Overview
Nearly every “the scribe didn’t join our Zoom call” report traces back to one of a small set of causes. This page walks through them in the order you should check. For the full Meeting Scribe reference (limitations, retention, subprocessors), see Rootly AI Meeting Scribe.The Bot Never Joins the Meeting
Auto-join isn’t enabled
The single most common cause. Without Auto-join bot on, someone has to manually admit the scribe from Zoom’s participant list on every call. Fix: In Rootly, go to Integrations → Zoom and toggle Auto-join bot on.The Zoom account doesn’t have permission to bypass the waiting room
Rootly’s Auto-join relies on Zoom’s “bypass waiting room” feature. Some Zoom account tiers or admin configurations don’t allow it. Fix: Ask your Zoom admin to confirm your account supports bypass tokens (typically Business, Education, and Enterprise plans). If it doesn’t, either upgrade the plan or leave Auto-join off and admit the scribe manually — the fallback still works, it just needs a human.The meeting URL isn’t attached to the incident
The scribe joins the meeting URL attached to the incident. If a personal-meeting-room link is being used and it hasn’t been attached, the scribe doesn’t know about it. Fix: Either use the Rootly-generated meeting link pinned in the incident’s Slack channel (works automatically), or attach the URL you’re using via Updating incident integration links.The bot is in the waiting room and no one admitted it in time
The scribe waits 10 minutes in a Zoom waiting room. If no one admits it, it disconnects. Fix: Reinvite the bot from the Meeting tab on the incident and admit it promptly. Prevention: enable Auto-join.The Bot Joined but Left Early
Nobody-joined timeout (5 minutes)
If the bot enters the meeting but no other participants show up within 5 minutes, it leaves. Fix: Start the meeting on your side first, then reinvite the bot. Alternatively, invite the bot after your team is already on the call.The host removed the bot
Zoom hosts can eject any participant, including the scribe. If a host removed it (intentionally or by accident), the bot leaves and does not auto-rejoin. Fix: Reinvite from the Meeting tab. Consider giving your team a heads-up that the scribe should stay.Network / Zoom-side disconnect
Rare, but the bot can be disconnected by Zoom for reasons outside Rootly’s control (network blip, Zoom service issue, plan-level restriction changing mid-call). Fix: Reinvite. If it happens repeatedly across incidents, check Zoom’s status page and open a support ticket with Rootly if the issue is inside Rootly.Transcript or Summary Missing
Post-meeting processing is still running
Transcripts and Rootly AI meeting summaries are generated after the meeting ends. Processing typically completes within a few minutes. Fix: Wait ~5–10 minutes and refresh the Meeting tab.The bot never actually recorded
If the recording icon didn’t appear in-meeting, the bot was likely in a waiting room the whole time or was removed early. Fix: Check the incident timeline for a “Recording started” event. If it isn’t there, the bot didn’t record. Reinvite for the next session.Recording was paused and not resumed
The Meeting Scribe supports pausing mid-call (useful for sensitive topics). If it was paused and no one resumed, that segment isn’t captured. Fix: Check the recording session status in the Meeting tab. Resume any paused session.Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Auto-join and manual admission?
What's the difference between Auto-join and manual admission?
With Auto-join on, Rootly uses a Zoom bypass token so the scribe skips the waiting room. Without it, the bot enters the waiting room like any external participant and needs a host or co-host to admit it. Auto-join is the recommended setup for reliable incident bridge coverage.
Does Auto-join work for external / cross-account meetings?
Does Auto-join work for external / cross-account meetings?
Auto-join works for meetings hosted on your own connected Zoom account. If your team joins someone else’s Zoom meeting (an external partner, a vendor call), the scribe would need that host to admit it — Auto-join tokens don’t carry across Zoom accounts.
Can I test the scribe outside of an incident?
Can I test the scribe outside of an incident?
Yes — declare a test incident (
/rootly test in Slack) and the scribe will join the resulting bridge just like a real one. Test incidents are excluded from production metrics.The scribe joined but appears twice in the Meeting tab
The scribe joined but appears twice in the Meeting tab
Each time the bot joins or rejoins is a new recording session. Up to 10 sessions per platform per incident. Both sessions are valid — the transcripts and recordings are attached chronologically.
Related Pages
Rootly AI Meeting Scribe
Full Meeting Scribe reference — limitations, retention, subprocessors, security.
Zoom Overview
Everything the Zoom integration does beyond the scribe.
Zoom Installation
Connect your Zoom account to Rootly via OAuth.
Google Meet Troubleshooting
The equivalent page for Google Meet — different failure modes, different fixes.