In recent times, due to a pressing work commitment, you and your colleagues need to communicate and collaborate while working remotely. Here, then, that to cope with this demanding phase you have thought of using Teams, Microsoft’s productivity software that allows you to organize virtual workgroups within which you can exchange files, messages and make calls and video calls.
So far you are all getting along well with this platform, however, problems arise when you need to organize calls and video calls. You still don’t understand how to call on Teams, your colleagues are having the same difficulties and here you are, hoping to find a solution in this tutorial.
If this is the case, I can only recommend you to continue reading this article, since I will explain in the next lines, in a clear and simple way, everything about calls and video calls on Teams. I’ll show you how to call the members (and not) of your workgroup both from the Teams computer client and from the mobile app. Excuse me? Is that exactly what you wanted to know? Great, let’s not waste any time and get right into it. Happy reading and good luck with everything!
Getting Started
Before moving on to show you in detail how to call on Teams, I think it might be useful to guide you through the steps of creating a suitable account for this platform and installing the application on computers and mobile devices. You should know, first of all, that Teams can be used for free and this version of the service entitles you to 2 GB of personal storage and 10 GB of storage for your organization on Microsoft’s cloud.
The free version of the service includes all (or almost all) of its main features: VoIP calls, video calls, the ability to organize 60-minute meetings with up to 100 participants, chat and file sending, integration with Web versions of Word, Excel and Power Point.
However, some additional features, such as the ability to record meetings, administrative tools for managing users and apps, and telephone and online support available at any time are prerogatives of the subscription plans Microsoft 365 Business Basic , Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Office 365 E3
In addition, some of these plans also give you access to the desktop versions of the aforementioned programs of the Microsoft Office suite. For all other details, I refer you to the appropriate Microsoft support page.
To download Teams on your PC, go to this page and click first on the Download desktop version button and then on the Download Teams button. Now, if you are using Windows, all you have to do is open the .exe file obtained, answer Yes to the User Account Control warning and wait for a short autoloading time, after which the Teams login screen will open.
If you use a Mac, instead, you have to open the .pkg file and click three times in a row on the Continue button. Then enter the password of your Mac and click on the Install Software button; finish the process by clicking on the Move button.
Please note that Teams is also available as a web app for browsers (just sign in here) and as an app for Android and iOS/iPadOS devices (to install the app, just visit the links I just provided with your smartphone or tablet, press the Get/Install button and, if necessary, verify your identity).
In the login screen that is shown at the end of the installation, you must proceed to enter the login credentials of your Microsoft account (having an account of this type is essential for the use of the platform). If you don’t have such an account, you can create one directly from the Teams client login screen, by first clicking on Use another account or sign up at the bottom and then on Create one! (or, alternatively, open this page and click on Create a Microsoft account).
If you chose to proceed with account creation from the Teams login screen, click on the For My Small Business or With Friends and Family (depending on how you plan to use the service) and then press the Next button. You will be redirected to a browser page where you will have to enter an email address of your own creation (e.g. digiitallife@outlook.com) and then you will have to specify for which purposes you will use Teams (For work and organizations, For friends and family, etc.).
Once you have completed these steps, proceed by clicking on the Create a new one item. Then create a password and enter your first and last name in the appropriate fields. Enter also your date of birth and solve the CAPTCHA. Finally, enter your phone number and proceed to verify the code sent by SMS. That’s it! You have just created an account with which you can log in to Teams.
How to call people on Teams from your PC
Now that we’ve seen how to install Teams, if you agree, I’ll proceed by showing you how to call on the Teams client and web app for computers. The procedure is really super simple and straightforward regardless of whether you want to make a call via VoIP call (voice only) or video call. Here are all the details.
How to call a friend on Teams
In the following lines I’ll show you how to call a person and how to call several people on Teams. I’ll tell you that the procedure I’m going to give you is valid both if you are using the client installed on your computer and if you are using the browser version of the service in question.
I must inform you, however, that if you have set up Teams for use with friends and family (and not for a business) you will only be able to call and video call users who are using the same version of Teams. Similarly, if you are using the Teams version for a company, you will be able to communicate only with other users who are using this same Teams version.
First of all, once you are logged into the platform with your Microsoft account, click on the Chat item in the list of features on the left side of the main page of the application. Then click on one of the already started chats that you find on the left: the name of the chat corresponds to the name of the person you want to call or the name of the contacts included in the group that in turn includes the person you want to call.
Alternatively, if you want to call a user with whom you have never chatted before, click on the purple button with the symbol of the square and the diagonal line, located at the top left, under the heading Chat, and in the input field of the entry “To:” on the right write the email address associated with the Microsoft account of the user you want to contact (eg digiitallife@outlook.com). Finally, press on the name of the user that is shown at the bottom.
Once the chat screen is open, if you want to make a call, press on the telephone handset icon located in the upper right corner (if you are making the call from a group chat you will be asked if you want to call all participants in the group at the same time). If, on the other hand, you want to make a video call, press the video camera icon next to the phone handset icon.
In both cases, if prompted, give permission to use the microphone and camera by pressing the Allow button.
The call screen and the video call screen are completely similar: you can turn off the microphone and camera by clicking on their icons in the upper right corner (when you turn off these tools, the microphone and camera icons should normally appear crossed out).
If you want to end the call, just click on the red Quit button in the upper right corner. To view the on-call chat, click on the cartoon icon in the upper right corner; you can also share your computer screen or an open program or browser window. To do so, click the up-arrow icon in the upper right corner and then select the option that suits you best (by clicking Screen or Window).
