Prejoin

Prejoin, short for the pre-join experience, is a feature in many video conferencing and collaboration platforms that lets participants prepare before entering a live meeting. The goal is to verify device compatibility, adjust settings, and confirm meeting details without immediately joining the discussion.

During prejoin, users who click a meeting link are shown a preview screen where they can select audio and video devices, test speakers and microphones, and mute the microphone by default. They may also enable or disable camera, choose a preferred layout or background effects, and review meeting information such as the title and participant list. Some platforms provide bandwidth indicators, latency estimates, and quality checks to help troubleshoot connections before joining.

Security and privacy considerations are common in prejoin. In many systems, participants in prejoin may be placed in a waiting lobby or must be admitted by a host before entering the main meeting. The prejoin screen often displays limited information about other attendees to protect privacy, and some options may be restricted until entry is granted.

Platform implementations vary. Microsoft Teams uses a dedicated pre-join experience on desktop and mobile clients, Zoom offers similar checks in its join flow, and other services may provide different device tests or privacy controls. While prejoin can improve preparedness and reduce disruptions, its availability is not universal, and some settings may depend on account type or administrative controls.