. the host in on a phone. can you please help

[JimmyNoMates]

I’ve also got the same problem. I get an email saying I have participants in the waiting room but when I log on I am the only one in the waiting room. I’m using an up to date Zoom app on Windows 10. This problem has started in the last couple of weeks (mid Jan 2022). I’ve been using zoom since March 2020 and never had this issue before. It takes a combination of myself and my client logging in and out to get the meeting started which obviously wastes time and looks unprofessional. Any ideas how to fix it? Thanks

[davemo]

Hi all, this forum is much appreciated. I experienced the same problem today, which led me here--y'all aren't crazy, this is a real and frustrating problem. I wish I had solutions, but I do not (other than, as mentioned, disabling waiting room altogether). To try to troubleshoot the problem's source, I am curious from all who've responded here so far: was anyone by chance using the Slate CRM or another CRM, as the vehicle to have participants register for their Zoom event when they encountered this problem? I'm trying to determine if the problem I experienced had anything to do with the Slate CRM and Zoom miscommunicating with each other, or, if this is strictly just a Zoom-specific malfunction. I suspect the latter. But thought I'd ask in case perhaps others were sharing their Zoom URL through Slate (or another CRM) with guests instead of given the direct Zoom URL to guests. 

If it helps anyone, the problem I experienced was similar to the ones you all described: people were telling us they were in a waiting room, but Zoom did not show any waiting room (nor anyone inside a waiting room). I've hosted hundreds of Zoom Meetings and never had this happen before, as there has always just been a waiting room (even if it's empty). But this time Zoom showed no waiting room, even though clearly people were clearly waiting to be admitted because they told us they were.  I work for a university, and we were using the Slate CRM to have guests register in advance---and what's interesting is that Slate counted them as having "attended" the event (rather than just "registered"), which is more evidence that people were in an invisible waiting room that the host, for some reason, just never saw -- and therefore couldn't admit waiting guests from.  Super frustrating. We did also have a passcode enabled in our Zoom event. So I'm trying to determine if it's strictly just a Zoom malfunction/glitch, or if perhaps somehow there's miscommunication between Zoom and the Slate (or other) CRM given the passcode + waiting room security mechanisms in combination with the fact that Slate "changes" the URL that guests ultimately receive (guests never see the direct URL I make in Zoom, but rather, they get a modified URL that Slate sends them).  Best of luck to everyone navigating this puzzling "invisible waiting room" experience!

[NewBroom]

Hi Davemo, as far as I can tell it cannot be related to the Slate CRM. The problems I experienced had come from the most basic of registrations: me sharing a link with them in an email, together with a meeting ID and passcode. They clicked on the link and then the problems started. So you should be fine on that aspect.

Hope this is resolved! So far, I have been doing this without a waiting room - but have also increasingly started using MS Teams... Which does have a functional waiting room.

[crystalh]

I'm appreciative of this forum, because I too am having the same issue. My Zoom version is up to date, yet I continue to sporadically get the email notification that someone is waiting in the waiting room, meanwhile there is only me in the Zoom room. I have attempted to follow the exact same link given out, logging out and logging back in, even restarting my computer, but to no avail. I  have not been able to pinpoint what causes it to happen, because as others have said, the link can be generated from Calendly (scheduling tool) or manually and will sporadically result in this problem. It looks terribly unprofessional. And I am hopeful that Zoom will read this and resolve the issue.

[Jweda]

I found out though, that if I launch the meeting in advance using the "Start Meeting" button on a previously received notification email that someone is trying to join zoom, then I can see the people in the waiting room.  

[crystalh]

Since I posted that I have been having this problem, I have tried the following hacks which have worked: 

1. I've connected all of my calendars to Zoom so that all of my meetings, show up in Zoom, even the ones that won't be on Zoom. 

2. I launch all meetings now from the "start meeting" prompt that accompanies each of those unique meetings. If no "start meeting" prompt appears, I wait for the email notification I receive that a meeting attendee is waiting, and I launch the meeting from the email

3. In my meeting invitations, I make sure to copy and paste the entire Zoom invitation to my meeting invitee, especially when I am adding these manually, and the PMI link is always the exact same. 

