The steps in this article must be carried out by a network admin. For device-specific user settings, see this article.
Admins carry the power to establish global network settings for specific operating systems (iOS, Android) through the management console. This article describes the network-wide settings that can be configured for iOS devices via the management console.
To access these settings:
- Log in to your management console at yournetworkname.zellowork.com
- From the top navigation bar, select Settings. Then, select iOS from the navigation box on the right side of the screen.
What do console settings do?
Settings configured in the management console establish standardization across the network. Some settings will still be able to be changed by individual users on their devices; in those cases, applying settings via the management console will provide a best-practices baseline that users can then build off of. Relatedly, settings that cannot be changed on user devices once administered via the console will be grayed out on the user’s device.
Why administer settings through the management console
The administration of global settings via the management console allows IT administrators or system owners to select predefined settings for their network. This is particularly beneficial in cases where everyday users may not fully understand the niche network needs or the intended effect of the settings, as well as in use cases that carry unique environmental requirements (for example, a construction site may have different needs than a retail store).
When a new user is created, their settings will match what has been configured in the console.
General Settings
| Disable automatic contact selection |
This setting prevents Zello from switching the active contact when a new message is received. If this setting is disabled and a message is received, the active contact will switch from the existing contact to that which sent the message. This is the default setting. Alternatively, if a message is received and this setting is enabled, the active contact will switch from the existing contact to the user who sent the most recent message. |
| Automatically connect channels | This setting automatically connects users to their channels when logging back into the app. This will only impact channels that the user can manually disconnect from (i.e. dynamic channels). |
| Sort channels by status | When enabled, channel lists will be sorted by the status of the user (connected or disconnected) rather than alphabetically. |
| Recording amplifier (dB) | Digitally amplifies recording level in the app. This is defined in decibels. |
| Recording automatic gain control | When active, this overrides the recording amplifier setting, and will automatically adjust the gain level during message recording. |
| Playback amplifier (dB) | Digitally amplifies playback level. Like the amplifier, this is defined in decibels. |
| Playback automatic gain control | When active, this overrides playback amplifier setting and automatically adjusts the gain level during playback |
| Microphone boost (dB) | Boosts level of microphone gain (input) in decibels |
| Keep alive | This Prevents the device from entering sleep mode when in background. This setting will reduce battery life |
| Notify when terminated unexpectedly | This setting will send the user a push notification when Zello requires a restart to remain connected. This setting will only work with iOS 13 and above |
| Keep-alive interval (mobile) | Polling time between app and Zello service, when using mobile data connection. Increasing this interval may improve battery life but also reduce timely status updates. |
| Use TCP only (mobile) | Disables use of UDP for communication. Reduces data consumption but may cause higher latency |
| Keep-alive interval (WiFi) | Polling time between app and Zello service, when using Wi-Fi. Increasing may improve battery life but also reduce timely status updates |
| Use TCP only (WiFi) | Disables use of UDP for communication. Reduces data consumption but may cause higher latency. |
| Location sharing | This feature allows users to send their current location to the selected contact. Location permission will need to be granted on the device. |
| Record over Bluetooth | If this option is turned off, you will not be able to use the built-in microphone on the Bluetooth device. |
| Enable Bluetooth link keep-alive | Enable this setting to keep the Bluetooth audio connection active for a shorter call setup time. |
| Mix with other audio | Allows other audio to play while Zello is in the foreground. If Zello is in the background, this setting will not have an impact. |
| Add headset button | Headset PTT button override |
| Quick dial numpad | Turns on a search tool that allows users to find other users whose usernames start with a number. |
| Disable status toggle on the talk screen | This setting prevents users from toggling and changing their status from the talk screen |
| Enable PTT framework | When enabled, users can send Zello messages through their device's lock screen. Learn more. |
Restrictions
| Hide Appearance options |
When toggled on, users will not be able to access their device’s Settings > Theme page. This page is where users customize their Zello theme (light/dark mode). |
| Hide Audio options |
