✔️Adding Users and Assigning Phone Licenses

Add users to your Zoom account and provision them with Zoom Phone licenses, extensions, and calling packages in a two-step process.

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⏱️ Estimated Time: 10-15 minutes per user (5 minutes for bulk import)

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👤 Who's This For

Zoom Phone administrators responsible for onboarding new users and managing phone system access.

💼 Use Case

Use this guide when adding new employees to your phone system or provisioning existing Zoom users with phone capabilities. Essential for initial deployment and ongoing user management.

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✔️ Prerequisites

• Admin access to Zoom web portal

• Available Zoom Phone licenses

• User information (name, email address)

• Extension numbering plan (if customizing)

• Calling packages purchased (for outbound calling)

• Direct phone numbers assigned (optional)

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Understanding the Two-Step Process

Provisioning users with Zoom Phone requires two distinct steps:

Step 1: Create Zoom User Account Users must first exist in your Zoom account with basic access. This happens in User Management > Users.

Step 2: Assign Zoom Phone License Once the user exists, you assign them a Phone license, extension, and calling package. This happens in Phone System Management > Users & Rooms.

Key Concept: A user cannot have Zoom Phone without first being a Zoom user. You'll navigate between two different sections of the admin portal to complete provisioning.

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Step 1: Adding Users to Zoom

1

Navigate to User Management

• Sign in to Zoom web portal as an admin

• Click User Management > Users

• Click Add

2

Choose User Type

• Add Users: Create individual users manually

• Import Users: Bulk add via CSV file (covered later)

3

Enter User Information

• Email Address: Required for account creation

• First Name and Last Name

• Display Name: How the user appears to others

4

Assign Base License (Optional)

• In the Zoom Workplace dropdown, select a license tier if the user needs meeting capabilities

• If user only needs phone service, you can skip this or assign "Unassigned"

• Select Zoom Meetings Basic if they only need to join meetings (not host)

5

Create User

• Click Add or Save

• User receives an email invitation to activate their account

• User must accept invitation before phone features can be added

Important: Users show as "Pending" until they activate their account by clicking the email link and setting a password.

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🎮 Click-Through Demo

▶️ Watch: Adding Users to Zoom See how to navigate to User Management, add a new user, assign a base license, and send the invitation.

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Step 2: Assigning Zoom Phone Licenses

After users are created in Zoom (and preferably activated), assign them Phone licenses.

1

Navigate to Phone Management

• Click Phone System Management > Users & Rooms

• Click the Users tab

• Click Add

2

Select Existing User

• Choose user from the list of existing Zoom users

• Only users without Phone licenses will appear

• Click Next

3

Auto-Assigned Settings

• Extension Number: Automatically assigned (can be changed later)

• Site: Assigned based on your configuration

• User immediately receives welcome email with extension info

4

Assign Calling Package

• After adding the user, locate them in the Users list

• In the last column, click Assign > Assign Package

• Select a calling package (required for outbound calling)

• Click Confirm and Assign Numbers

5

Assign Direct Phone Number (Optional)

• When prompted, select a direct phone number

• Or click Skip if user only needs extension

• Numbers can be assigned later if needed

Note: Users without a calling package can only receive calls to their extension. They cannot make outbound calls or receive calls on direct numbers.

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🎮 Click-Through Demo

▶️ Watch: Assigning Phone Licenses and Packages See how to navigate to Phone System Management, assign a license to an existing user, add a calling package, and assign a direct number.

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Alternative: One-Step User Creation

You can create a Zoom user AND assign Phone license in a single step:

1

Start in User Management

• Navigate to User Management > Users

• Click Add

2

Enable Phone During Creation

• Fill out user information as normal

• In the Licenses and add-ons section, check Zoom Phone

• Complete user creation

3

Complete Phone Setup

• User automatically appears in Phone System Management > Users & Rooms

• Still need to assign calling package and direct number separately

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Bulk Importing Users with CSV

For adding 100+ users, use the batch import feature.

