Recommended settings for Home Office Zoom Rooms

A Zoom Room device optimized for a single user in a work from home environment is considered a Home Office Zoom Room (HZR) and has specific recommended settings. Certain settings, like creating a scheduling display, are not applicable to a HZR setup. Others, like nightly audio tests, are not recommended. If there is no mention of a specific setting on this page, then using the default is recommended.  

This article covers:

• Pre-setup Checklist
• How to setup a calendar
• How to add a new Zoom Room
• How to configure the recommended settings
  • Home Office Zoom Rooms in a business environment

Prerequisites

• Zoom Rooms license
• Administrator privileges
• Zoom Room devices

Pre-setup Checklist

• The Zoom Rooms administrator should create a process that allows home users to request their favorite contacts be added to their Home Office Zoom Rooms.
• The Zoom Rooms administrator should discuss the bandwidth availability of home workers to determine if their devices can support the minimum system requirements and/or the requirements for the group HD setting. 
• If it is necessary for home users to see the settings of their Home Office Zoom Rooms on the web, then they will need to be granted view only access to Zoom Rooms settings.
  Note: View only access will allow these users to see all Zoom Room settings.

How to setup a calendar

• If Google calendar is in use, the Zoom Rooms admin will need a Google Workspace account with the ability to create a calendar, or access to the existing Google Workspace account that manages the existing Zoom Room calendars for the organization. The ability to subscribe to calendars is also necessary.
• There are two calendar setup options for administrators:
  1. Sign-in to the calendar service that the Zoom Rooms on your account are currently using and subscribe to the home worker's calendar. If you still need to setup a calendar service for Zoom Rooms on your account, follow these instructions. 
  2. Create a new calendar service and subscribe to the home worker's calendar. Use this separate calendar service for all Home Office Zoom Room users. 

How to add a new Zoom Room

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator and click Room Management, then click Zoom Rooms. 
2. Click Add Room. It is best to enter the name of the home worker as the room name, for example "Jeff's Zoom Room". 
3. Add a calendar (Optional).
4. Set the room type to Zoom Room.
5. Select a location and click Finish.

After performing the setup, send the home user the information that was personalized as part of the setup process:

• The activation code for the user
• Room passcode
• Room personal link
• Host key
• Room meeting ID password (if enabled) 

How to configure the recommended settings

Locate the newly created Zoom Room on the Room Management page in the web portal and click Edit. Make the following recommended changes for a Home Office Zoom Room. If a setting is not listed below, then keep the default. 

• Rooms Profile tab
  • Rooms Profile - Basic
  • Avatar: Add a user profile picture if you have one.
  • Room name: Default to user name and add “Room”.
  • Calendar: See calendar setup above. 
  • Room Passcode: Create something unique for the user (for example, the last 4 digits of his phone number).
  • Hide Room in Contacts: Set to On. 
  • Rooms Profile - Setup
  • Room Personal Link: Set this string to something all lowercase that’s easy to remember (for example, johnsmithpzr).
  • Host Key: Create something that is unique to the user.
  • Default Call in Country/Region: Set this to the country where user’s device will be located.
  • Rooms Profile - Room Location
  • Edit the location here if you need to make changes.
  • Rooms Profile - Phone Integration
  • For Zoom Phone: Click Phone System Management then click Users and Rooms. Next click the Zoom Rooms tab, then click Add. Choose the site. Choose the Home Office zoom room name you created.
  • Rooms Profile - Devices
    Keep the defaults.
  • Rooms Profile - Control System API
    Keep the defaults.
  • Rooms Profile - Device Management
    Keep the defaults.

• Meeting tab
  • Meeting - Zoom Rooms
  • Display Meetings on TV: This may be considered personal data. Ask the home user where they intend to put the device. If it is a high-traffic area (where people passing by might be able to see the schedule) then consider turning this setting Off. Alternatively, the Zoom Room admin can set Transform all meetings to private to On (see below).
  • Automatically accept incoming call and far end camera control: Set this to Off for personal locations.
  • Lock speaker volume control on controller: Off
  • Automatic direct sharing using ultrasonic proximity signal: The recommended setting is Off if you will be placing the device in an area frequented by young children or dogs who may be sensitive to an ultrasonic signal
  • Automatic start scheduled meetings: Off
  • Automatic stop scheduled meetings: Off
  • Audio Device Daily Auto Testing: Off
  • Encrypt direct share content: On
  • Show call history in Zoom Rooms: On
  • Show contact list on controller: On
  • Count the number of attendees in a Zoom Room: The recommended setting is Off if your device is in a location where family members or other individuals might be visible in the background.
  • Meeting - Schedule Meeting
  • Use RMI when starting an instant meeting: Off
  • Require a password when scheduling new meetings: On
  • Require a password for instant meetings: On
  • Require a password for Room Meeting ID (Applicable for Zoom Rooms only): On
  • Generate a unique password for the user. Write down the password that generated so it can be given to the home user.
  • Meeting - In Meeting (Basic)
  • Enable chat notifications on TV: On
  • Group HD Video: Verify that the user’s at-home network can support the system requirements for HD video.
  • Annotation: On
  • Meeting - In Meeting (Advanced)
  • Breakout Rooms: Off
  • Far end camera control: Off
  • Waiting Room: On
  • Meeting - Recording
    Keep the defaults.
  • Meeting - Security
    Keep the defaults.
  • Meeting - 3rd Party Audio Conferencing
    Keep the defaults.

•  
• Display tab
  Keep the defaults.

• Alert tab
  Generally speaking, in a home environment there is a greater chance of devices going on and off, or bandwidth issues occurring. There several alerts that could become a nuisance for home users if these are common issues. 

• Digital Signage tab
  It is recommend that the defaults be kept.

• Schedule Display tab
  It is recommend that all these settings be turned off for home users. See below if the Home Office Zoom Room is setup in a business environment.

Home Office Zoom Rooms in a business environment

It is recommend that these be configured as you would a common area Zoom Room so users can determine whether the room is busy or not. 

• Schedule Display tab
  • Instant Room Reservation: Off
  • All to reserve other rooms: Off
  • Background Image: Use an image of the person that the Home Office Zoom Room belongs to. If that is not available, choose Set to the same image as Zoom Room background.
  • LED Enclosure Integration: Set to the company default.