When toggled on, users will not be able to access their device’s Settings > Audio page. This page includes higher-level audio settings such as amplification and noise suppression, as well as Bluetooth settings. |
| Hide Push-to-talk buttons options |
When toggled on, users will not be able to access their device’s Settings > Push-to-talk buttons page. This page is where users customize their interactions with the PTT button, including button mapping and button activation method. |
| Hide Notifications options |
When toggled on, users will not be able to access their device’s Settings > Audio / vibrate alerts page. This page is where users can customize the types of alerts they receive. Alert options are abundant, and include (but aren’t limited to) options like ready to send alerts, incoming message alerts, and lost connection alerts. |
| Hide History options |
When toggled on, individual users will not be able to access the Settings > History page on their device. This page is where users can customize the duration of information storage. |
| Hide Support options |
When toggled on, individual users will not be able to access the Settings > Support page on their device. Please note that Settings > Support is where users can report issues on their devices, as well as where the device-specific advanced settings live. |
| Hide Sign-out options |
When enabled, users will not be able to sing out from their Zello app. When disabled, users will be able to sign out of Zello from their user profile. |
| Status lockdown | This status sets all user statuses to Available. When enabled, users are prevented from changing their status while signed in to the app. |
| Disable option to mute selected users and channels | If disabled, users and channels can be muted on individual devices. If enabled, users and channels cannot be muted on individual devices. |
Local History
| Automatically delete messages | This option defines the increment that message history will be retained on individual devices. This will not affect Message Vault history. |
| Protect history | This prevents users from deleting the history on their device |
| Maximum number of text messages in the history | Once this limit is reached, the oldest text messages will be removed from the device. |
| Maximum number of locations in the history | Once this limit is reached, the oldest reported locations will be removed from the device. |
Alerts
The network admin can manage what alerts users across their network use via the Alerts settings in the console. Please note that if an admin changes the default alert setting in the console, users will not be able to change the settings
Additionally, the iOS focus mode may impact alerts.
The table below details what each notification alerts users of.
| Alert volume | Volume notifications are delivered at. |
| Ready to send beep | The device is ready to record your message. You may begin speaking. |
| Talk button up beep | You’ve released the PTT button. |
| Delivery delayed beep | The delivery of your message has been delayed. |
| Incoming message beep | Your device has an incoming message. |
| End of incoming message beep | You’ve reached the end of the message. |
| Default contact selected beep | Zello has switched to your default contact. Learn more. |
| Call alert beep | A call alert is incoming. |
| Signed in from a different device beep | Your account has been signed into on a different device. |
| User text beep | You’ve received a text message from another user. |
| Channel text beep | You’ve received a text message in a channel. |
| Channel alert beep | You’ve received a channel alert— targeted message sent by a user in a special role to an entire channel. |
| Image received beep | You’ve received an image. |
| Location received beep | You’ve received someone’s location. |
| New conversation beep | You've been included in a anew conversation. |
| Connection lost beep | You’ve been disconnected from the network. |
| Connection restored beep | You’ve been reconnected to the network after a period of disconnection. |
| Error beep | An error has occurred. Common errors include a disabled microphone; connection difficulties; or busy channels. |
| Vibrate when ready to send | Your phone is ready to send a message. |
| Vibrate on incoming message voice message | A message is in the process of being delivered to your phone. |
| Vibrate on missed message | Your device will vibrate to notify you of a missed message. |
| Show event notification banners when in the background | If a message is received while Zello is running in the background (i.e. you aren’t working directly in the app), a banner will appear on your screen notifying you of the message. |
Voice Quality
| Noise suppression | Voice suppression reduces background noise. |
| Samples per second | This can be set to 8kHz, 16 kHz, or 24kHz and will define how frequently per second the audio is sampled when recording messages. It’s best to leave this setting at its default value unless you’re familiar with it. |
| Bitrate | Defines the kbps. This will help to improve the audio quality |
| Frames per packet | This number * frames per second should be less than or equal to 120. This can help to improve audio quality, but should only be changed when instructed by Zello support |
| Frame size | The length of a sample in milliseconds. [Frames per packet]*[Frame size] must be <= 120. |