How to Use Facebook Messenger Rooms for Video Conferencing

Facebook rolls out its own video conferencing platform through the Messenger app, named Messenger Rooms. The Rooms from facebook rivals the Zoom video app, in the light of the security concerns raised by the tech community against Zoom. Now, with the Messenger Rooms, you can make video conferencing with up to 50 participants at the same time. If you are unaware of the Messenger Rooms video conferencing feature, we will walk you through it.

In this guide, we will break down and show all the features and tutorials on Messenger Rooms, one of the best Zoom alternatives.

Content

1. What is Facebook Messenger Rooms?
2. How to Create Messenger Room from iPhone?
3. Create Messenger Room for Video Conferencing Using Android
4. How to Create a Messenger Room and Invite People Using PC or Mac?
5. How to Join a Messenger Room without Using Facebook Account?
6. How to Lock A Room and Block Others from Joining?
7. How to Schedule A Meeting in Messenger Rooms?
8. How to Share Screen in A Messenger Room Meeting?
9. Remove People From Messenger Room
10. How to End A Messenger Room?

What is Facebook Messenger Rooms

The Facebook Messenger Room, at a glance, is an extended version of the standard video chat on the Messenger app with your friends and contacts. Instead, you can host a conference and let anyone else join the room. The Zoom alternative from Facebook allows you to add up to 50 participants at the same time. It even comes with the standard video conferencing features including screen sharing, restricting users, and more.

You can get the Facebook Messenger Rooms right on the Messenger app on your smartphone. Therefore, you do not need to install any extra apps on your smartphone. This means, your favorite social media app becomes your platform for video conference at work.

How to Create Messenger Room from iPhone

Are you using an iPhone to text your friends on Facebook? You probably must have already gotten the Messenger Rooms to feature integrated to the Messenger app. If you think you have not, check for updates in the App Store and follow the steps below to create a Messenger Room from your iPhone.

1. Open the Messenger app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Go to the People tab from the bottom navigation bar.
3. Tap the “Create a Room” option from the screen.
4. Tap “Try It” from the next window, if you are new to the Messenger Rooms.
   
5. Tap on the “Share Link” button to get the link to the Messenger Room you just created.
6. You can share it with friends and wait until others join the room.

After sharing the link to your Messenger Room you can either stay on the same screen or leave the app. Both ways, you will be notified once others are in. However, unlike Zoom and Google Meet, there is no option to check whether you have an active or ongoing Messenger Room meeting.

Create Messenger Room for Video Conferencing Using Android

The methods for creating a messenger room on Android and iOS are pretty much the same since both have similar designs. However, you might not find the option to create a Messenger Room on your app. This is because you have an outdated app. You can update the Messenger app to the latest version to get the feature. If you still are missing out, try getting the Messenger Beta version.

Whether the Messenger app on your Android smartphone supports creating Messenger Room or not, you still can join other Rooms and have video conferences from your smartphone. Here is how you can create a new Messenger Room from your Android smartphone.

1. Open Messenger app and go the People tab from your Android smartphone.
2. Tap “Create a Room.”
3. Share your room link from the next window.

You can still leave the app and join back the room when others start to join.

How to Create a Messenger Room and Invite People Using PC or Mac?

As a Zoom alternative, you must be looking for PC support for a wide range of usage. Also, video conferencing makes sense only when it is accessible through a PC browser or App. Luckily, with the Facebook messenger on the web, you can still create rooms and join other rooms using the web browser on your Windows PC or Mac. Here is how to create a Messenger Room and invite people from your PC and Mac.

1. Visit Messenger from your web browser and sign in using your Facebook account.
2. Click on the “New Room” button from the top-left edge of the page.
   
3. From the popup window, join the room as yourself (using your Facebook ID).
4. Grant permissions to use the camera and microphone from the browser window prompt.
   
5. When the conference window appears, click on the “People” button from the bottom.
6. Click on the “Copy” button against the link from the popup menu.
   
7. Share the link with whoever you want to join the Messenger Room.
8. Whoever has the link can directly participate in your Messenger Room.

You can carry out the Messenger Room group call using the same window, or move to your smartphone easily.

How to Join a Messenger Room without Using Facebook Account

As a Zoom alternative platform from Facebook, we have expected a Facebook-user-only policy in order to join the messenger rooms. However, the Messenger Room does not actually require you to have a Facebook account to join meeting rooms. The default configuration of a Messenger Room allows participants to join the room without even providing any personal information. You can either use your Facebook account or just join from a private window simply by providing your name.

In case you want anyone with the link to join your Messenger Room without even having a Facebook account, you can configure it while creating the room on your smartphone. Here is how to restrict who can join the room while creating one on Android or iOS.

1. Create a Messenger Room from the messenger app o your smartphone.
2. From the share window, tap the option “Who can join.”
3. In case you want anyone with the link to join the meeting, choose “People with the link.”
4. Otherwise, you can choose “Only people on Facebook” for more security and avoid unauthorized entry to the meeting.

