Setting up the facilitator laptop or tablet

This guide helps you set up the host device that monitors RoomRadar during live facilitation. Use it when you are responsible for multiple tables and need fast visibility into transcript health. In a hurry: stabilize your own device first, keep RoomRadar in a dedicated view, and run a 90-second reset after every break.

Fast path

1. Connect facilitator device to the same workshop network as participant phones.
2. Keep RoomRadar open in a dedicated browser window.
3. Close heavy background apps and extra tabs.
4. Confirm all groups are visible and actively updating.
5. Keep a fallback host device ready.
6. Recheck all groups after breaks.

Before the room opens

Facilitators often treat their own device as "just a dashboard." In practice, if this device is unstable, issue detection slows and table problems spread before you notice.

Set a stable baseline:

• disable aggressive sleep/auto-lock
• set readable zoom and brightness while standing
• separate RoomRadar view from slides/notes

If you are still preparing table devices, do that with [Connect phones as microphones for multi-table workshops](/guides/setup/connect-phones-as-microphones) first.

Step-by-step operating setup

1. Build a scan-friendly workspace

Your view should let you answer quickly:

• which tables are active
• which table just went silent
• where text flow looks delayed or erratic

Use one layout and keep it for the entire session. Frequent zoom/tab switching causes missed events.

2. Run a two-pass pre-flight

Pass 1 (before participants arrive):

• all groups visible
• one test line seen from each table
• no stalled view indicators

Pass 2 (right before first prompt):

• recent line from each active table
• no duplicate group confusion
• fallback device login confirmed

3. Use break resets as risk control

After each break, run a 90-second sweep:

1. confirm every expected group still appears
2. verify at least one fresh line from each active table
3. flag and fix silent tables before giving the next prompt

Most workshop drift starts during breaks, not during peak activity.

4. Keep a fallback path ready

If host view freezes or device battery collapses mid-session:

1. switch to backup device
2. reopen RoomRadar session
3. confirm three representative tables first
4. resume full scan

Do not pause the full room unless multiple tables are simultaneously affected.

Failure modes and quick fixes

Host screen looks stale but tables are talking

Check local network first, then refresh view. Verify with one known active table before escalating.

One table seems silent in host view

Do a local check at the table before declaring a platform issue. Often it is a phone page/permission problem, not a host-device fault.

Host device overloaded by other tasks

If slides, chat, and docs compete with RoomRadar in one browser session, split work across windows or a second device.

This guide is for...

Use this guide when you need reliable table monitoring from the facilitator side.

If the problem is participant onboarding, see [Inviting participants to connect their phones](/guides/setup/invite-participants-with-qr). If the problem is repeated device dropouts, see [Reconnecting a device without losing the discussion](/guides/setup/reconnecting-a-disconnected-device).

Related guides

• [Starting a RoomRadar session](/guides/setup/start-a-roomradar-session)
• [Connect phones as microphones for multi-table workshops](/guides/setup/connect-phones-as-microphones)
• [Reconnecting a device without losing the discussion](/guides/setup/reconnecting-a-disconnected-device)
• [Assigning tables to groups in RoomRadar](/guides/setup/assign-tables-to-groups)
• [Monitoring discussions across groups without losing context](/guides/workflows/monitoring-discussions-across-groups)