Get started with Microsoft Teams at IU

On this page:

Overview
Eligibility
Software
Log into Microsoft Teams
Create a team
Learn the basics
Troubleshooting, help, and feedback

Overview

Microsoft Teams at IU is a collaboration tool that gives Indiana University students, faculty, staff, and external users the ability to work together and share information in a common space. Included among its features are real-time collaboration, one-on-one chat, and file sharing.

For helpful, easily readable information about Microsoft Teams and how to use it, see Everyday Etiquette in Microsoft Teams.

Office telephone service for faculty and staff at Indiana University has transitioned from Skype for Business to Teams Calls.

Eligibility

If you are eligible to use Microsoft 365 at IU, you are eligible to use this application and its related suite of products.

Note:

Everyone who is eligible to use Microsoft 365 at IU can use the Teams Calls feature for PC-to-PC calling with other Microsoft Teams users both within and outside of IU. However, you cannot use Teams Calls to dial by phone number unless you have been assigned an IU office telephone number.

Software

This application is included in Microsoft 365, and you can access it from Microsoft 365 at IU .

Note:

You can use the Microsoft Teams web app in a fully supported browser (Chrome or Edge) for most Teams functions, including PC-to-PC calls, but the dial pad will not appear in the web app for IU employees with office phone numbers, even following migration to Teams Calls. If you wish to dial by phone number, you'll need to install the app.

Download Microsoft Teams Desktop and Mobile Apps.

For mobile clients, Microsoft Teams applications are also available via the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

New Teams

Over the 2023-24 winter break, Microsoft Teams at IU will transition to using the new Teams client as the default. You’ll be able to switch back and forth between the new and classic Teams apps until March 31, 2024, at which point the classic app will no longer be available. Although some known issues remain, most Teams users at IU should now find the features they rely on in the new app, which promises significant CPU and memory performance improvements. If you don’t see a version toggle at the top of your Teams client on your managed computer, ask your IT Pro to contact the Endpoint Management team to manage this policy for you.

By default, Microsoft Teams launches automatically when you log into Windows, although you can change this setting if you wish. You can also set up automatic launch in macOS.

By default, all clients will log you in with your primary user account; if you want to log into an alternate account, sign out and log in manually.

Create a team

Any Microsoft Teams team must be created using IU's Institutional storage request form. To access the form in the Teams client, in the left navigation pane select New Team. This process ensures the team is created as private, where specific members are assigned access, and it provides additional safeguards, naming conventions, and tools that will be valuable for storage owners and the IU community.

If you need to create a team with a Teams Classes template, see About the Microsoft Teams Classes integration in Canvas at IU.
If you need to create a team with an alternative template, Contact your campus IT Support Center.

Learn the basics

To learn how to perform common tasks in Microsoft Teams, see Microsoft Teams help & learning.

Troubleshooting, help, and feedback

If you have trouble with any application, sign out of Microsoft 365 and completely close your browser or mobile app, and then restart it. You can also switch to a different browser to see if that resolves the issue.

For help, contact your campus Support Center.