How to Use Teams on Your Phone (Mobile App Essentials)

The Teams phone app does nearly everything the desktop version does, which is a blessing when you're out and a curse at 9pm. Here's how to get it set up, use the useful bits and stop it ruling your evenings.

1. Install Microsoft Teams from the App Store (iPhone and iPad) or Google Play (Android).
2. Open it and sign in with your work or school email, or a personal Microsoft account.
3. Allow notifications when asked. You can fine-tune them later.

The tabs along the bottom are Activity, Chat, Teams, Calendar and More. Your profile picture at the top left opens your status and settings.

Tap Calendar, find the meeting and tap Join. Check your camera and microphone on the preview screen, then tap Join now. In the meeting, tap the screen to show the toolbar: mute, camera, share, ⋯ More for raise hand and reactions, and the red Leave button.

Tip: a meeting link in an email or text opens straight into the app.

Tap Chat, pick a conversation and type. Press and hold a message to react, reply or save it. Tap the + next to the message box to send a photo, a file or your location.

This is the setting that matters:

1. Tap your profile picture > Notifications.
2. Tap During quiet time (or Quiet hours).
3. Set Daily quiet hours, for example 6pm to 8am, and tick Quiet days for the weekend.

Teams stops buzzing during those times. Messages still arrive; you just don't hear about them until morning.

Tap ⋯ More > Share, then choose Share screen, Share photo or Share video. Sharing your screen lets you show an app or a document from your phone to the whole meeting.

Already in a meeting on your laptop? Join the same meeting from your phone, and Teams asks whether to Add this device. Say yes and your phone becomes a second camera or a way to share a photo of a whiteboard, with the audio staying on the laptop.

Notifications don't arrive. Check Teams is allowed under your phone's notification settings, and that Teams isn't on Do not disturb status. On Android, turn off battery optimisation for Teams.

The app logs me out. Your organisation's security policy may require Microsoft Authenticator. Install it and sign in again.

Meetings drop on mobile data. Turn off video for a steadier call, or switch to Wi-Fi.

Install the app, sign in, and set quiet hours before anything else. Join meetings from Calendar, chat from Chat, and use Add this device when you want your phone's camera in a laptop meeting.