How will you meet today?

Online classVoice, video, slides, recording. Everyone needs internet. JoinComms Wi-Fi RoomClass or meeting with no internet and no router. Voice, slides, chat, hands, quizzes. Guide below.

No router? Use a phone hotspot.

Android phone: turn on Hotspot. It works with no data.
Join your laptop to that hotspot.
Students join the same hotspot.

Works for about 8 devices. For a bigger class, use a Wi-Fi router.

Other ways without a router

Windows laptop makes its own Wi-Fi. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and paste:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=LectureRoom key=lecture2026
netsh wlan start hostednetwork

Students join LectureRoom, password lecture2026. It does not work on every laptop. A Mac cannot do this.

One Android phone only. Install Termux from F-Droid. With internet, run:

pkg install -y nodejs curl unzip

unzip LectureRoom-Local-Windows.zip

In class: turn on Hotspot, run cd LectureRoom-Local && node server.js, then open http://localhost:8080/teach in Chrome.

iPhone hotspot often needs mobile data.

1. Download (once, with internet)

Windows Mac (Apple chip)Mac (Intel)

Not sure? Apple menu, About This Mac. "Apple M1" or newer means Apple chip. Then unzip the file.

2. Start

Double-click Start in the folder. Your browser opens. Choose Class or Meeting, type a title, click Start. The page shows a web address. Write it on the board.

First time only. Mac: right-click Start, then Open. Windows: More info, then Run anyway. If asked about network access, click Allow.

3. People join

They open that address in any phone browser. It starts with https://. The phone warns that the page is not private. That is normal here: tap Advanced, then Continue. Then they type their name and tap Join, then Listen. Any phone, including iPhone. No app, no PIN, no sign-up.

4. Let people speak (walkie-talkie)

Everyone can speak. No permission is needed. Each person taps Tap to turn on your microphone once. Then they hold the big green Hold to talk button like a walkie-talkie, speak, and let go. Several people can talk at once, up to 8. You can switch speaking off for everyone. Tick Walkie-talkie mode to speak only while you hold Space.

Secure page. Phones allow the microphone only on a secure page, so everyone uses the https:// address. If someone types http://, they are sent to the secure address by themselves. Then they tap Tap to turn on your microphone and allow it.

Not heard? Under Listen a small light shows Voice arriving when a voice reaches your phone. If it says the sound is off, tap it. While you hold Hold to talk, a green bar moves when the phone hears you. If it stays flat, the phone microphone is not hearing you: speak closer and check the phone is not on silent. On the host laptop, tap anywhere on the host page once so the browser turns the sound on.

iPhone warning. Tap Show Details, then visit this website, then Visit Website again to confirm. If the warning comes back, close Safari fully, open the https:// address again and repeat once.

iPhone: flip the side switch so the phone is not on silent. If it asks to stay on a Wi-Fi with no internet, tap Stay and turn off mobile data.

More range

Put the router high and in the middle of the room. For a bigger space, add more routers or access points on the same network. The same address keeps working. Two separate laptops make two separate rooms.

If it does not work

Page will not open. Same Wi-Fi? Use the address that starts with https:// and tap Advanced, then Continue. Turn off mobile data on the phone.

No sound. Student taps Listen and turns up volume. Lecturer allows the microphone.

Cannot speak. Use the secure page. Hold the button the whole time. If 8 people already talk, try again.

No address shown. Type the laptop's Wi-Fi IP address in the box on the host page.

Wi-Fi rooms have no video, recording or captions. Anyone on the Wi-Fi can join. Range is about 10 to 30 metres. Tested on a computer, not yet in a real classroom.