If you are creating your room from the web browser, you cannot control who can join even after starting the video conference. Although, you can see all the participants and remove unwanted members if you want. Therefore, we recommend you create the room from the messenger app on your smartphone if you want to restrict non-facebook users from joining.

How to Lock A Room and Block Others from Joining?

The Messenger Rooms by Facebook does not allow you to set the maximum o=number of participants who can join the room. Therefore, up to 50 people can join until the meeting is over, and there is nothing you can do about it. As a solution, the Messenger Rooms platform has a lock option. Thus, you can lock the Room when you think there are enough participants. Further from locking, no one else can join through the link you shared. To keep allowing, you can disable the lock for the room and relock if you want.

Below are the steps that take to lock a room from your iPhone.

1. Go to the room window when the conference is going on.
2. Tap on the people button from the bottom of the screen.
3. Toggle on “Lock Room” from the popup menu window.

Follow the below steps if you are on Android, in order to lock the messenger room.

1. Open the Messenger Room window.
2. Swipe up the menu bar from the bottom.
3. Toggle on “Lock Room” to prevent anyone else from joining the room.

Additionally, check out how to lock your Messenger Room using the web browser on your Mac or PC.

1. From the Messenger Room window, click on the people icon at the bottom.
2. Click to enable “Lock Room” from the popup menu.
   
3. Confirm to lock your room.
4. You can disable the lock from the same window.

Once you lock your Messenger Room, no one else will be able to join the room even if you invite them. You need to disable the lock in order to let others in.

How to Schedule A Meeting in Messenger Rooms?

One of the best things with the popular video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet is the scheduling facility. When it comes to the Messenger Rooms, there is no facility to schedule your meetings and video conferences.

Do not worry if you were too excited to start using the Messenger Rooms for your next video conference. You can still create a room in advance, share the link with others, and join back whenever everyone starts to join in. There is no schedule, you can create, and anyone can join whenever they want.

Here is how to create a messenger room and schedule the meeting.

1. Create a room from your Messenger app.
2. Copy the link for your room and share it with your friends to join later.
3. Tap the “X” button on the top right corner.
4. Choose “Leave” from the popup window.
5. You will receive a Messenger call to join the Messenger Room of yours when anyone else enters.

If you are on PC or Mac, simply close the window after sharing the link. You can join back, whenever you want, using the link you shared.

How to Share Screen in A Messenger Room Meeting?

Interestingly, you can share your screen and display presentations if you are in a business meeting using the Facebook Messenger Rooms. Again, this feature adds up to the merits of the platform as a Zoom alternative. The screen share option is available on iOS, Android, and PC versions.

Here is how to share your screen using Messenger Rooms from PC or Mac.

1. Start or join a Messenger Room from your web browser.
2. Click on the “Share your screen” button from the screen.
   
3. Choose the window, tab, or the entire screen you want to share with the Messenger Room participants.
4. You can click the “Stop Sharing” button on the floating bar at the bottom of your screen to stop screen sharing.

Apart from sharing your PC screen, it is also possible to cast your Android smartphone’s screen. Here is how to share the screen on Messenger Rooms using Android.

1. From the Messenger Room conference window, pull up the menu window.
2. Tap “Share Your Screen.”
3. Confirm by tapping “Start Now” from the next window to start sharing your screen.
   
4. Tap the “Stop” button on the screen to stop sharing your Android’s screen.

If you are using an iPhone and want to share the screen to make a presentation, you can follow the below steps.

1. From the Messenger Room meeting window, tap on the screen sharing button on top of the screen.
2. Tap “Start Broadcast” from the popup menu.
3. You can tap “Stop” from the room window to stop screen sharing.

Remove People From Messenger Room

You can have complete control over the room you created on Messenger. Therefore, it is possible to remove participants as you wish. Here is how to remove people from the Messenger Room on iPhone.

1. Tap on the participants’ button from the room screen on Messenger.
2. Tap the “Remove” button against the participant who you want to remove.

If you are on Android, follow the below steps to remove participants from Messenger Room.

1. Swipe up the menu bar window from the room screen.
2. Tap “See Members.”
3. Remove the participant you do not want any more in the messenger room.

Are you on Windows PC or Mac? Check out how to remove a participant from MEsenger Rooms on the web.

1. Click on the People/Participants button from the room window.
2. Remove the participants directly from the popup menu.

How to End A Messenger Room?

If you have joined a room created by someone else, you cal leave whenever you want, however, you should delete or end the room you created to block the reusing of the link you shared.

Whether you are on Android, iOS, or web, you can find the option to end the room in the form of a hang-up button on the main window or the “End room” option from the participant window as follows.

• On iPhone, tap People button > End Room to delete a Messenger Room you created.
• On Android, tap on the Hang-up button on your screen to end the messenger room.
• You can use the hang-up button on the Messenger Room web to end a room.

Now you know how to master the Messenger Room to make conference calls with your friends and colleagues easily. Did we miss any key features of Messenger Rooms? Feel free to comment them down below.

Also, have a look at a list of top zoom alternatives you can use for video conferencing today.