Replacing a participant phone during a session

This guide shows how to replace a participant phone during a live session without stalling the table. Use it when a device dies, loses audio, or becomes unstable and reconnecting is not enough.

For advanced handoffs with stricter continuity requirements, see [Microphone replacement without data loss](/guides/advanced/microphone-replacement-without-data-loss).

Quick path

1. Bring in the replacement phone and open the same session.
2. Confirm microphone permission before the swap.
3. Disconnect the old phone and connect the replacement to the correct group.
4. Confirm new text appears within about 30-60 seconds.
5. Ask the table to restate the latest decision in one sentence.

Prepare the spare phone before anything fails

Swaps are much cleaner when the spare phone is already charged, network-ready, and permission-ready. This usually saves multiple minutes in the middle of a workshop.

Set a clear team role split: who brings the replacement, who talks to the table, and who verifies transcript return.

Live swap sequence in the room

Keep facilitator language short so table momentum stays intact:

• "We are swapping phones now, please keep discussing."
• perform the swap
• "You are back, can you restate your latest point?"

If the replacement phone does not stabilize quickly, run [Fixing microphone permissions on iOS and Android](/guides/setup/microphone-permissions-ios-android) and then [Reconnecting a disconnected device](/guides/setup/reconnecting-a-disconnected-device).

Common issues after replacement

Most common: wrong group assignment, where text flows to another table. Second most common: the old phone is still active, creating dual input. Both are quick to fix if you verify group and active source immediately.

If duplicate summaries appear after the swap, follow [Preventing duplicate summaries](/guides/advanced/preventing-duplicate-summaries).

When to reconnect instead of replacing

Do not replace by default. Reconnecting is faster when the device is otherwise stable. Replace when:

• battery is critically low or device is physically damaged
• permissions cannot be restored quickly
• the same device has repeated drops in the same session

Related guides

• [Reconnecting a disconnected device](/guides/setup/reconnecting-a-disconnected-device)
• [Fixing microphone permissions on iOS and Android](/guides/setup/microphone-permissions-ios-android)
• [Microphone replacement without data loss](/guides/advanced/microphone-replacement-without-data-loss)
• [Preventing duplicate summaries](/guides/advanced/preventing-duplicate-summaries)
• [Testing audio before a workshop](/guides/setup/test-audio-before-workshop)