Help Center
Step-by-step guides for your MatrixHost server.
Getting started
- Getting startedWhat you get with MatrixHost and the order to set things up, for the account owner and for team members.
- First-day checklist for adminsNine steps to get your server and your team ready on day one, with a link for each step.
- Set your password and sign inChoose your chat password in the portal, then sign in to Element with the username admin.
- Matrix in plain wordsWhat Matrix, your server, Element and the portal are, explained without jargon.
- Which app should I use?Element in the browser, Element Desktop on the computer or Element X on the phone, and how to sign in to each.
- Moving from WhatsAppMove your team chat to your own server and keep your WhatsApp chats in Element with the WhatsApp bridge.
- GlossaryShort, plain explanations of the words you meet in Element and in the MatrixHost portal.
Your team
- Add your teamCreate a chat account for each colleague in the portal, in about two minutes per person.
- Send login details to a colleagueA ready-to-copy message with everything a new colleague needs to sign in on the computer and the phone.
- Reset a colleague's passwordSet a new password for any user on your server from the portal, in under a minute.
- Deactivate a userWhen someone leaves your company, deactivate their account in the portal so they can no longer sign in.
- Room roles: admins and moderatorsWho can manage a room, how to make a colleague admin or moderator, and how this differs from the portal owner.
- Invite people from outside your companyChat with customers, partners or freelancers, either through their own Matrix account or with an account on your server.
Chatting
- Invite people to a roomCreate a room in Element and invite colleagues by username. You don't need an email address or an identity server.
- Send a direct messageStart a private one-to-one chat with a colleague in Element, in the browser or on the phone.
- Organise rooms with spacesUse a space to group your team's rooms in one place, so colleagues find them easily.
- Reply, react and use threadsAnswer a specific message, add an emoji reaction or start a thread to keep side topics tidy.
- Send files, photos and videosShare documents, pictures and videos in a chat, what the 50 MB limit means, and why media is removed after a year.
- Search messagesFind an old message in a room or across all your chats, and what to know about searching encrypted chats.
- Change room settingsRename a room, set a topic and picture, decide who can join, and find roles, notifications and encryption.
- Edit or delete a messageFix a typo in a message you sent, or remove a message for everyone in the chat.
Calls
- Make voice and video callsCall a colleague or a whole room with voice or video in Element, in the browser, on the computer or on the phone.
- Share your screen in a callShow your whole screen or a single window to colleagues during an Element call.
- When a call doesn't workWhat to check when nobody can hear you, the camera stays black, or a call won't start in Element.
Encryption & devices
- Save your recovery keyWhat the recovery key is, why you need it, and how to keep it safe.
- Verify a new phone or computerConfirm a new sign-in with another device or your recovery key so your encrypted messages appear.
- Fix "Unable to decrypt" messagesWhy some messages show "Unable to decrypt" or "waiting for this message", and how to fix it.
- Lost your recovery key?What you can still do if you can't find your recovery key, and what resetting your identity means.
- Verify a colleagueConfirm that a colleague's account really belongs to them by comparing emojis.
- See and sign out your sessionsCheck where you are signed in and sign out of old or lost devices.
- What MatrixHost can and cannot seeWhich of your data is end-to-end encrypted, what the server needs to know, and where your data lives.
Notifications
Apps
- Use Element on your phoneInstall Element X on iPhone or Android and connect it to your server.
- Element on the computerUse Element in the browser or install the desktop app for Windows, macOS or Linux.
- Use Element on several devicesSign in on your phone, computer and browser at the same time and keep your messages everywhere.
- Change your name, picture, language and themePersonalise Element with your display name, profile picture, language and light or dark mode.
Bridges
- Connect your other messengers (bridges)Bring WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Discord and more into Element, so you can read and answer everything in one place.
- Connect WhatsAppLink your WhatsApp account to Element by scanning a QR code with your phone.
- Connect SignalLink your Signal account to Element by scanning a QR code with your phone.
- Connect TelegramLink your Telegram account to Element with your phone number and a login code.
- Connect DiscordLink your Discord account to Element and read your Discord messages in one place.
- Connect Google ChatLink your Google Workspace account to bring your Google Chat conversations into Element.
- Connect Facebook MessengerLink your Messenger account to Element and answer Facebook messages in one place.
- Connect InstagramLink your Instagram account to Element and answer your Instagram direct messages in one place.
- Connect LinkedInLink your LinkedIn account to Element and answer LinkedIn messages in one place.
- A bridge stopped workingHow to spot a disconnected bridge and link WhatsApp, Signal or another messenger again.
- Common questions about bridgesAnswers about privacy, your phone, the original apps and what your contacts see when you use bridges.
- Show real names instead of phone numbersConnect Google Contacts in the portal so bridged WhatsApp and Signal chats show your contacts' names.
- Redirect WhatsApp callsSend WhatsApp callers an automatic reply with another way to call you, because calls can't be answered through the bridge.
AI assistant
Portal
- A tour of the portalWhat you find on each page of the MatrixHost portal and what it is for.
- BackupsHow your daily backups work, how to make one by hand and how to get data restored.
- Use your own domainOpen your server and Element under your own address, such as chat.acme.com.
- Your server is still "pending"What the account status means while your server is being set up, how long it takes, and what to do if it stays "pending".
Billing & plans
- Your plan and billingWhere to see your plan, what each plan includes, how renewal works and how the AI budget fits in.
- Change your planMove to a bigger plan when your team grows or you need more storage.
- Cancel your subscriptionHow to cancel, what the 14-day notice period means and what happens to your data.
- Payments and invoicesYour order history, payment statuses, the emails we send and what happens if a payment fails.
- What counts as a userWhich accounts count towards your plan's number of users, and which don't.
Privacy & data
Troubleshooting
Still stuck? Ask in the chat at the bottom right, or reply to your support email.