diff --git a/src/ActiveRoomObserver.js b/src/ActiveRoomObserver.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d6fbb460b5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ActiveRoomObserver.js
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 New Vector Ltd
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+import RoomViewStore from './stores/RoomViewStore';
+
+/**
+ * Consumes changes from the RoomViewStore and notifies specific things
+ * about when the active room changes. Unlike listening for RoomViewStore
+ * changes, you can subscribe to only changes relevant to a particular
+ * room.
+ *
+ * TODO: If we introduce an observer for something else, factor out
+ * the adding / removing of listeners & emitting into a common class.
+ */
+class ActiveRoomObserver {
+    constructor() {
+        this._listeners = {};
+
+        this._activeRoomId = RoomViewStore.getRoomId();
+        // TODO: We could self-destruct when the last listener goes away, or at least
+        // stop listening.
+        this._roomStoreToken = RoomViewStore.addListener(this._onRoomViewStoreUpdate.bind(this));
+    }
+
+    addListener(roomId, listener) {
+        if (!this._listeners[roomId]) this._listeners[roomId] = [];
+        this._listeners[roomId].push(listener);
+    }
+
+    removeListener(roomId, listener) {
+        if (this._listeners[roomId]) {
+            const i = this._listeners[roomId].indexOf(listener);
+            if (i > -1) {
+                this._listeners[roomId].splice(i, 1);
+            }
+        } else {
+            console.warn("Unregistering unrecognised listener (roomId=" + roomId + ")");
+        }
+    }
+
+    _emit(roomId) {
+        if (!this._listeners[roomId]) return;
+
+        for (const l of this._listeners[roomId]) {
+            l.call();
+        }
+    }
+
+    _onRoomViewStoreUpdate() {
+        // emit for the old room ID
+        if (this._activeRoomId) this._emit(this._activeRoomId);
+
+        // update our cache
+        this._activeRoomId = RoomViewStore.getRoomId();
+
+        // and emit for the new one
+        if (this._activeRoomId) this._emit(this._activeRoomId);
+    }
+}
+
+if (global.mx_ActiveRoomObserver === undefined) {
+    global.mx_ActiveRoomObserver = new ActiveRoomObserver();
+}
+export default global.mx_ActiveRoomObserver;
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomList.js b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomList.js
index 27001ac9544..b7b2e5ecea3 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomList.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomList.js
@@ -63,7 +63,6 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
     propTypes: {
         ConferenceHandler: React.PropTypes.any,
         collapsed: React.PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
-        currentRoom: React.PropTypes.string,
         searchFilter: React.PropTypes.string,
     },
 
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomTile.js b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomTile.js
index 97568a52a11..a6065d8e926 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomTile.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomTile.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
 Copyright 2015, 2016 OpenMarket Ltd
+Copyright 2017 New Vector Ltd
 
 Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -27,6 +28,8 @@ var RoomNotifs = require('../../../RoomNotifs');
 var FormattingUtils = require('../../../utils/FormattingUtils');
 import AccessibleButton from '../elements/AccessibleButton';
 var UserSettingsStore = require('../../../UserSettingsStore');
+import ActiveRoomObserver from '../../../ActiveRoomObserver';
+import RoomViewStore from '../../../stores/RoomViewStore';
 
 module.exports = React.createClass({
     displayName: 'RoomTile',
@@ -39,7 +42,6 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
 
         room: React.PropTypes.object.isRequired,
         collapsed: React.PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
-        selected: React.PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
         unread: React.PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
         highlight: React.PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
         isInvite: React.PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
@@ -58,6 +60,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             badgeHover : false,
             menuDisplayed: false,
             notifState: RoomNotifs.getRoomNotifsState(this.props.room.roomId),
+            selected: this.props.room.roomId === RoomViewStore.getRoomId(),
         });
     },
 
@@ -87,8 +90,15 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
         }
     },
 
