How to test microphone and camera in Teams?

Hi Michael,

If you have a paid version of Teams you should be able to use the "Make a test call" feature. (Instructions from Marquette University)

1. In Teams, on the topmost window bar, locate the three-dots menu icon in the upper right. Select three-dots menu icon > Settings.

2. The Teams Settings screen appears. In the left column, select Devices.

3. Click or tap the "Make a test call" button.

I was able to replicate that the feature is still there. If you are using the free version, you can still go into Devices and confirm which webcam, speaker and microphone you'd like to use.

Best regards

Hi Michael,

If you have a paid version of Teams you should be able to use the "Make a test call" feature. (Instructions from Marquette University)

1. In Teams, on the topmost window bar, locate the three-dots menu icon in the upper right. Select three-dots menu icon > Settings.

2. The Teams Settings screen appears. In the left column, select Devices.

3. Click or tap the "Make a test call" button.

I was able to replicate that the feature is still there. If you are using the free version, you can still go into Devices and confirm which webcam, speaker and microphone you'd like to use.

Best regards

I think I saw this one earlier today. I uninstalled, rebooted, redownloaded, and reinstalled my (paid) version of Teams from MS but there's no such "Make a test call" button.

I remember when there was but there's none under any left-column item, including Devices.

Thank you,

Mike

This is what it looks like for me. I am using "New Teams" view if it makes a difference:

Hi Michael, Thank you for posting on the forum today. I’m Bambi, a user like you and I’ll be happy to assist you. To use the feature as described below, you need a license for Teams. From your description, it says you use Teams (free). If you use Teams for business meetings, I’ll suggest you consider getting a license for Teams. To test your microphone and camera in Microsoft Teams before a meeting, you can follow these steps: -For Microphone: Go to Settings and more (⋯) next to your profile picture at the top of Teams. Choose Settings > Devices. Ensure your microphone is selected from the Microphone dropdown menu. -For Camera: Under Camera preview, make sure your camera is enabled. -Make a Test Call: Under Audio devices, select Make a test call. Follow the instructions from the Test Call Bot to record and playback a short message. This will allow you to check both your microphone and camera. I pulled the steps from this article https://support.microsoft.com/office/456cb611-3477-496f-b31a-6ab752a7595f Remember to check that Teams has the necessary permissions to access your microphone and camera on your device. If you encounter any issues, ensure that your Teams application is up-to-date with the latest version. Hope this helps, and good luck with your meetings! Best Regards, Bambi

This is what it looks like for me. I am using "New Teams" view if it makes a difference: [graphic]

Thanks. I think we're onto something here! I apparently have classic Teams. Don't see any way to get New Teams (that top left option isn't there for me).

I have a paid subscription to Office 365 for myself and my kids. I'll have to investigate whether that includes New Teams (I'm not interested in paying for it, too.) In a few minutes I saw words to the effect of "New Teams should be available [last] October"

I'm going to uninstall my present Teams, reboot, and try to install the "Teams for work or school" on the right side of the download for desktop page. I notice that blue bar has "Download the new Teams app".

Update: Some (measured success). New Teams won't install to my laptop but defaults to the Web. It says something like I have a personal account (Gmail) and those aren't supported.

Am I correct in assuming I really don't need desktop Teams if I don't care to initiate a Teams meeting? In other words, if someone invites me to a Teams meeting, there will be a browser-based way for me to join?

In the era of Zoom and Meet, my Teams experience continues to be subpar. My impression as a former software tech writer is that it's trying to do too much.

Thanks!

Thanks, Bambi. I'll have to double-check but I thought a Teams license is included with my paid Office 365 subscription.

Thanks for your response. Yes, I believe you can be invited even if without an app installed. However, regarding your subscription, if you use a personal or family subscription, you can access limited features. It’s almost the same as the free version of Teams. You can consider the Teams essentials https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app You should be able to access New Teams with the above license. Regards, Bambi

Hello Michael,

New Teams is for those with business license (hence the work or school account). Since your subscription is on the home user side, you will be using Teams for Home, which doesn't have the testing feature Bambi referred to.

If you are using your personal Microsoft account to join meetings issued by business, you have two options to join them:

1. Join via the web - paste the meeting link to the web browser, in private mode for better result. When prompted for using the app, don't use it. When prompted to sign in, don't sign in. Then you shouldn't be able to join the meeting that way simply by entering your desired display name.

2. On your current Teams for Home edition app, go to Settings and turn on Insider feature. Then you can join by meeting ID and passcode.

Good news is, Microsoft is currently testing a new edition of Teams that will merge Teams for Home and Teams for work. Meaning there will be just one Teams for both home and business users. No need to go through the option 1 and option 2 above. It is currently rolling out to Windows Insider users for testing, and hopefully will soon available to the general public.

Thanks, Emily. That will be good when there's one version. Right now it seems there are 2 versions for download (home, work/school) and multiple licenses. That ends up being a confusing matrix of who can do what with what.

I've uninstalled all versions and plan to test Web connectivity with a friend soon.

I appreciate everyone's replies here.

Best,

Mike