Phones for Microsoft Teams

Article
09/27/2023
Applies to:

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams supports a portfolio of desk phones for users who require a traditional phone experience. This article provides a complete overview of Teams phones and can help in planning, delivering, and managing Microsoft Teams phones as part of your Microsoft Phone System solution.

To deliver a high-quality and reliable Microsoft Teams experience on phones, we are partnering and actively working with Yealink, Crestron, Lenovo, Polycom, and Audiocodes to develop and certify a wide portfolio of desk phones and conference room audio devices. To get the latest and up-to-date information on Teams devices, go to Teams Marketplace.

To manage phones, you need to be a Global admin, Teams Service admin, or Teams Device admin. For more information about admin roles, see Use Microsoft Teams administrator roles to manage Teams.

Features supported by Teams phones

Teams-certified phones have a broad array of features to help your users do their jobs, and help you manage their use. Here's a summary of the features available in Teams-certified phones:

Authentication Phones use Modern Authentication to simplify signing in and to improve security. Users can sign in by entering their username and password on the phone or by signing in from another device like PC/smartphone.
Speed dial and call history Users have quick access to their contacts, call history, and voicemail. They can easily manage their contacts and speed dial entries directly from their phone.
Meetings and calls Users can view their schedules and easily join meetings using Teams' one-touch join.
Call groups Phone agents who participate in call groups can easily manage their availability and accept or decline incoming calls from the call queue.
User delegation Executive assistants and admins can manage their executives' phones - intercept incoming calls; make calls on behalf of the executive; take over calls that the executive has placed on hold; and monitor whether the executive is on a call, on hold, and so on.
Hot desking Users can get their contacts, meetings, and other preferences, just by signing into a phone. When they're done, they can sign out and leave the phone ready for the next user.
Video Phones with video support let users join calls and video conferences just like they were at their computers. Users can keep their privacy by using a phone's camera shutter and microphone mute switch when available.
Better together Phones can lock and unlock in an integrated fashion when connected to their Windows PC running a 64-bit Teams desktop client.
Accessibility Phones have several accessibility features, such as high contrast text, to make it easier for anyone to use them.
Dynamic and enhanced E911 support Signed-in users who call 911 will see their location on the phone.

Important

If a phone isn't signed in, or if it doesn't have an Internet connection, 911 calls can't be placed. If this happens, a notification is displayed on the phone.

In addition to the above features, you can control what capabilities are available depending on the type of license and phone policy that are assigned to the user signing into the phone. For example, users who sign into a phone with their personal accounts can access the full range of features - calling, meetings, voicemail, and so on. Accounts assigned a Microsoft Teams Shared Devices license that sign into a phone, however, may only get access to a limited range of features; call history and meeting schedules may not be retained, for example, to protect users' privacy.

Required licenses

Teams licenses can be purchased as part of their Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions. To learn more about the required licenses for using Teams on phones, see available phone system licenses.

For more information about getting Teams, check out How do I get access to Microsoft Teams?

Important

Microsoft Teams Rooms Basic licenses aren't supported on and won't work with Teams Phone devices. An account with a Basic license assigned will be blocked from sign in.

Deploy your phones using Intune

To learn more about how to deploy Teams displays using Intune, see Deploy Teams phones and Teams displays.

Manage your phones

Manage and keep your Teams phones up-to-date using the Microsoft Teams admin center. For more information, see Manage your devices in Teams.

Upgrade your phones to Teams displays

Microsoft Teams displays are a category of all-in-one dedicated Teams devices that feature an ambient touchscreen. With Teams displays, users can use a microphone, camera, and speakers (or Bluetooth headset) for a reliable calling and meeting experience. Teams displays integrates with users' Windows PCs to bring a companion experience that allows for seamless cross-device interaction.