Push-to-talk on your PC
Set Input mode to Push to talk in the audio settings. Your microphone is then open only while you hold the key. In the desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux the key is global: it also works while a game runs in full screen or another app has the focus.
- Any key you like: CapsLock, F8, a numpad key – or the middle and side buttons of your mouse.
- A release delay keeps the microphone open for a moment, so the ends of words aren’t cut off.
- Push to mute for voice activity: hold the key to mute yourself briefly.
- In the browser, push-to-talk works while the Coviqo tab is in front.
Radio: talk into other rooms
Radio (in the app: Intercom) lets you speak into other voice rooms while you stay in your own. Think shift lead to all tills, reception to the workshop, raid lead to every squad. Space admins set up the channels; each channel has a name, a colour, a key and one kind of target.
- Rooms
- Up to 5 chosen voice rooms
- Lobby
- Every session of a lobby, also sessions started later
- Announcement
- Every occupied voice room of the space
- Roles & people
- A whisper only the chosen roles, teams or people hear, wherever they are in voice
How many channels a space can have and which targets are available depends on the plan – see pricing.
What the other side hears
- A short chirp, then your voice. The room gets quieter while you speak, and a banner shows who is talking on which channel.
- For 30 seconds the listener can answer with the reply key – only you hear the answer.
- Everyone can switch on Mute intercom and receive nothing.
- Whether a room receives radio is a room permission. Meetings never receive radio, and rooms shared with external guests only if an admin allows it.
A key on every device
- Browser: one key per channel, while the Coviqo tab has the focus.
- Desktop app: one or more keys per channel, global – they work while Coviqo is in the background.
- Phone and tablet: a hold button per channel in the voice panel.
Discussion lead and listen-in
In a busy call the discussion lead is heard first: while the lead speaks, everyone else is lowered on each listener’s side. A room can have at most two leads at a time.
Listen-in lets you hear another room quietly in the background. It follows strict rules: only in the Business and Enterprise plans, only in rooms where an admin switched it on, never in rooms with external guests, meetings, direct messages or lobby sessions. Everyone in the room sees who is listening and hears a notice sound when someone starts. Listeners get audio only and cannot record.
In a company, listen-in can count as employee monitoring. Clarify this inside your organisation before an admin switches it on.
Walkie-talkie sound if you want it
A radio channel can have its own sound profile, for example Radio / walkie-talkie with a narrow band, a little crackle and a roger beep. The effect is added on each listener’s device; your voice itself is sent unchanged, and recordings and transcripts never contain effects.
Frequently asked questions
Does push-to-talk work while I’m in a game?
Yes, with the desktop app. Its push-to-talk key is global and works while a game is in full screen. In the browser, push-to-talk only works while the Coviqo tab is focused.
Can I use a mouse button for push-to-talk?
Yes. The desktop app accepts the middle mouse button and the side buttons, with or without modifier keys, as long as its native keyboard and mouse detection is available on your system.
Can I talk to just one person?
Yes. A channel with the target Roles & people is a whisper only the chosen people hear. And for 30 seconds after you hear someone on the radio, the reply key answers only that person.
Can someone listen in on my room without me knowing?
No. Listen-in must be switched on for the room by an admin, everyone in the room sees who is listening, a notice sound plays when someone starts, and start and end appear in the room activity.
In the User Guide
Step-by-step instructions