Joining Microsoft teams meetings as a guest

07 May 2020

BASA Meetings will sometimes use Microsoft Teams, however you may not have a Microsoft Teams or organizational Office 365 account – but there’s no need to worry, you can easily join a Teams meeting without an Office 365 account. Here’s how.

How to Join meetings as a guest in Teams

The first step in joining a Microsoft Teams meeting without an Office 365 account is simple. You’ll first want to check your email for the invite. You’ll then want to click the link on the bottom of the email that says Join Microsoft Teams Meeting. Once you click that, you can also ‘Accept the invite’ to add it to your calendar in your email.

Next, you’ll see that after clicking the link, you’ll have the choice to Download the Windows app, or join on the web instead. If you choose to join the meeting on the web, you’ll have a web-based version of Microsoft Teams. Your browser will then ask you to use your webcam and microphone, so be sure to accept both. This ensures you’ll be seen and heard during the meeting.

Once you’ve launched Microsoft Teams, you’ll have to enter your name and choose your audio and video settings. You can toggle off your microphone or webcam. You also can choose a different device for audio, if needed. Once you’re ready, you can click the purple Join now button.

Enter the meeting lobby

Finally, you’ll be put into the meeting lobby. Once you’re in the lobby, the meeting organizer will be notified that you’re there, and you’ll be admitted in. If no one has admitted you to the meeting within 15 minutes of joining, you’ll be kicked out from the lobby, and you’ll need to join again. It’s also worth noting that you won’t have full access to some of the features in the Teams meeting.

Free Version of Microsoft Team 

A free version of Microsoft Teams is available. Go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/free for details and to sign-up. Please note that anyone with any corporate or consumer email address can sign up for Teams. People who don’t already have a paid Microsoft 365 commercial subscription will have access to the free version of Teams. If a user at an existing Microsoft 365 commercial customer tries to sign up for free, they will be routed into the managed Teams experience for their organization. If the user doesn’t yet have a license for Teams as part of their organization’s Microsoft 365 plan, they will be routed to the Microsoft Teams Exploratory experience for free until January 2021