1

Prepare CSV File

• Navigate to Phone System Management > Users & Rooms

• Click Import

• Click the Add Users tab

• Click CSV Sample to download template

• Fill out template with user information:

  • Email address (required)

  • First name, last name

  • Extension number

  • Calling package

  • Phone numbers

  • Site (if using multiple sites)

2

Upload CSV

• Click Upload CSV and select your file

• If using multiple sites: Either select target site or specify in CSV

• Check Specify a template to apply settings template (optional)

3

Review and Confirm

• If errors exist, click Details to see issues

• Click Ignore Issues and Upload Others to import valid rows

• Or click Reupload to fix CSV and try again

• Click Close when import completes

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Managing Existing Phone Users

Re-send Welcome Email:

• Navigate to user's profile in Phone System Management > Users & Rooms

• Click user name > Profile tab

• Scroll down and click Resend Invite

Change Extension Number:

• Click user name > Settings tab

• Update extension in user settings

Remove Phone License:

• Select user(s) in the Users list

• Click Remove > Remove Users

• Confirm deletion

• Warning: This removes call recordings, history, and voicemails permanently

Remove Calling Package Only:

• Select user(s) in the Users list

• Click Remove > Remove All Packages

• User keeps Phone license but loses outbound calling ability

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Bulk Updating Existing Users

Update multiple users' settings via CSV:

1

Export Current Data

• Navigate to Phone System Management > Users & Rooms

• Use filters to display users you want to update

• Click Export to download CSV

2

Edit CSV File

• Update extensions, calling packages, direct numbers, or desk phone details

• Leave fields blank to remove/downgrade items

• Save CSV file

3

Import Updates

• Click Import > Update Users tab

• Upload your edited CSV

• Review any errors and fix or ignore

• Click Close when complete

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💡 User Management Best Practices

See Details

Have Users Activate Before Assigning Phone Wait for users to activate their Zoom account before assigning Phone licenses. This ensures they can immediately access phone features and reduces support tickets.

Use Templates for Consistent Settings Create user templates with standard settings (voicemail, call forwarding, etc.) and apply during bulk import to ensure consistency across users.

Document Your Extension Numbering Scheme Establish a clear extension numbering convention (by department, location, etc.) before provisioning users to avoid confusion and renumbering later.

Assign Calling Packages Based on Role Not all users need the same calling package. Assign appropriate packages based on job function to control costs and capabilities.

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🚀 Quick Wins

See Details

Bulk Import for Initial Deployment Use CSV import for your initial rollout to save time. A properly formatted CSV can provision 100 users in minutes versus hours of manual entry.

Create a New Hire Template Build a standard user template with default settings for new employees. Apply during provisioning to ensure consistent configuration.

Use Soft Delete for Departing Employees Enable the Soft Delete policy to move users to trash instead of permanent deletion. This retains data for 30 days and makes licenses immediately available.

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⚠️ Common Issues

See Details

User doesn't appear in Phone System Management after creation → Verify the user activated their Zoom account via email. Pending users cannot be assigned Phone licenses until they activate.

Cannot assign calling package to user → Ensure the user has a Phone license first. Calling packages can only be assigned to users with active Phone licenses.

Bulk CSV import fails completely → Check that the first row with field names is intact and phone numbers include + and country code with no spaces or dashes. Use text editor if Excel removes the + sign.

Removed user's data is gone permanently → When you remove a Phone license, recordings and voicemails are deleted. Enable Soft Delete policy to retain data for 30 days before permanent deletion.

User didn't receive welcome email with extension → Check spam folders first. If not found, navigate to user's profile and click Resend Invite at the bottom of the Profile tab.

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🎯 What's Next

✨ Users provisioned! You now have:

• Users created in Zoom and activated

• Phone licenses assigned with extensions

• Calling packages configured for outbound calling

• Process for bulk importing and updating users

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