[EA PTT] Talk with your team using Push-to-Talk channels

Push-to-Talk channels let frontline teams talk to each other instantly, like with a walkie-talkie. Retail floor staff, warehouse operators and event crews can speak to the whole team without dialing a number or setting up a call.

A Push-to-Talk channel is a bubble that a company administrator creates for a team. Members join the channel from the Rainbow app for Android. They press and hold a button to speak, and they release it to listen. Only one member can speak at a time.

Push-to-Talk is an Early Adopter feature. It is available on Android only, and you can listen to one channel at a time. No license is needed during the Early Adopter phase. To join the program, see Current Early Adopter program.

Create a Push-to-Talk channel

A company administrator creates each Push-to-Talk channel from the administration interface and chooses its members. A Company can have up to 100 Push-to-Talk channels.

1. Open the Rainbow administration interface and go to the menu Push to Talk. 
2. Create a new PTT bubble. 
3. Enter the name of the channel, for example "Checkout team".
4. Add the members of the channel.
5. Select an Avatar
6. Click "Save". 

The Push-to-talk channel appears in the list of bubbles of each member. 

• Every member is an organizer of the channel, so the channel stays active when a member leaves.
• Members are muted when they join the channel.
• No sound plays when a member joins the channel.

Guest users cannot be members of a Push-to-Talk channel. To add or remove members later, open the PTT bubble in the administration interface.

Join a Push-to-Talk channel

You join a Push-to-Talk channel from the Rainbow app for Android. When you join, you are muted, the loudspeaker turns on and your presence status does not change. You can still receive calls.

1. Tap Push-to-Talk in the top bar of the app.
2. In the Choose a channel to listen and talk dialog, select the channel.

If you are a member of one channel only, you join it directly. The Push-to-Talk screen opens and shows Listening on this channel under the name of the channel.

Speak on a Push-to-Talk channel

On a Push-to-Talk channel, only one member can speak at a time. Your phone vibrates to tell you if you can speak.

1. On the Push-to-Talk screen, press and hold the Press and hold to talk button.
2. Wait for the vibration, One vibration: the channel is free. Speak while you hold the button.
3. Release the button when you finish speaking. Your microphone turns off and your phone vibrates once.

When another member speaks, the Push-to-Talk screen shows the name and the avatar of this member. When nobody speaks, the screen shows No one is talking.

Use the physical button of your device

On the Samsung XCover and the Urovo DT50, you can also use the physical Push-to-Talk button of the device. It works the same way as the Press and hold to talk button.

1. Join a Push-to-Talk channel in the Rainbow app.
2. Press and hold the physical Push-to-Talk button of the device, and speak after one vibration.
3. Release the button when you finish speaking.

Return to the Push-to-Talk screen

You stay connected to the channel when you open another app or another screen of Rainbow. A banner shows Listening on followed by the name of the channel.

1. Tap the Listening on banner.

The Push-to-Talk screen opens again.

Leave a Push-to-Talk channel

You can leave a Push-to-Talk channel at any time, for example at the end of your shift. The channel stays active for the other members. The channel closes when the last member leaves.

1. On the Push-to-Talk screen, tap "Stop listening".

When the last member leaves, the conversation of the channel shows No one is on this channel anymore.

Switch to another Push-to-Talk channel

You can listen to one Push-to-Talk channel at a time. When you choose another channel, you leave the current channel.

1. On the Push-to-Talk screen, tap "Stop listening".
2. Tap "Push to talk" in the top bar of the app.
3. In the Choose a channel to listen and talk dialog, select the other channel.

You join the selected channel. You are muted and the loudspeaker is on.

Receive a call while you listen to a Push-to-Talk channel

When you receive a Rainbow call or a phone call, Rainbow removes you from the Push-to-Talk channel before the phone rings. This prevents audio problems between the channel and the call.

• When the call ends, you join the channel again automatically.
• If you decline the call, you join the channel again automatically.
• An invitation to a bubble conference does not remove you from the channel. The invitation appears in the usual invitation dialog.