To add participants to the call, click on the two little men icon in the upper right corner (the Show participants item), then in the Invite someone or dial a number field, type the email address or number associated with the Microsoft account of the user you want to call. Finally, click on the user’s name shown below and you’re done. From this screen you can also mute the microphones of the other participants in the call by clicking on the microphone icons located next to the users’ names.
If you want to make a call or a group video call you can also start a new chat as I explained above, then press on the icon of the two little men in the upper right corner, then type the email addresses of the Microsoft accounts of the users you want to add and, finally, press on the icon of the telephone handset (if you want to call) or that of the camera (if you intend to video call).
Wondering how to call a number on Teams? Click on the Chat item on the main page of the application; then, press the square button with the diagonal line on the top left (the New Chat item) and type the number you want to call in the To field on the right. After that, click on the name of the user shown below and then on the telephone handset icon.
If you use the business version of the service, click on the Calls item, then click on the Add Speed Dial button at the top right corner and, subsequently, type the number of the person you want to contact in the window that opens. Finally, press the Add button. The contact will be shown in the list on the left and you will have to follow the same steps I listed above to call him/her.
In conclusion, I’d like to point out that, if you’re using the Teams version for businesses, you can also call a person by clicking on the Actions item, on the main page of the application, typing /call [username] and, from there, pressing the Enter key.
How to call an outsider on Teams
A friend of yours you would like to call is not using Microsoft Teams yet? In this case, the latter will first have to register a Microsoft account (if he does not already have one) and start using the Teams client or the Web application. We inform you that you can also send an invitation to download the client directly from the interface of the application itself.
Do you want to know how to do it? I’ll tell you right now (the procedure is valid only for the “standard” version of Teams and not for the business version). Once you have started Teams (it doesn’t matter if you use the client installed on your computer or the Web application), click on the Chat item in the list on the left and then press the Invite to Teams button at the bottom.
A link will be generated automatically and you only need to copy and paste it where you want (in a new email or on the chat of any social network) to share it with the person you want to invite. The person who will open the link will be able to proceed to download the client or start a new conversation with you from the web version of the service and to call him/her you’ll just have to follow the steps I explained in the previous chapter. Easier than that!
Finally, I point out that if you use Teams for a business and you want to call a user who is not part of your organization, you can do it in a totally similar way to what I have already shown you in the above chapter.
How to call yourself on Teams
Would you like to know how to call yourself on Teams? I must inform you that, unfortunately, at the time of writing, Microsoft Teams does not include a feature that allows you to make calls or video calls to yourself, neither in the “standard” version of the service nor in the one for businesses.
In fact, if you try to start a new chat by typing your own phone number in the search field of the Chat item, the buttons for audio and voice calls will not be available.
However, if you have the Teams for Business version, you can make a test call to check the status of your microphone and camera. To do this, once you’ve launched the app, press on the Actions item at the top left and in the field at the top type /test call and press the Enter key. By speaking into the microphone you can hear your own audio output (a short call will be recorded that you can listen to again to check if the audio is working properly).
How to call people on Teams from smartphones and tablets
In the next chapters of the tutorial, I’ll show you how calls and video calls work on the Microsoft Teams app for smartphones and tablets. I’ll tell you right away that the procedures are quite simple and very similar to what we’ve already seen on computers. Find everything below.
How to call a friend on Teams
As I mentioned calling someone on the Teams app is really a breeze. Once you’ve launched the app in question, press on the Chat item at the bottom.
Next, click on the preview of one of the chats already started in the list that is shown to you (if this is with the user you want to call) or, alternatively, tap on the square icon with the diagonal line located at the bottom right and then type the phone number or email address associated with the Microsoft account of the user you’re looking for and press on the same name that is displayed at the bottom.
After the chat with the interested person has opened, if you are also interested in knowing how to call multiple people on Teams, press on the ⁝ icon located at the top right and then on the Create Group Chat item. In the search bar at the top of the screen, type in the name of the account you want to add or the phone number associated with it and then tap on the search result at the bottom.
To proceed to the call, after opening the chat screen as I have just indicated, press on the phone handset icon at the top right (if you want to start a video call press on the camera icon located next to the handset). Once the call has started, you can disable the microphone by clicking on the microphone icon at the bottom of the screen (if it is correctly disabled, the icon should appear crossed out).
To share the screen of your phone or a photo from the Gallery, tap on the icon … at the bottom and, from there, press the Share item. Finally, tap on Share photo or Share screen. To disconnect the call, just tap on the red handset icon at the bottom right corner.
To minimize the call screen, press the virtual button that you normally use to return to your device. To view the text chat, tap on the cartoon icon in the upper right corner. Lastly, to add new participants to the call, tap on the two little men icon next to the cartoon icon. Simple, don’t you agree?
Excuse me? Do you want to know how to call a number on Teams? Simple: from the Chat tab on the main page of the app, type the number of the person you want to call in the search bar at the top. Then, press on the name that is shown at the bottom and, finally, tap on the phone handset icon. That’s it!
How to call an Outsider on Teams
As I mentioned earlier, you can call through Teams only users who have installed the application of the service in question. If you’re looking to call a friend of yours who hasn’t installed Teams yet, you can send them an invitation to do so. To do this from the app, once you’ve launched it, press on your user profile icon located in the top left corner.
From the list that opens, tap on the Invite to Teams entry. This will open a sub-menu with the icons of all the services you can use to share information with other users (e.g. social networks and email). Select the one that best suits your needs and a message will be automatically created that you can send to whomever you want. Very convenient, don’t you think?
How to call yourself on Teams
I must inform you that not even on the mobile version of Teams you can make calls or video calls to your profile. On the application, you don’t even have a way to test your microphone and camera as you can do on the computer version of the service.