Using Zoom Phone multi-party conferencing calls

Zoom Phone multi-party conference calls allow up to ten participants to join the same phone call simultaneously. Participants can be added to a conference via an extension, a phone number, a search in the contact list, or by merging a call that is on hold. By default the main company caller ID is used when generating a conference call, however the initiator can decide the caller ID to be used.

Zoom Phone users can merge participants from two multi-party conferences (MPC) into a single conference. Instead of dialing and merging each person individually, you can merge an entire multi-party call into one conference call.

Learn more about using Zoom Phone conference calls and using no-hold conference and DTMF for multi-party calls.

Note: The multi-party conferencing feature will be rolled out across accounts over time.

Requirements for using Zoom Phone multi-party conference call

Limitations of multi-party conference calls

Multi-party conference (MPC) calls have the following limitations:

Table of Contents

Roles and permissions in multi-party calls

Host (originator)

The host is the person who started the conference call or performed the merge to add the third participant to a 1:1 call. The host's permissions include:

Cohost

The co-host is the delegate who joins using the host's DID (Direct Inward Dialing) number. The co-host has the same permissions as the host.

Multi-party call information

Multi-party conferencing calls have the following functionalities:

How to use multi-party conference calls

Windows | macOS | Linux
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. Make a phone call to add other contacts.
  3. Merge callers in the following ways:
    • Use the keypad screen:
      1. On the keypad screen, to the right of the call number you want to merge, click the Merge button .
        A menu will appear.
      2. In the menu, select callers to merge, then select from the following options:
        • Merge and hold: The caller will join the conference call on hold.
        • Merge: The caller will join the conference call and will not be on hold.
    • Use the Lines menu:
      1. On the left side of your screen, click the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      2. To the right of the conference call or local call you want to merge, click the Merge button .
        A menu will appear.
      3. In the menu, select callers to merge into the call, then select from the following options:
        • Merge and hold: The caller(s) will join the conference call on hold.
        • Merge: The caller(s) will join the conference call and will not be on hold.
Android | iOS
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. Make a phone call to add other contacts.
  3. Merge callers in the following ways:
    • Use the keypad screen:
      1. On the keypad screen, to the right of the call number you want to merge, tap the Merge button .
      2. In the menu, select callers to merge, then select from the following options:
        • Merge and hold: The callers will join the conference call on hold.
        • Merge: The callers will join the conference call and will not be on hold.
    • Use the Lines menu:
      1. In the top-left corner of the keypad screen, tap the down arrow to minimize the keypad screen.
      2. At the top of the screen, tap the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      3. To the right of a caller you want to merge into your conference call, tap the Merge button .
        A menu will appear.
      4. In the menu, select callers to merge into the call, then select from the following options:
        • Merge and hold: The caller(s) will join the conference call on hold.
        • Merge: The caller(s) will join the conference call and will not be on hold.

How to put participants on hold in multi-party conference calls

The conference host and co-host of a multi-party call can temporarily put one or all participants on hold. The host can toggle participants between being held or unheld. When a participant is on hold, they only hear the hold music (set at the account level) and cannot hear the main call. This enables hosts to have private conversations within a multi-party call. Hosts have options to start calls with all held, hold all at once, unhold all at once, hold individuals, and unhold individuals.

Put an individual participant on hold or off hold

Windows | macOS | Linux
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. Put an individual participant on hold or off hold in the following ways:
    • Use the Conference Call menu:
      1. To the right of Conference Call, click the down arrow .
        The list of users will appear.
      2. In the list, to the right of an individual user's name, click the Hold icon to put only that user on hold.
      3. Access the user list again and click the Unhold icon to put the user off hold.
    • Use the Lines menu:
      1. On the left side of your screen, click the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      2. To the right of Conference Call, click the ellipsis .
        A pop-up list of all the callers will appear.
      3. In the list, to the right of an individual user's name, click the Hold icon to put only that user on hold.
      4. Access the caller list again and click the Unhold icon to put the user off hold.
Android | iOS
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. Put an individual participant on hold or off hold in the following ways:
    • Use the Conference Call menu:
      1. To the right of Conference Call, tap the ellipsis .
        The list of users will appear.
      2. In the list, to the right of an individual user's name, tap the Hold icon to put only that user on hold.
      3. Access the user list again and tap the Unhold icon to put the user off hold.
    • Use the Lines menu:
      1. In the top-left corner of the keypad screen, tap the down arrow to minimize the keypad screen.
      2. At the top of the screen, tap the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      3. To the right of Conference call, tap the ellipsis .
        The caller list will appear.
      4. In the caller list, to the right of an individual user's name, tap the Hold icon to put only that user on hold.
      5. Access the caller list again and tap the Unhold icon to put the user off hold.

