Microphone not working in Outlook hub for Teams personal tab

Question

Hi,

We are submitting our Microsoft Teams personal tab app to the Teams Store and received the following rejection under General - Usability:

"Unable to use the Dictate a message option in Outlook hub. We're experiencing an issue with the 'Dictate a message feature. Even after enabling media permissions in Outlook Hub, we receive an 'Unable to access microphone' error message."

Context:

Our app is a Teams personal tab that uses microphone for voice input. We added "devicePermissions": ["media"] to our manifest and the microphone works correctly in Microsoft Teams client.

After installing in Teams, the app is automatically promoted to Outlook hub. When opened in Outlook, the microphone fails with "Unable to access microphone" even after enabling media permissions in Outlook Hub settings.

Questions:

1. Does "devicePermissions": ["media"] apply to Outlook hub, or does Outlook not forward allow="microphone" to the embedded iframe? Is this a known platform limitation?
   2. Our app is designed and tested for Microsoft Teams only. Is there a supported way in manifest v1.22 to prevent the app from appearing in Outlook and M365 hub so this issue does not affect store review?
   3. If restricting to Teams only is not possible via manifest, what is the recommended approach to handle this scenario and pass store review?

Manifest (relevant parts):
{

"manifestVersion": "1.22",

"staticTabs": [{

"scopes": ["personal"],

"context": ["personalTab"]

}],

"devicePermissions": ["media"]

}

Answer 1

Hi @Liudmyla Ivantsova

Thank you for sharing your concerns. 

First, I’d like to clarify that this is a user‑to‑user support forum. Moderators participating here do not have access to backend systems, nor can we directly intervene in Microsoft product functionality. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance and sharing best‑practice recommendations based on reported issues, requests, and scenarios.      

Regarding to your concerns: 

For "devicePermissions": ["media"]  

Currently, I have not found any official Microsoft documentation stating that this permission is supported in Outlook or Microsoft 365 hosts. According to Microsoft documentation, device permissions (including media access such as microphone and camera) are defined for Teams apps and require user consent within the Teams client environment.  

When the app is rendered in Outlook or the Microsoft 365 app, the tab content runs inside an iframe hosted by the parent application. In this scenario, access to device capabilities such as the microphone depends on whether the host application provides or forwards those browser permissions to the embedded content. At the moment, this capability might not available in Outlook, which results in the "Unable to access microphone" behavior. 

Any supported way in manifest v1.22 to prevent the app from appearing in Outlook and M365 hub 

There is no simple or direct manifest configuration (including in version 1.22) that allows restricting the app to run only in Microsoft Teams. Beginning with manifest version 1.13, Teams apps are automatically enabled to run across multiple Microsoft 365 hosts, including Teams, Outlook, and the Microsoft 365 app. 

This behavior is related to a mechanism called runtime requirements (such as requirementSet and elementRelationshipSet), which controls how app capabilities behave across different hosts. However, this mechanism is designed to manage feature and API dependencies and does not explicitly include support for media or microphone capabilities. 

As a result, runtime requirements cannot be used to restrict the app based on microphone usage. 

If it is strictly required to keep the app Teams-only, one possible approach is to continue using manifest version 1.12 or earlier. Otherwise, when using manifest version 1.13 or later (including 1.22), host-specific behavior must be handled at runtime within the application code. 

You can refer here: 

Specify App Runtime Requirements - Teams | Microsoft Learn 

For passing the Microsoft Store review process 

Unfortunately, Microsoft requires every app published to the public Teams Store to undergo a full and mandatory review process. This process includes both technical validation and strict usability checks. 

As part of the review, Microsoft reviewers always test the app in the Outlook hub and the Microsoft 365 hub. This behavior is automatic because any personal tab using manifest version 1.22 (or higher) is promoted by the platform to these hosts by default. If errors are hidden, fixes are skipped, or unofficial workarounds are applied, the app is likely to be rejected again during review. In more serious cases, this could lead to the Partner Center account being flagged or the app being removed after publication. 

Please note that this summary is based on my own findings and may not fully address your concerns. To help you reach your goal more effectively, I recommend engaging with  [GitHub Community Forum] for a deeper technical dive or to connect with individuals who have relevant experience and expertise. Some approaches may behave differently or be restricted depending on your specific environment and configuration. These forums include many experienced developers and Microsoft specialists who can assist with troubleshooting and guidance.   

If you have any additional concerns, feel free to comment below. I would be more than happy to assist. 

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Answer 2

1. devicePermissions: ["media"] is the correct way for a Teams app to declare that it needs microphone/camera access. This enables Teams to expose App permissions and, in the browser, to coordinate with the browser’s own camera/microphone permissions. The available documentation only states that:
   • "media" in devicePermissions allows permission to use camera, microphone, speakers, and media gallery in a Teams app.
   • Users must enable these permissions in Teams (App permissions UI) and in the browser for web scenarios.
   The documentation does not describe Outlook hub behavior or any forwarding of allow="microphone" from Outlook to the embedded iframe. It only documents Teams (desktop, mobile, and web) behavior. No statement is provided that Outlook hub supports or forwards these device permissions in the same way.
2. The provided manifest schema information only covers adding:

      "devicePermissions": [
          "media"
      ]
   

   and how to use it in Teams apps. There is no information in the referenced material about using manifest v1.22 to restrict a personal tab app to Teams only or to exclude it from Outlook or Microsoft 365 hub. No manifest property or pattern is documented in the context that would prevent the app from appearing in Outlook/M365 hub.
3. The documented, supported approach for passing store review when device permissions are required is:
   • Declare "media" in devicePermissions in the manifest so Teams can expose App permissions.
   • In the app UI, clearly instruct users where to enable device permissions in Teams (for personal apps/tabs, use the App permissions entry point described in the docs).
   • For web scenarios, also instruct users to allow microphone/camera in the browser’s site permissions.
   Specifically, guidance is:
   • Ensure the app manifest includes "devicePermissions": ["media"].
   • In the personal tab, surface instructions that direct the user to:
     • Teams → More options → App permissions for that app, then toggle on microphone/camera.
     • Then, if using Teams on the web, also allow microphone/camera in the browser (for example, via Edge or Chrome site permissions as documented).
   The context does not provide any Outlook-specific workaround or a way to bypass Outlook hub, so the only documented recommendation is to:
   • Implement and document device-permission handling as per Teams guidance, and
   • Make users aware of where to enable permissions in the Teams UI and in the browser.

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References:

• Integrate media capabilities
• Device capabilities
• Request device permissions for your Teams app
• Device permissions for the browser
• Troubleshoot device features in Microsoft Teams on the web