Microsoft Teams guide
Daniel Okonkwo writes about phones and mobile apps for Appcyclopedia, working on a MacBook Pro, a Pixel 9 Pro and an iPhone 15.
- Web
- Windows
- macOS
- iOS
- Android
Short answer
Open the invitation and click the meeting link. Teams opens in the app if you have it, or in your browser if you do not. Check your camera and microphone on the screen that appears, then click Join now.
No account needed: if the organiser allows it, you can join as a guest by typing your name, without signing in or installing anything on a computer.
Below: every way in (link, calendar, meeting ID, phone), joining from a phone, and what the lobby means.
How to join a Teams meeting from a link, the calendar or an ID
To join a Microsoft Teams meeting, use whatever you were sent. The first group covers a computer, the second a phone, and the last step covers the screen everyone sees before the meeting.
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On a computer
Click the meeting link in the invitation
Open the email or calendar invitation and click the link, usually labelled Join the meeting now. If the Teams app is installed, the meeting opens there. If not, it opens in your browser, where you can continue without installing anything.
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Or join from your Teams calendar
If the meeting is already in Teams, select Calendar on the left, click the meeting and select Join. During a meeting that has started, a Join button also appears at the top of the meeting’s chat.
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Or type the meeting ID and passcode
With only an ID and passcode, go to Calendar, open the arrow next to Meet now and choose Join with an ID. Enter both and select Join meeting. This option needs a work account with an Exchange Online mailbox.
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On a phone
Tap the link, or Join in the Teams calendar
In the invitation, tap Join the meeting now. If the Teams app is not installed, your phone opens the app store so you can get it first. Already in the app, tap Calendar, tap the meeting and tap Join.
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Or tap the dial-in number to join by phone
Many invitations include a phone number. Tap it, and when the call connects, enter the conference ID when asked. You hear the meeting and can speak, but you see nothing.
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Before you go in
Check your camera and microphone, then select Join now
A screen appears before the meeting with a preview of your camera and switches for camera and microphone. Set them how you want to arrive. To join as a guest, select Join without signing in and type your name. Then select Join now.
A common case: a supplier sends a Teams invitation and you have no Teams account. Click the link, choose to continue in the browser, type your name, and wait in the lobby until someone lets you in. Nothing is installed and nothing is signed into.
Use the link when you have one: it carries the meeting ID and passcode for you, so there is nothing to type.
More about Microsoft Teams
Microsoft’s app for chat, video meetings and shared files at work and at home.
If you cannot get into the Teams meeting
- You are stuck in the lobby
The organiser’s settings send some people to a lobby, often guests and people outside the organisation. Someone in the meeting has to admit you. Message the organiser if nobody does after a few minutes.
- Teams joins with the wrong account
On the screen before the meeting, select Change next to the account name and choose the right one, or select Join without signing in. On a phone, tap Switch.
- Join with an ID is missing
That option needs a work or school account with an Exchange Online mailbox. Use the invitation link instead, or enter the ID and passcode on the join page Microsoft links from the invitation.
- Nobody can hear you
Check the microphone switch on the screen before joining, and the device selected under audio settings. If another app is using the microphone, close it and rejoin.
Which way in to use
Every Teams meeting can be joined several ways, and the one to use depends on what you were sent and which device you are on.
| You have | Use | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| An email or calendar invitation | The meeting link | Nothing else |
| The meeting in your Teams calendar | Calendar, then Join | A Teams account |
| A meeting ID and passcode | Join with an ID | A work account with Exchange Online |
| A dial-in number | A phone call | A phone, audio only |
Start with the link: it works with or without an account and needs no typing.
What the lobby is, and why you might wait in it
The lobby is a waiting room the organiser controls. People who arrive there see a message that someone will let them in soon, and the meeting carries on without them until a person in it admits them.
Whether you land there depends on the organiser’s meeting options, not on anything you did. Guests who join without signing in and people from other organisations are the most likely to wait. If you are the organiser and want people to come straight in, change Who can bypass the lobby in the meeting options before it starts.
Joining as a guest versus with an account
As a guest you type a name and join through a browser. You can talk, share video and use the chat during the meeting, but the chat is not kept for you afterwards, and the organiser sees you labelled as a guest or as unverified.
With a Teams account the meeting also appears in your calendar and its chat stays in your chat list, which matters for meetings you attend every week.
How to be ready before the meeting starts
Most joining problems show up in the last minute: the wrong account, a muted microphone, a browser blocking the camera. Opening the link five minutes early gives you time to fix them on the screen before the meeting, where nobody can see you yet.
Click the link a few minutes early, check the camera and microphone, then select Join now. If you are the one sending the invitation next time, the guide to scheduling a Teams meeting covers creating it.
Joining Teams meetings, answered
- Do I need a Teams account to join a meeting?
- No, not if the organiser allows guests. Click the link, choose to join without signing in and type your name. You may wait in the lobby until someone admits you.
- Do I have to install Teams to join on a computer?
- No. A meeting link opens in a browser when the app is not installed. On a phone, you need the Teams app.
- Can I join a Teams meeting by phone call only?
- Yes, when the invitation includes a dial-in number. You can listen and speak, but you will not see shared screens or video.
- Can other people see me before I join?
- No. The preview on the screen before the meeting is only for you. Nobody sees or hears you until you select Join now.
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Test log
Followed the steps? Tell us how it went on your device. Entries appear here after we check them.
- Worked Every step, start to finish · Elias Brandt and Marta Kowalczyk Team
I tested this
Steps performed and confirmed 11 days ago
When you need this
When someone sends you a Teams meeting, join from the link in the invitation, on a computer or a phone. A meeting ID and passcode, or a phone call, work when there is no link to click.
- Describes
- Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows and Mac, and Teams in a browser · Microsoft Teams app for iPhone and Android
- Takes
- Under a minute, plus any wait in the lobby
- Platforms
- Web · Windows · macOS · iOS · Android
- Published
- 11 October 2026
- Facts checked
- 10 October 2026
Steps repeated and verified by 
Elias Brandt and 
Marta Kowalczyk
on
- Elias Brandt: the Windows and web steps on a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Windows 11 Pro).
- Marta Kowalczyk: the Mac steps on a MacBook Air (macOS 27.0.1), the iPhone steps on an iPhone 16 Pro (iOS 27.0.1) and the Android steps on a Galaxy A55 (Android 16).
Part of How to schedule and run an online meeting .
Microsoft Teams 
