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Microsoft Teams Blog
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Introducing Chat from Microsoft Teams on Windows 11, for your personal accounts

Microsoft_Teams_team's avatar
Microsoft_Teams_team
Silver Contributor
Oct 04, 2021

Starting on October 5th, all Windows 11 users can start using Chat from Microsoft Teams on Windows. It is a signature, lightweight experience brought right to the Taskbar to let Teams personal account users quickly start a video call or chat with friends and family. Chat from Microsoft Teams is installed and pinned to the Taskbar at Windows 11 startup. Windows 11 also includes the full Teams app experience for personal accounts, which powers Chat.


The new Teams experience on Windows 11 and Chat are intended for personal Microsoft accounts and will be available only to individuals using such accounts.

Chat from Microsoft Teams on Windows 11

 

Can I use Chat with my Teams work or school account?

No – Chat on Windows 11 is available only for Teams personal users. If you are an IT administrator for work or school account (AAD) users, please instruct your users to use the version of Teams that is labeled work or school and uses the icon with blue tile with a white letter “T” inside. If you try to log into Chat with your work or school account, you will be redirected to download Teams for work or school.


So, there will be different versions of Teams on my Windows 11 device?

Yes. Chat on Windows 11 is powered by the version of the Teams app that uses your personal Microsoft account.


Teams work or school account users will use the version of the Teams app that is labeled (work or school) and uses the icon with a blue tile with a white letter “T”.

Microsoft Teams icons and label in Windows search.

Microsoft Teams icons and label in the Windows Taskbar.

 

Please note that the label will become available over the next three weeks.


If you accidentally try to log into the wrong version of the app, Teams will inform you.


As a Teams user, what should I expect after upgrading to Windows 11?

If you had Teams installed before upgrading your device to Windows 11, you can continue to use Teams for work or school as you had prior to the upgrade. Your settings for your work or school app (AAD) will stay in place. If you were previously using one Teams app for both personal and work or school accounts, on Windows 11 you will now have a dedicated app for each experience.


If you just bought a new device with Windows 11, download the Teams for work or school app (AAD) here.


For additional guidance about using Teams for work or school on Windows 11, please read this support article.


We would like to hear your feedback on the Chat from Microsoft Teams experience; please provide your feedback on Uservoice.

Updated Oct 05, 2021
Version 2.0
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97 Comments

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  • mannyvale's avatar
    mannyvale
    Copper Contributor
    Oct 05, 2021

    Total mess. Can Microsoft leave Teams alone. If anything create a Chat App for Corporate versions of MS Teams.

  • KrisDeb's avatar
    KrisDeb
    Iron Contributor
    Oct 05, 2021

    Terrible idea and even worse execution, I have no clue how to explain it to my clients, it's a nightmare. We will lose money and you will lose more customers. Someone is really incompetent there or there was not enough communication and too much collaboration, maybe 😛

  • Pontus T's avatar
    Pontus T
    Iron Contributor
    Oct 05, 2021

    Waiting for the article to admins on which Intune policy can remove the built-in Teams app. Moving no users to 11 until that is possible.

  • Wayne Stuebing's avatar
    Wayne Stuebing
    Brass Contributor
    Oct 05, 2021

    Agree this is a mistake. There should be one app that you sign in and use with your accounts. 

  • MartinDrWindows's avatar
    MartinDrWindows
    Iron Contributor
    Oct 05, 2021

    With the publication of this article you admit yourself that this is a bad idea.

    If you need to explain it, it's no good. It's that simple.

  • wroot's avatar
    wroot
    Silver Contributor
    Oct 05, 2021

    Users will never remember which color icon is for what, good luck with that 🙂 This integration feels rough and rushed. Like some other places of Windows 11. And so many Insider blogs about fixing myriads of things in Dev channel. I guess in a year or so it will be fixed more or less.

  • Thijs Bergervoet's avatar
    Thijs Bergervoet
    Iron Contributor
    Oct 04, 2021

    I'm sorry but this is just terrible branding. It's a huge mistake not having 1 client that plays nice with all accounts, and who is ever going to use a product called 'Teams' to call their friends and family?! 

     

    Fix this, by giving us a new work Teams app based on the new architecture, fully integrated into Windows 11. That's what people were excited about when we heard about this.. but non-work Teams isnt going to find any traction.

     

    Make it so that Skype accounts can also be loaded into the 1 Teams client. And keep Skype around as a separate app for people who don't need all the additional features. Now was that really so hard?