It's all a bit of hassle, but at least now it is working for me. 

[CampaignsGuru]

Just had the exact same problem.

It was a disaster.

[Jweda]

It is quite frustrating as we all agreed.

I found out though, that if I launch the meeting in advance using the "Start Meeting" button on a previously received notification email that someone is trying to join zoom, then I can see the people in the waiting room.  

[Jweda]

There is a way that might be useful, I found out that if I launch the meeting in advance using the "Start Meeting" button on a previously received notification email that someone is trying to join zoom, then I can see the people in the waiting room.  

[NewBroom]

Hi Jweda, the situation you describe is not the same, sadly, because I don't get that notification that someone is trying to join Zoom/is waiting in the waiting room. To me it seems other participants have forgotten about the meeting. And to them it seems I (the organizer) forgot about the meeting, because they are waiting and are not let in.

Therefore, I have increasingly started to use Microsoft Teams and if I do use Zoom, it's always without waiting room, because I don't want to run the risk of this problem.

[Jweda]

Oh, sorry for that, seems that my problem is not as complicated as yours.

Best wishes.

[İngilizce_Kralı]

Solved it!

Hi there,

I had the same problem. With the same account, I was able to check my waiting room participants in my tablet, but whenever I was changing to my desktop computer, I was not able to see other participants. Enabling and disabling waiting room option under security tab was not a solution at all.

I managed to solve the problem by removing the tick of "start with video" box (in pop-up list under new meeting button) and putting tick in "use my personal meeting ID" box. It solved my problem for my computer and now I am able to see participants in waiting room. I hope this also works for you.

[NewBroom]

Hi, thanks for taking the effort to reach out! I tried what you said and it worked for now. Not sure how it could work because I don't see any logical link between the steps you took and the visibility of participants - it seems to be random. Maybe it works because it's a Tuesday, or because I am having a good hair day, who knows 🙂 
I will keep your solution at hand for now and test in in a meeting with a client I know well, so that it won't be a big issue if it still stalls. But thanks!!! 

[jennagrimshaw]

I had the same problem this morning.. I have 640 students so I can't ensure they are using up-to-date software.  Had a student trying to join me to ask me some questions about their assignment.  On their end it said "waiting" but I couldn't see them in the waiting room. this was extremely frustrating. 

[TimP2]

I encountered this problem for the first time today. My meeting participant emailed to say he was in the waiting room, but I got no notification. He exited and re-entered the room, but still nothing appeared on my screen. But since he was convinced he was in the right meeting, I went looking and found that when I opened the 'participants' tab, I could see that he was in the waiting room. 

I got no e-mail to say he was there (that only seems to happen when the participant arrives at the room before I launch a meeting), and  we were both wondering whether the other had forgotten the meeting. It was very annoying and cost us about ten minutes of waiting and finally hunting down the problem.

This has never happened before. I use Zoom all the time, and every other time that I had the waiting room enabled, I got a notification that popped up at the top of the Zoom window and stayed until I let the person in.

I was used Calendly to set up the Zoom meeting, and possibly that has something to do with it. But I haven't had that problem until today (and I didn't have the problem earlier today for another meeting that was set up the same way).

I also had my Zoom screen set to half my desktop screen instead of using the full screen, and am wondering if that had something to do with it.

I mostly don't use the waiting room feature, but for my Calendly meetings it is the default and I actually like being able to ensure that my participants only enter the room when I'm ready.

So, next time I will turn on the participants tab just to be doubly sure I see the notification. At least in this case, that seemed to work.

[TakaraS]

I had the same issue. I would get an email saying the participant was in the waiting room, but when I entered the room, it looked like there was no one there. 

I tried

- exiting and entering the meeting

- quitting and reopening the application

- following the exact link I sent to the guest

- clicking the link in the email letting me know the guest is in the waiting room 

- turning off the waiting room (my guests say they still experience the waiting room even though I turned it off) 

I've used Zoom regularly the last two years, and this issue appeared suddenly early September 2022. 

