Microsoft Teams FAQ

Teams is a chat-centered workspace where groups and individuals can quickly communicate, meet, and share files. Bringing new people up to speed is easy because of Teams’ persistent chat threads.

View the FAQ below to get started with using Teams. For more information, watch the Welcome to Microsoft Teams training video to see examples of how you can use Teams, search the Microsoft Teams Help Center or visit the Microsoft Teams YouTube channel for training videos. 

How do I create a Team? 

Click Teams on the left side of the Teams application. Click Join or create a team at the bottom of the screen, select Create a team, choose a Team type, name it and give it a description, then click Next. Now you can add collaborators to your Team by searching for them. Remember to add external users as guests by typing their full email address. 

Note: For detailed information on the different Team types, visit this Microsoft Teams Help Center article. 

If you're a Microsoft 365 Group owner, you'll see the option to Create a Team From an existing Microsoft 365 Group. Teams created from existing Groups will include the same members and will be linked to that Group's SharePoint site.

If you're not a Group owner or need to create a new Team, enter the Team's name and a brief description and click Next. A new Microsoft 365 Group will automatically be created for the new Team.

Visit the Microsoft Teams Help Center to learn more about adding team members and managing your team settings:

• Add people to a Team

• Change Team settings

How do I schedule or join a Teams meeting?

View Microsoft's instructions for scheduling a meeting in Teams or joining a meeting in Teams.

How long do recordings live in Teams?

The default duration for a recording is 120 days. Recordings live in Microsoft Stream, and the owner can click the recording in the chat to edit settings and add a title, description, or chapter markers.

Can I attach a Team to an existing Microsoft 365 Group?

Yes. Group owners can choose to create their Team from an existing Group. Click Create Team then Create a Team from an existing Microsoft 365 Group. You'll see a list of Groups you own. Select the Group you want to use to create your Team and click Choose team. The Team will include the same members from the Group and will be linked to that Group's SharePoint site.

Does Teams integrate with SharePoint?

Each Team is linked to a Microsoft 365 Group. Groups include a SharePoint site, so files shared within Teams can be viewed in that Group's SharePoint site.

Can I make phone calls in Teams?

No. However, Teams has audio conferencing capabilities like Skype. You must purchase a license to use audio conferencing. View the Microsoft Audio Conferencing software page for more information.

Can I chat with Skype for Business users with Teams Chat?

No, this is not currently supported.

Can each channel have different members?

Users have the option of creating private channels in Teams, where they can add individual Team members. Otherwise, all standard channels are accessible by all Team members by default. More information on private channels can be found on the Microsoft Teams documentation site. 

Can I remove a Team member if the person leaves WVU or is no longer needed?

Team owners can remove members from their team. Click the ellipsis (...) next to your team name and select Manage team. In the Members tab, you'll see a list of Team members and guests. Click the X next to the name of the person you want to remove. If you need to remove another Team owner, change their role from owner to member and then click the X next to their name.   

If an owner needs removed and there are no other Team owners, submit an ITS request asking to create a new owner.

I have a lot of Teams. How do I keep track of activity or hide my Teams? 

Click the Activity icon on the left-hand sidebar to see a feed of recent activity. In List view, you can also click the triangle next to a Team name to expand or hide Team channels. Channels that are bold have recent activity. Click the ellipsis (...) on a Team and select Hide to add the Team to hidden Teams at the bottom of your Teams list. 

How do I change the way I view my Teams?

Users may find it easier to navigate Teams by switching the view between Grid and List. In the top right corner, click your picture icon. From the menu, click Settings. The Settings window will open. Within the General tab go to the Layout section and click Grid or List.

How do I add HSC employees or external guests to my Team?

View the Guests in Microsoft Teams page for instructions.

Note: If most of the Team's content is going to be used by HSC employees, it's better to have an HSC employee create the Team you're using. 

Who is considered a guest?

A guest is defined as someone who isn’t an employee, student, or member of West Virginia University with an active WVU account. This includes email addresses at HSC.

What can guests do on a Team?

Guest can participate in the team via messaging and meetings, along with uploading and editing documents that have been added to Team channels like other members.

Guests can’t sync files within the Team to their local computers using the OneDrive client and are restricted to the teams they are added to; they can’t search for other teams within the WVU tenant or share files in a one-on-one chat.

View Microsoft's Team Owner, Member and Guest Capabilities page to learn more about what guests can and can't do in Teams. 

How do I switch between Teams instances?

Guests who need to switch between Microsoft Teams instances for separate organizations can use the local Teams client to access one organization and the web client to access the other.

Guests can also switch between their Microsoft 365 tenants to use different instances of Teams. For example, HSC guests may need to switch between their HSC instance of Teams to access the WVU instance of Teams where they were added as a guest. To switch instances, click your profile photo in Teams then select the organization from the list of tenants you have access to.

What are Teams live events and how do they work?

Microsoft Teams live events are an extension of Teams meetings that enable you to schedule and produce events that stream to large online audiences. Visit Microsoft's Get started with Microsoft Teams live events page to learn about the types of events you can create, who you can invite, and how to manage the event. 

What is the difference between a meeting and webinar?

The kind of meeting you create depends on the size of your audience and your other needs. Review this article for more guidance.

Why can't I see the Microsoft 365 Group that was created with my Team?

The Group visibility is hidden by default. If you'd like to use the Outlook features of the Group, submit a WVU IT request to change your group visibility.

Does the “away” message I create in Teams link to Outlook, and vice versa? What about other Microsoft products?

Yes. Your status is shared across Microsoft 365 products. For example, if you set an Out of Office message or Busy status in Teams, it will appear the same in Outlook.

How do I request help with Teams?

Search the Microsoft Teams help center for guides and solutions to common problems. If you need technical support, submit a WVU IT request for Microsoft 365 application assistance.

I’m an instructor. Can I use Teams to teach my class?

Because students are not automatically provisioned for Teams, it is not yet appropriate for teaching. However, student employees and graduate assistants with @mail accounts can easily collaborate in Teams. Learn more about requesting an employee account for students. 

Can I store sensitive data in Teams?

No. If the information meets the University’s definition of Sensitive Data, it cannot be stored in Microsoft Teams. Review this article for handling Sensitive Data.

Also, people engaged in research activities should follow the guidance on Approved Technologies for Research.