---
title: "The waiting room"
description: "What attendees see and can do between opening their join link and the start of the session."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.meetfullhouse.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The waiting room

This page describes the waiting room from the attendee's side, so you can answer their questions and know what to test. To change what's in it, see [Waiting room](/webinars/waiting-room) in the webinar setup.

## How people get there

Each registrant has a personal join link, in their [confirmation and reminder emails](/attendees/emails-unsubscribe) and on the [thank-you page](/attendees/thank-you). Opening it before the start time shows the waiting room. There's no earliest time, so someone can sit there for days, and there's no separate step to enter.

The link is theirs alone. It identifies them, so they don't log in, and it stays the same if they switch sessions.

## What they see

**On a computer**, the lobby fills the window:

- Your brand, and a line such as "**32** people are waiting with you", if the [counter](/webinars/waiting-room#show-how-many-people-are-waiting) is on.
- The eyebrow, length and presenter, such as "Free live training · 45 minutes · with Maya Chen".
- The webinar title.
- A large countdown, with "At 4:00 PM BST. Keep this tab open and it starts on its own."
- The sound button.
- Cards on the right for the presenter, your **Before we start** note and **What you'll learn**.
- "Registered as *(their email)*" in the footer.

**On a phone**, it looks like a ticket:

- A **Your seat** card with the title, presenter and length.
- The countdown, the start time and their time zone, and a progress bar measured from when they opened the page.
- A wide **Tap to turn on sound** button.
- "Keep this page open. It starts here by itself."
- **You'll learn**, lower down.

The countdown shows days and hours beyond 24 hours (`2d 4h`), then `1:23:45`, then `12:05`. Times use the attendee's own time zone. The countdown follows FullHouse's clock, so a wrong clock on their device doesn't change when the session starts.

The attendee can't chat or ask questions from the waiting room. Those start with the session.

## Turning on sound

Browsers block video from playing with sound unless the person has interacted with the page. This is why the lobby asks for one tap.

- Choosing **Turn on sound** or **Tap to turn on sound**, or clicking or pressing a key anywhere on the page, prepares the player.
- The button becomes "Sound is on. You're all set."
- On a computer, until then it says "Your browser needs one tap before the video can play with sound."

If someone doesn't tap, the session still starts, usually muted, with a **Tap for sound** button on the video. See [The live room](/attendees/live-room#sound).

## The last 30 seconds

For the final 30 seconds, the lobby builds up to the start. On a computer the countdown changes to your brand colour. On a phone the ticket flips to a dark card with a large countdown, the **Your seat** line adds the start time, and your note replaces the "Keep this page open" line.

At zero it says "Here we go", and the video starts in the same page. It doesn't reload, so nobody has to click anything. The video has been loading in the background, so it starts quickly.

## Switching to a later session

If a later session is available, the attendee sees "Need a bit longer? Switch to 4:30 PM", at the bottom of the phone view or in the footer on a computer. One click moves them to the next available time, with "Moving you…" while it happens, and reloads the lobby. Their link stays the same, and they see "Your session has been changed. Your personal join link stays the same."

This isn't offered if there's no later session, if the webinar is part of a [challenge](/challenges), or if they've already attended.

## If something's wrong

| What the attendee sees | Why | What they can do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **This session was canceled** | You canceled the session in [Sessions](/run/sessions). | Choose **See upcoming times** to pick a new one. In a challenge, the button goes back to their hub. |
| An invalid link page | The link is mistyped or incomplete, or the registrant no longer exists. | Open it again from the email, or register again. |

Questions you may get:

- **"Do I need to install anything?"** No. Any current browser on a computer or phone will do.
- **"Can I leave and come back?"** Yes. The link works any time. They only need to keep the page open for it to start by itself.
- **"I don't see a Turn on sound button."** Their sound is already set: the button shows "Sound is on" after the first tap anywhere on the page.

Next: [The live room](/attendees/live-room).

Source: https://docs.meetfullhouse.com/attendees/waiting-room/index.mdx