Teams open to Chat option not Teams option

Question

Something has changed in my Teams. Previously when opened it went to the chat app. Now it open to the Teams app. How do I change it back to open the Chat app when Teams is started. I could not find it under settings.

Thanks,

Becky

Answer 1

Hi @Becky McNair,

Thank you for reaching out and describing the change you’re seeing.

Based on what’s currently available in the new Microsoft Teams experience, there isn’t a specific setting that allows you to choose whether Teams opens directly to Chat or Teams when the app starts. This behavior appears to be controlled by the app itself, rather than a user‑configurable option in Settings.

To be completely honest, this isn’t something I normally pay very close attention to either. That said, I did spend some time looking into your concern and based on what I found, there is a small workaround you might want to try.

Some users have noticed that Teams seems to remember the last area you were using when you closed the app. With that in mind, you could try opening Teams, switching to the Chat section, and then closing the app while you’re still on the Chat view. The next time you launch Teams, it may open directly back to Chat, depending on how the app saves your last session on your device.

As another practical tip, you might consider pinning Chat as your top favorite in the left sidebar. You can do this by right‑clicking on Chat and selecting Pin. While it won’t change the default startup view, it does make it quicker and easier to jump back into Chat as soon as Teams opens.

Just a quick note as well: this is a user‑to‑user support forum. Moderators here, including myself, are regular users too and don’t have the ability to change or influence Microsoft product features or design decisions. What we can do is share findings, observed behaviors, and practical tips based on experience and available information.

If my response happens to be helpful in any way or offers some useful perspective for your situation, you may gently consider clicking “Accept Answer” for this post. Doing so also helps highlight and pin the post, making it easier for other users who may be experiencing the same behavior to find this discussion and share additional insights or tips as well.

Thank you so much for your understanding.

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Answer 2

Teams uses the app bar on the left (Chat, Teams, Calendar, etc.) as the main navigation, and the default landing experience can be adjusted via the Chats and channels settings.

To have Teams open to Chat again:

1. Open Microsoft Teams and sign in.
2. Use the Tab key (or mouse) to move focus to the app bar where Chat and Teams are listed.
3. Open More list options for chats and channels, then choose Customize view to open the Chats and channels settings page.
4. In Chats and channels, select the view that surfaces Chat as the primary list (combined or separate) so Chat is the main entry point when Teams starts.

If Chat and Teams are in a combined list, Chat items will appear together with channels and be readily available from the main view when Teams opens.

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References:

• Use a screen reader to navigate and explore the new chats and channels experience in Microsoft Teams
• Chat, teams, channels, & apps in Microsoft Teams