# Troubleshooting: Zoom Settings Blocking the Conversations Bot

If the Lusha Conversations bot fails to join a Zoom meeting, the most common cause is a Zoom setting that rejects unauthenticated guests — not a bug in the bot's join code. The bot joins as an anonymous SDK participant and cannot sign in through a Zoom account, so any setting that blocks unsigned-in users will prevent it from entering.

The three settings below are the most frequent culprits. Check each one in your Zoom account and turn it off for the meetings your bot targets.

## 1. "Only authenticated users can join meetings"

**Why it blocks the bot:** This setting requires every participant to be signed in to a Zoom account before joining. Because the SDK bot joins as an anonymous guest and cannot authenticate through Zoom, it is rejected outright.

**Where to find it:** Zoom Web Portal → **Settings** → **Meeting** → **Security** → **Require authentication to join**.

**Fix:** Turn this setting **OFF** for any meeting you want the bot to record. If you need to keep it on for some meetings, ensure the bot-targeted meetings have it disabled at the individual meeting or meeting template level.

## 2. Join Before Host / Host not present

**Why it blocks the bot:** If **Join Before Host** is disabled and the host has not yet started the meeting, Zoom turns away any participant — including the bot — until the host joins. The bot may appear to time out or fail silently in this scenario.

**Where to find it:** Zoom Web Portal → **Settings** → **Meeting** → **Schedule Meeting** → **Join before host**.

**Fix:** Enable **Join Before Host**, or ensure the meeting host is already in the meeting before the bot's scheduled join time.

## 3. CAPTCHA for guest users

**Why it blocks the bot:** Zoom introduced an anti-bot setting that presents a CAPTCHA challenge to any participant who is not signed in. An SDK bot cannot solve a CAPTCHA, so it is blocked immediately on join.

**Where to find it:** Zoom Web Portal → **Account Management** → **Account Settings** → **Meeting** → **Require solving a CAPTCHA for guest users (users who are not signed in)**.

**Fix:** Turn this setting **OFF**. This is an account-level setting, so an account admin must disable it.