I just tried deleting the application and re-downloading from Zoom. I also followed a suggestion above and under the New Meeting drop down menu, I left Start with video unchecked and checked the box for Use my Personal Meeting ID. I'm hoping this will resolve the issue. My Zoom has been unusable, so if this doesn't work I'll have to switch over to another program. 

[tapintomagic]

This literally just happened in my sesison. Before I started, I had 7 people waiting and I let them all in, then after a few mins it kept popping up that people were waiting and I couldn't see anyone in the waiting room. Only 10 mins later it worked but by then the session was almost over and some people were confused and upset sending emails, very frustrating indeed

[ATTCH]

The same thing has started happening frequently for our participants. Has never been a problem before. 

[ErnestGaisie]

Is there a fix to this yet? Users have to wait in the waiting room for soo long which makes it seem as if the meeting organizer did not show up to accept users in, when in real fact, the organizer cannot actually see users in the waiting room

[DorothyE]

It is happening NOW. Three meetings this week. In all cases, some people entered the waiting room, were seen and admitted. Others (using the same link) entered the waiting room but we not seen at all by host or co host. They left and came back - same problem. 

And not all three meetings on the same Zoom account - different people. In one case, I was the 'invisible person'.

And this time it cost me $$$. I had to refund fees.

So - here's my solution. Go to basic settings. Disable waiting room. Enable passcode. Customize the passcode to something that is easy to remember, like your name or your company name. 

[DorothyE]

Unfortunately you can only customize the passcode if you're using your personal meeting room id

[Mayer2323]

Go to setting - General - scroll all the way down to view more setting in small blue letters - Click 'security' - Enable waiting room there. It should save on your account now. 

[accessibilityed]

Joining in to say I feel incredibly validated by this thread, but equally frustrated by the lack of resolve to this issue. I echo the professional and personal embarrassment this causes, as I lost credibility with students (as well as the important opportunity to connect with them!) and colleagues for not tending to my office hours/managing technology properly, even though I was logged in for hours & forewent lunch and bathroom breaks in case someone logged in. I felt so nutty! I am disappointed because the ability to join the meeting via a link is important so that students can easily join (I generate QR codes with the link), but students are visiting for protected reasons, so a waiting room needs to be enabled for confidentiality. Zoom is my organization's chosen platform so I don't know my solve here, except trying not to eliminate virtual services and the accessibility they bring. 

IF I continue this in the future, I will likely join from the link generated via email notifying me (with a delay!) that someone joined the meeting to see if that helps this. Also, is there data accessible to users that display when they were in a meeting and when people joined? Would be helpful for me now. Thanks!

[CelineF]

I started facing this issue a month or so ago. I see this thread is from 2022, so the issue still hasn't been fixed 2 years later!

I opened a ticket with Zoom, and they were extremely unhelpful. The directions they offered were not detailed and vague, not to mention it took them 6 days to get back to me each time I emailed with more questions.

The solution offered here, to enable the waiting room when in the Zoom call, has helped. Hopefully it's a permanent fix. In the meantime I've added my invite link that goes directly to my Zoom Room to all my communication, as that still seems to work without issues. 

I hope Zoom fixes this promptly now, as it's been going on for way too long and has also cost me $$$. It looks hella unprofessional when my potential coaching clients think I'm not showing up for discovery calls. Since we're paying for Zoom, this should have already been fixed.

[IAmTimSteele]

Three years later - I'm having the same problem now. It started a few months back. The only way to see who is waiting in the waiting room is for me to leave entirely and then restart the meeting. It's sometimes taken me 15+ minutes to get the meeting started (and, as you've said, it makes me look like I don't know what I'm doing). I completely uninstalled and then re-installed Zoom from my computer with no improvement. Now, I turn off the waiting room and make sure to provide the passcode to participants so they can let themselves in. That works, but I don't love that option. I'll read the rest of the responses - and hope that someone might have provided a workable answer.