Livestreaming FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Livestreaming.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Livestreaming Overview.
Setup
Do I need to configure a streaming provider before anyone can go live?
Most tenants use the managed provider and need no provider setup — streams work out of the box once the app is enabled. Enterprise tenants that need their own account can configure one under Admin → Organization → Integrations (category: Livestreaming Infrastructure). The Settings page shows a Provider card so you can confirm what is connected.
Who can schedule and host streams?
The Who can schedule and host streams setting in Apps → Livestreaming → Settings controls this. The default is Admins and app admins only. Changing it to Any user lets every employee schedule and host streams. Business admins, Livestreaming app admins and Livestreaming contributors can always schedule regardless of this setting — make one person a contributor under Admin → Apps → Livestreaming → Admins & Contributors to let them run streams without giving them the settings. Switching back to admins only doesn’t take back streams already scheduled: their host and whoever scheduled them can still edit them and go live, so cancel those from Streams if needed.
What are the default settings when I first enable the app?
| Setting | Default |
|---|---|
| Who can schedule and host streams | Admins and app admins only |
| Record streams by default | On |
| Auto-caption recordings (AI transcription) | On |
| Add scheduled streams to the company Calendar | On |
| Draft a “We’re live” Broadcast on go-live | On |
| Auto-post recordings to the Communications feed | Off |
| Remind everyone 15 minutes before a stream that has no audience set | Off |
Permissions and access
Who can manage or moderate a specific stream?
Running a stream — the host console and stream key, going live, ending, editing and canceling — is tied to the stream: its host, whoever scheduled it, any business admin, and any Livestreaming app admin. Moderating — removing chat messages, marking questions answered or dismissed, launching polls, and the AI features — is open to all of those plus every Livestreaming contributor, on every stream. A contributor moderates from the watch page; they don’t get the console of a stream they neither host nor scheduled. Someone who can schedule only because Who can schedule and host streams is set to Any user cannot moderate someone else’s stream.
Why can’t I open the host console for a stream I didn’t create?
Only the stream’s host, whoever scheduled it, or an admin can open the console. If you need it, ask whoever scheduled the stream, or an admin, to make you its host — the host can’t hand the stream to someone else. To moderate chat and Q&A without the console, ask an admin to make you a Livestreaming contributor.
Can I limit who can watch a stream?
Yes. In the stream’s form, Who can watch has two choices. Everyone with Livestreaming (the default) lets anyone who can open the app find the stream and watch it; the Audience field then only decides who is notified. Only this stream’s audience limits the stream to the people in its audience: nobody else sees it in the Streams list, the Livestreaming home, search or the home-page widget, and a link to it tells them it isn’t available. Its host, whoever scheduled it, Livestreaming admins and business admins can always watch it. Choosing it needs an audience, and a stream limited this way can’t be opened for registration under Events.
Day-to-day
What RTMPS ingest URL do I point my encoder at?
The host console shows the server URL and stream key once you click Go live — the key is created then, not when the stream is scheduled. The ingest endpoint is rtmps://global-live.mux.com:443/app. Use any RTMPS-capable encoder — OBS, Wirecast, vMix, Zoom, or Teams.
Can I edit or cancel a stream while it is live?
No. A live stream must be ended before it can be edited or canceled. End the stream first from the host console, then make changes.
What happens when I click “Go live”?
The stream starts for real — there is no test or rehearsal mode. The platform creates the stream with the provider, shows the server URL and stream key on the console, and flips the status to Live. Straight away, everyone who can open the app (or the stream’s audience, when one is set) gets an in-app and push “Live now” notification, and — when that setting is on — a draft “We’re live” Broadcast is created for someone who may publish broadcasts to send (it is removed if the stream ends before anyone sends it). Viewers can join before your encoder connects, so have it ready and paste the key in as soon as it appears. Ending the stream is final; it can’t be restarted.
What notifications do viewers and hosts receive?
These notifications are sent automatically:
- Pre-stream reminder — sent 15 minutes before the scheduled start to the host (with a link to the console) and, when the stream targets a specific audience, to those audience members (with a link to the watch page). For a stream with no audience set, everyone who can open the app gets it only when Remind everyone 15 minutes before a stream that has no audience set is on (off by default). The stream’s Calendar entry reminds only its host and the people who registered for it under Events, an hour before.
-
Go-live notification — sent to everyone who can open the app (or the targeted audience) when the host clicks Go live, with a link to join the stream. The host is excluded.
- New time and Canceled — when a scheduled stream is moved or canceled, everyone already told about it (by a reminder or the go-live notification) hears about the change.
- Stream ended automatically — sent to the host when the platform ends a stream whose encoder stopped sending video.
