Create a conference room with PIN and host controls

A conference room is an audio bridge with its own number. Your team dials the number, outside callers can dial in through a phone number you point at it, and everyone lands on the same call. Conference rooms are separate from CallSprout video meetings.

Some labels in your portal or apps may look slightly different from this guide.

Before you start

Each room uses a conference group, which holds the room's behavior and who gets which role. Create the group first, then the room. One group can serve several rooms that should work the same way.

Create a conference group

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Open conference groups

   In the admin portal, go to Conferences and open Groups. Add a group and give it a name, such as Staff.

2. 2
   Step 2:

   Pick the room behavior

   Tick the options you want. The common ones are listed in the next section.

3. 3
   Step 3:

   Choose who can join and their roles

   Tick Enable All Users, or add specific users. For each user you can set a role: admin for full control, marked for a host, or talk only or listen only.

4. 4
   Step 4:

   Save

   Save the group.

Group options worth knowing

• Announce user join/leave. Each caller says their name on the way in, and the room hears it as people come and go. Quiet mode turns off join and leave sounds instead.
• Hold music. The first person in the room hears it until someone else joins.
• Present menu. Callers can press * during the call to hear options like mute.
• Wait for the marked user. Nobody can talk until a host joins. Pair it with closing the conference when the last host leaves for a host-led call.
• Mute external callers on join. People dialing in from outside stay on mute until an admin lets them talk.
• Record conference. Records the call. Recording and monitoring laws vary by state, and your company is responsible for any notice and consent they require.

Create the room

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Add a conference

   Go to Conferences and add a new one.

2. 2
   Step 2:

   Name and number it

   Enter a Conference Name, such as Weekly team call, and a Conference Number people will dial.

3. 3
   Step 3:

   Pick the group

   Choose the Conference Group you made.

4. 4
   Step 4:

   Set the PINs

   Open the advanced options. Set a Conference PIN that every caller must enter. After a few wrong tries, the call is dropped. Add a Conference Admin PIN or a Conference Marked User PIN so outside callers can join as an admin or a host.

5. 5
   Step 5:

   Set the size and timing (optional)

   Use Maximum number of users to cap the room. Rings to answer and RTP Delay set how quickly the room picks up; a delay of a few seconds keeps the first prompt from being cut off.

6. 6
   Step 6:

   Save and test

   Save the room, then dial its number and enter the PIN.

To let outside callers dial in, ask CallSprout support to point a phone number at the room. Then share the number and PIN with your team. Start or join a conference call is the guide to send them.

Conference rooms come with every plan. If you'd rather not build a room yourself, CallSprout support can build it for you. Send the room name, its number, who can join and any PINs you want.

What to expect

• Roles set in the group apply when a user calls from their own extension. Anyone who knows the admin or host PIN can still claim that role, so share those PINs carefully.
• Past conferences, with their recordings, are listed in call history. Ask CallSprout support whether conference recordings follow the standard recording window.
• There's an overall limit on how many people can be in conference calls at once. Contact support before you plan a very large call.