+    _onActiveRoomChange: function() {
+        this.setState({
+            selected: this.props.room.roomId === RoomViewStore.getRoomId(),
+        });
+    },
+
     componentWillMount: function() {
         MatrixClientPeg.get().on("accountData", this.onAccountData);
+        ActiveRoomObserver.addListener(this.props.room.roomId, this._onActiveRoomChange);
     },
 
     componentWillUnmount: function() {
@@ -96,6 +106,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
         if (cli) {
             MatrixClientPeg.get().removeListener("accountData", this.onAccountData);
         }
+        ActiveRoomObserver.removeListener(this.props.room.roomId, this._onActiveRoomChange);
     },
 
     onClick: function(ev) {
@@ -174,7 +185,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
 
         var classes = classNames({
             'mx_RoomTile': true,
-            'mx_RoomTile_selected': this.props.selected,
+            'mx_RoomTile_selected': this.state.selected,
             'mx_RoomTile_unread': this.props.unread,
             'mx_RoomTile_unreadNotify': notifBadges,
             'mx_RoomTile_highlight': mentionBadges,
@@ -221,7 +232,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                 'mx_RoomTile_badgeShown': badges || this.state.badgeHover || this.state.menuDisplayed,
             });
 
-            if (this.props.selected) {
+            if (this.state.selected) {
                 let nameSelected = <EmojiText>{name}</EmojiText>;
 
                 label = <div title={ name } className={ nameClasses } dir="auto">{ nameSelected }</div>;
diff --git a/src/components/views/voip/CallPreview.js b/src/components/views/voip/CallPreview.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..132e29bd341
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/views/voip/CallPreview.js
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 New Vector Ltd
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+import React from 'react';
+import RoomViewStore from '../../../stores/RoomViewStore';
+import CallHandler from '../../../CallHandler';
+import dis from '../../../dispatcher';
+import sdk from '../../../index';
+
+module.exports = React.createClass({
+    displayName: 'CallPreview',
+
+    propTypes: {
+        // A Conference Handler implementation
+        // Must have a function signature:
+        //  getConferenceCallForRoom(roomId: string): MatrixCall
+        ConferenceHandler: React.PropTypes.object,
+    },
+
+    getInitialState: function() {
+        return {
+            roomId: RoomViewStore.getRoomId(),
+            activeCall: CallHandler.getAnyActiveCall(),
+        };
+    },
+
+    componentWillMount: function() {
+        this._roomStoreToken = RoomViewStore.addListener(this._onRoomViewStoreUpdate);
+        this.dispatcherRef = dis.register(this._onAction);
+    },
+
+    componentWillUnmount: function() {
+        if (this._roomStoreToken) {
+            this._roomStoreToken.remove();
+        }
+        dis.unregister(this.dispatcherRef);
+    },
+
+    _onRoomViewStoreUpdate: function(payload) {
+        if (RoomViewStore.getRoomId() === this.state.roomId) return;
+        this.setState({
+            roomId: RoomViewStore.getRoomId(),
+        });
+    },
+
+    _onAction: function(payload) {
+        switch (payload.action) {
+            // listen for call state changes to prod the render method, which
+            // may hide the global CallView if the call it is tracking is dead
+            case 'call_state':
+                this.setState({
+                    activeCall: CallHandler.getAnyActiveCall(),
+                });
+                break;
+        }
+    },
+
+    _onCallViewClick: function() {
+        const call = CallHandler.getAnyActiveCall();
+        if (call) {
+            dis.dispatch({
+                action: 'view_room',
+                room_id: call.groupRoomId || call.roomId,
+            });
+        }
+    },
+
+    render: function() {
+        const callForRoom = CallHandler.getCallForRoom(this.state.roomId);
+        const showCall = (this.state.activeCall && this.state.activeCall.call_state === 'connected' && !callForRoom);
+
+        if (showCall) {
+            const CallView = sdk.getComponent('voip.CallView');
+            return (
+                <CallView
+                    className="mx_LeftPanel_callView" showVoice={true} onClick={this._onCallViewClick}
+                    ConferenceHandler={this.props.ConferenceHandler}
+                />
+            );
+        }
+        return null;
+    },
+});
+