Put all participants on hold or off hold

Windows | macOS | Linux
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. Put all participants on hold or off hold in the following ways:
    • Use the Conference Call menu:
      1. To the right of Conference Call, click the down arrow .
        The list of users will appear.
      2. At the bottom of the list, click Put all callers on hold.
        All callers will be placed on hold.
      3. After holding all participants, click the access the user list again and click Put all callers unhold.
        All callers will be off hold.
    • Use the List menu:
      1. On the left side of your screen, click the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      2. To the right of Conference Call, click the ellipsis .
        A pop-up list of all the callers will appear.
      3. In the list, click Hold all to put all participants on hold.
        All callers will be on hold.
      4. After holding all participants, access the caller list again and click Unhold all.
        All callers will be off hold.
Android | iOS
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. Put all participants on hold or off hold in the following ways:
    • Use the Conference Call menu:
      1. To the right of Conference Call, tap the ellipsis .
        The list of users will appear.
      2. At the bottom of the list, click Put all callers on hold.
        All callers will be placed on hold.
      3. After holding all participants, click the access the user list again and click Put all callers unhold.
        All callers will be off hold.
    • Use the Lines menu:
      1. In the top-left corner of the keypad screen, tap the down arrow to minimize the keypad screen.
      2. At the top of the screen, tap the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      3. To the right of Conference call, tap the ellipsis .
        The caller list will appear.
      4. At the top of the caller list, tap Put all callers on hold.
        All callers will be placed on hold.
      5. In the Lines tab, access the caller list again and tap Put all callers unhold.
        All callers will be off hold.

How to merge and hold callers in a multi-party conference call

Users can merge two multi-party calls into one conference with a single action. When merging calls, users can choose to place the call being merged on hold or keep it active. The number of multi-party calls a user can create is limited by the number of lines their Zoom app can display. They can also merge calls where they are a host or co-host without being in either call, as long as they are a delegate of the host of both calls. When merging calls, the host and co-host roles are accumulated. The user who initiates the merge becomes a co-host. Users are prevented from merging more participants than the capacity allows.

Windows | macOS | Linux
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. While on the phone call, on the keypad, click Add call .
  3. Enter the name or number of the person you want to add to the phone call, then click the blue phone icon.
    When the caller picks up, their number will be displayed on the keypad screen and under the Lines menu.
  4. Merge a caller and put them on hold in the following ways:
    • Use the keypad screen:
      1. On the keypad screen, to the right of the number you just called, click the Merge and hold button .
        The caller will join the conference call on hold.
    • Use the Lines menu:
      1. On the left side of your screen, click the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      2. To the right of a caller you want to merge into your conference call, click the Merge and hold button .
        The caller will join the conference call on hold.
Android | iOS
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. While on the phone call, on the keypad, tap Add call .
  3. Enter the name or number of the person you want to add to the phone call, then tap the blue phone icon.
    When the caller picks up, their number will be displayed on the keypad screen.
  4. Merge a caller and put them on hold in the following ways:
    • Use the keypad screen:
      1. On the keypad screen, to the right of the number you just called, tap the Merge and hold button .
        The caller will join the conference call on hold.
    • Use the Lines menu:
      1. In the top-left corner of the keypad screen, tap the down arrow to minimize the keypad screen.
      2. At the top of the screen, tap the Lines tab.
        The list of callers and the conference call will be displayed.
      3. To the right of a caller you want to merge into your conference call, tap the Merge and hold button .
        The caller will join the conference call on hold.

How to transfer calls during a multi-party conference call

The Transfer feature is supported for conference calls with up to 10 participants. All participants, including the host (originator), can initiate transfers.

Windows | macOS | Linux
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. While on the phone call, on the keypad, click Transfer .
  3. Follow one of these steps to locate or dial a phone number to transfer to:
    • Number pad: Dial a number to transfer to.
    • Search contacts: Enter a name to search your internal, external, and synced contacts.
    • Starred contacts: Click the ellipsis then click Transfer to Starred. Hover over the contact and click the phone icon to call them.
  4. Click the blue transfer button, then select the transfer method that you want:
    • Warm Transfer: Speak to the new user before transferring.
    • Direct Transfer: Transfer without speaking to the new user.
  5. Click Complete transfer.
Android | iOS
  1. Make a conference call.
  2. While on the phone call, on the keypad, tap Transfer .
  3. Dial a number or tap the contact icon to search your starred, internal, external, phone contacts. Tap on a contact to call them.
  4. Tap the blue transfer button and select a transfer method:
    • Warm Transfer: Speak to the new user before transferring.
    • Direct Transfer: Transfer without speaking to the new user.
  5. Tap Complete transfer.