Inviting participants to connect their phones

This guide helps you onboard participants to RoomRadar using QR or fallback link. Use it at session start and for late arrivals. In a hurry: give one instruction at a time, verify one active phone per table, and solve edge cases locally instead of stopping the full room.

Fast path

1. Show QR code large enough for the full room.
2. Keep a short fallback URL visible.
3. Give one instruction per step: scan, open page, allow microphone, place phone.
4. Verify one active phone per table in the correct group.
5. Handle blockers at table level, not as a full-room tech briefing.

Before participants scan

QR onboarding is operational choreography. If instructions are too long, people improvise and support requests pile up.

Set these conditions first:

• table labels visible
• group names already prepared
• one helper plan for larger rooms
• fallback URL tested

If grouping is not ready yet, complete [Assigning tables to groups in RoomRadar](/guides/setup/assign-tables-to-groups) before scanning starts.

Step-by-step facilitation script

Use short sequential language:

1. "Scan the QR code now."
2. "Open the page that appears."
3. "Allow microphone when prompted."
4. "Leave one phone in the table center."

Pause after each line. People need action time, not more explanation.

Once tables are connected, run one test phrase and verify stream health in [Starting a RoomRadar session](/guides/setup/start-a-roomradar-session).

Common failure modes and fixes

QR scanned but page does not open

Some camera apps show a banner that must be tapped manually. Ask participant to tap the banner link.

Page opens but no transcript later

Likely permission denial. Solve quickly with [Fixing microphone permission problems](/guides/setup/microphone-permissions-ios-android).

Participant closes tab after joining

Reopen same link and rejoin same table group. Then confirm one test line.

Too many phones at one table

Keep one active phone unless table size/noise requires a planned exception.

Large-room and late-arrival handling

For large rooms, use a split model:

• you maintain room pace
• table helpers handle local phone issues

For late arrivals:

1. seat participant at the right table first
2. connect locally with minimal noise
3. avoid reconfiguring already stable table phones

If late arrivals cause duplicate phones, remove extras after verification.

Helper model that scales to 80+ participants

For larger rooms, define support roles before the QR step begins:

• host facilitator: pace and whole-room instructions
• table helpers: local phone/permission support
• floater: handles escalations and duplicate-device cleanup

Give helpers a strict escalation threshold: if they cannot fix a table in 60 seconds, they call the floater and move on. This keeps onboarding throughput high and prevents helper bottlenecks at one difficult table.

This guide is for...

Use this guide when your risk is messy onboarding and lost startup time.

If your risk is poor capture quality after connection, continue with [Testing microphones before participants arrive](/guides/setup/test-audio-before-workshop).

Related guides

• [Connect phones as microphones for multi-table workshops](/guides/setup/connect-phones-as-microphones)
• [Fixing microphone permission problems](/guides/setup/microphone-permissions-ios-android)
• [Starting a RoomRadar session](/guides/setup/start-a-roomradar-session)
• [Assigning tables to groups in RoomRadar](/guides/setup/assign-tables-to-groups)
• [Reconnecting a device without losing the discussion](/guides/setup/reconnecting-a-disconnected-device)