- You’re hosting / No longer hosting — sent when someone else makes you a stream’s host, or hands a stream you hosted to someone else.
Reminders and go-live notifications are one-shot per stream per user, so overlapping schedules or retries never double-send; a stream moved to a new time reminds its audience again. Employees can mute livestream notifications in their own notification settings (the Livestreams category).
When something looks wrong
I clicked “Go live” and the stream shows “Failed” — what happened?
The provider refused to create the stream. The host console displays the error reason. Common causes are missing or expired provider credentials, a provider rate limit, or a network issue. Click Try going live again on the console (or Try again on the stream’s page). The stream stays editable — it is not locked into a failed state. If retries keep failing, a company admin checks Admin → Organization → Integrations (for your own Mux account) or contacts support (for the managed account) — if you aren’t an admin, ask one. A go-live can also be held back before it reaches the provider when the company is short of platform credits; the message says so, and only a billing admin can top up.
The live viewer count on the host console seems frozen or too high
The viewer count is driven by a heartbeat from each watch page. If a viewer’s tab crashes or their laptop sleeps without sending a leave signal, their session ages out of the active count within 2 minutes. A background sweep runs every minute to clear stale sessions. If the count still looks wrong after a couple of minutes, the sweep may have been delayed — ask the viewer to reload the watch page.
“Catch me up” says there’s nothing to summarize, but the stream has been going for a while
“Catch me up” summarizes the room’s audience activity — chat messages, questions, and poll results — not what was said on camera. If no one has chatted, asked questions, or launched a poll yet, it has nothing to work with and says there are no chat messages, questions or polls yet. Encourage audience participation.
My recording is missing — the stream ended but there is no playback
Check whether Record this stream was checked when the stream was scheduled. If recording was turned off for that stream, the provider still auto-records but the recording is discarded at the provider level, so nothing is stored and playback is not available. The stream’s status stays Ended rather than moving to Recorded.
The “Auto-post recordings to the Communications feed” setting is on, but no post appeared
Two switches must be on. In Livestreaming Settings the Auto-post recordings to the Communications feed toggle must be enabled, AND in the Communications app’s contributor settings the Livestreaming — allow posting to the feed switch must also be on. If the contributor switch is off, the auto-post is skipped silently.
A viewer says they can watch the stream without logging in — is playback public?
Playback is signed (access-controlled) only when a signing key is configured. The Settings page shows a badge: Secure playback means new streams use signed tokens (valid for 6 hours), and a leaked URL cannot be watched from outside. Secure playback pending means a signing key will be created the first time a stream goes live. Playback security unconfirmed means the platform couldn’t tell how playback is set up, so assume it is public. Public playback means no signing key is present and anyone with the URL can watch. On the managed account, contact MangoApps support to enable signed playback. On your company’s own Mux account (Admin → Organization → Integrations), a signing key is created automatically the first time a stream goes live, as long as the access token is allowed to create signing keys.
Polls and Q&A
Can a viewer vote more than once in a poll or upvote a question twice?
No. Each viewer gets exactly one vote per poll and one upvote per question. A poll vote is final — the first answer stands and can’t be changed, so a second click is refused with a message saying so. A second upvote on the same question simply leaves the first in place.
Can viewers still ask questions after the stream ends?
New questions are blocked once the stream ends. Upvoting existing questions remains open, so a viewer who watches the recording can still push a question up the host’s follow-up list.
Licensing and limits
Does Livestreaming require a licence?
No. Livestreaming is a pay-as-you-go app billed per broadcast minute. It is available to every tenant without a separate license purchase. An admin enables it from Admin → Apps → All Apps.
How is billing calculated?
Billing is by broadcast minute — the stream’s wall-clock duration, rounded up to the next whole minute when the stream ends — at 20 platform credits per broadcast minute, drawn from your company’s credit balance. The count is audience-independent: how many employees watch never changes the bill. There is no monthly minimum. Livestreaming still bills 20 platform credits per broadcast minute when you use your own Mux account; Mux bills your Mux account separately.
Are there limits I should know about?
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Chat message length | 500 characters |
| Question length | 1,000 characters |
| Chat rate limit | 5 messages per 10 seconds per viewer per stream |
| Catch me up refresh | One summary shared by everyone who asks, refreshed at most once a minute |
| Signed playback token lifetime | 6 hours |
| Live-viewer heartbeat window | 2 minutes (a viewer without a heartbeat within this window drops out of the active count) |
| Sync log retention | 90 days |
| Poll minimum options | 2 (one per line) |
More help
- Livestreaming Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers Livestreaming questions from these articles.