New Microsoft Teams

New Teams is now the default Teams client. People in the University of Waterloo tenant, will be able to switch back to Teams classic, until approximately mid-May, 2024. In mid-May, 2024 everyone will be switched to new Teams.  

What is new Teams?  

The new Teams client is re-imagined from the ground up with performance in mind, providing a faster, simpler, and more flexible experience. The new Teams client installs and loads faster, letting you launch the app and join meetings more quickly, giving you more time to focus on the business tasks. 

The new Teams ensures more efficient use of device resources. You can lower memory and disk usage with a Teams app optimized for your device. Whether you have users on multiple accounts or tenants, the new Teams can help eliminate the silos and bring them together in one place, giving them more extensibility and scale. For more information please visit Announcing general availability of the new Microsoft Teams app for Windows and Mac - Microsoft Community Hub 

One Drive Replacing Files App in new Teams 

The new OneDrive app for Teams will replace the generic File app in Teams. With the OneDrive app in Teams, you can access all your M365 files like you would with OneDrive on the Web. The new experience makes it easy to find and access your content with new organization tools and views.  

For more information please visit:  

How to switch to new Teams 

Switch to the new Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Support 

Note: New Teams is a different application so any shortcuts to Teams classic will need to be re-created for new Teams.  

Warning: New Teams was available to campus as of February 20th, with a deadline to switch to new Teams of mid-May, 2024. 

If new Teams is not enabled for you, try the following instructions.

Windows 10/11 

  1. Open the Teams classic desktop app.  

    1. When accessing new Teams for the first time, you will see a pop-up that will instruct you to switch to New Teams. Click “Switch Now” to move to New Teams. Once you have clicked on Switch Now, Teams Classic will automatically be closed and new Teams will be launched.

      image-20240201-211628.png
  2. If you are not prompted to switch to new Teams, in the upper left, turn on the ‘Try the new Teams’ toggle .

    tempsnip-20240201-203813.jpg
    1. Note: if the toggle is greyed out or if you are unable to turn on new Teams, please clear the Teams cache.

      1. Instructions on how to Clear Teams cache - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn 

  3. In the pop-up window, select ‘Get it now’ .

  4. Follow the prompts on screen  

  5. New Teams should automatically open. Any future actions (e.g., joining a Teams meeting from Outlook) will happen in new Teams by default.  

  6. Right click on the new Teams icon in your taskbar and click ‘Pin to taskbar’. Then right click on the old Teams Classic icon in taskbar and click ‘Unpin from taskbar’

On your computer, you will now have 2 Teams applications. 

  • In Windows 10, they will be named as follows:

    • New Teams: “Microsoft Teams (work or school)” 

    • Teams classic: “Microsoft Teams classic” 

  • In Windows 11, they will be named as follows:

    • New Teams: “Microsoft Teams (work or school)” 

    • Teams classic: "Microsoft Teams classic (work or school)" 

MacOS 

 

If you miss the prompt, you can do this anytime by going to Apple Menu > System Settings Privacy & Security.

  1. Under Screen Recording, make sure Microsoft Teams (work or school) is selected the logo will also look like this.

  2. Repeat the same steps for Microphone and Camera as well.

 

  1. Open the Teams classic desktop app. 

    1. When accessing new Teams for the first time, you will see a pop-up that will instruct you to switch to New Teams. Click “Switch Now” to move to New Teams. Once you have clicked on Switch Now, Teams Classic will automatically be closed and new Teams will be launched.

  2. If you are not prompted to switch to new Teams, in the upper left, turn on the ‘Try the new Teams’ toggle. 

    1. Note: you will need to be logged in as an administrator or have administrator credentials.

  3. In the pop-up window, select ‘Get it now’. 

  4. New Teams will begin downloading.

  5. Once downloaded, the installer should automatically open.  

  6. Follow the prompts on screen to complete the installation  

  7. New Teams should automatically open.  

 

On your computer, you will now have 2 Teams applications. 

  • In MacOS, they will be named as follows:

    • New Teams: “Microsoft Teams (work or school)” 

    • Teams classic: “Microsoft Teams classic” 

Teams on the Web (all browsers)  

  1. Log in at https://teams.microsoft.com/ using username@uwaterloo.ca and your password.

  2. Click on the ellipse in the upper right and select About > Public preview  

    1. In the pop-up window select ‘Switch to public preview’.

  3. In the upper left, click the toggle to ‘Try the new Teams’. 

  4. In the pop-up windows, select ‘Switch to new Teams’.

    1. To make new Teams the default, select the check box beside ‘Don’t ask me this again’.  

  5. New teams will automatically load.  

Device Settings in New Teams (Camera/Microphone)

In new Teams, you can access your video and audio settings easily.

  • Camera:

    • Select the down-arrow beside the video icon to adjust settings such as device options, brightness and background effects.

    • Alternatively, you can click on the three dots for more settings and then select Video Effects and Settings to adjust background effects.

  • Microphone:

    • Select the down-arrow beside the microphone icon to adjust settings such as speaker and microphone device options, spatial audio and background suppression.

    • Alternatively, you can click on the three dots for more settings and then select Audio Settings to adjust the settings.

Reverting to Teams Classic  

Windows and Mac  

  1. Select the ellipses in the upper right.  

  2. Turn off the ‘New Teams’ toggle. 

  3. New Teams will automatically close and Teams classic will re-launch.

Teams on the Web (all browsers)  

  1. Select the ellipses in the upper right.  

  2. Turn off the ‘New Teams’ toggle. 

  3. In the pop-up window, select ‘Switch to classic Teams’.  

  4. Teams will automatically reload and launch Teams classic.   

Clearing cache in new Teams  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • New Teams is indicating that there is no camera available and has greyed out the camera icon

  • When joining a meeting in New Teams I hear a dial tone

    • If Skype for Business, is running, close it completely (including in the System Tray), then close Teams, re-start Teams, and try again.

    • If you are still experiencing the dial tone and can’t join the meeting, try reverting back to classic Teams and try again.

  • My Teams Layout looks different

    • Teams defaults to a grid layout. To change the layout, click the ellipses in the upper right and Settings. Then select Appearance and accessibility on the left, and scroll down to Layout.

    • Note: If you clear your Teams cache any changes in settings, including the layout, will be reset to the default settings.

  • When creating a Post in a channel in New Teams, it defaults to a post with a title and formatting

    • To post without a title or formatting: leave the title section blank, enter unformatted text in the body (where you see ‘Type a message’) and click Post

  • My time zone is incorrect

Resources