Choose Which Zoom Breakout Room to Join / Move Between Rooms

Environment

U-M Zoom

Issue

How do I as a participant in a Zoom meeting choose which breakout room to join and move freely between rooms?

Resolution

IMPORTANT: All people in the meeting MUST be using the Zoom desktop (Mac, PC, Linux, or ChromeOS) or mobile (Android or iOS) client application version of 5.3.0 or later to be able to use the self-join breakout rooms feature. If any members of the meeting (host, co-hosts, and/or participants) cannot use this feature, see Additional Information below for troubleshooting steps.

The ability for participants to choose which breakout room to join requires that the host of the meeting has set up the breakout rooms to allow participants to choose their room. To learn how to set this up as a host, refer to Allow Participants in a Zoom Meeting to Select Which Breakout Rooms to Join / Move Between Rooms.

  1. Once the host has opened the breakout rooms, click Breakout Rooms on the meeting control ribbon
    NOTE: for users on mobile, Breakout Rooms will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. If you do not see it, touch the screen to show the controls.
    NOTE: if you do not see Breakout Rooms in the described location, you may need to update your Zoom app to use this feature. See Additional Information below.
     
  2. A window will show each room and how many participants are already in each room
    List of breakout rooms with number of participants in each room
     
  3. Click on the room you want to join, then click Join
    List of breakout rooms with Room 1 selected and showing a Join button
     
  4. In the confirmation pop-up, click Yes to join the breakout room
    Confirmation popup--Join Room 1? Yes or no

Move to Another Breakout Room From Within a Breakout Room

  1. Click Breakout Rooms in the meeting control ribbon
  2. Click Choose Breakout Room
    Participant options from within a breakout room: Choose Breakout Room, Ask for Help
     
  3. Select a new breakout room to join, then click Join

Move to Another Breakout Room From the Main Session

  1. Click Breakout Rooms in the meeting control ribbon
     
  2. You will see a pop-up that says, "The host is inviting you to join Breakout Room: [room you already joined]." The options are "Later" or "Join Breakout Room". To join a different breakout room, click Later.
    The host is inviting you to join Breakout Room: Room 1. Later or Join Breakout Room.
     
  3. Select a new breakout room to join, then click Join

Additional Information

The most common issue is that you are using a Zoom client application that is too old. If this is the case, you may experience one of the following issues:

  • You do not see the Breakout Rooms option in your meeting control ribbon once the host has opened breakout rooms
  • You do not see the option to Choose Breakout Room when you click Breakout Rooms in the meeting control ribbon while inside of a breakout room

To check which client application version you are using, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Zoom application on your computer or mobile device to bring up the app
  2. Click your avatar in the upper right (sign in if you don't see your avatar)
  3. Click Help and then About Zoom
  4. If the version shown is NOT version 5.3.0 or newer, you need to update your Zoom desktop client application before you can use this feature

To update your client, refer to Update the Zoom app on a computer or mobile device

 

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