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svhelden's avatar
svhelden
Brass Contributor
Nov 08, 2023

Chatting with cross-tenant synchronization

We have implemented the new cross-tenant synchronization feature (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/multi-tenant-organizations/cross-tenant-synchronization-overview). Now, every user has his "own" account in his home tenant, plus the synchronized account in other tenant. So, imagine I am UserA in TenantA, and I want to chat with UserB in TenantB.

 

In my Teams (New Teams), when I search for UserB, I find two entries:

"UserB" which is the synchronized account in my tenant (TenantA)

"UserB (External)" which is his account in his own tenant (TenantB)

 

I can select both and chat with both, due to New Teams' multi-tenant feature. However, UserB sees my chat only if I use his home tenant account. If I chat with "UserB" (his synchronized account in my tenant), he never sees that in his Teams, unless he manually switches to TenantA.

 

Same for me, if UserB chats with "UserA (External)", I see this in my Teams. But if he chats with "UserA" (my synchronized account in his tenant), I never see that.

 

Is there anything we can do?

Chat
cross-tenant
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  • LeonPavesic's avatar
    LeonPavesic
    Silver Contributor
    Nov 08, 2023

    Hi svhelden,

    the behavior you're experiencing is expected with cross-tenant synchronization in Microsoft Teams. To ensure both users can see chat messages, it's best for UserA to initiate chats with "UserB (External)" (the home tenant account) and for UserB to do the same with "UserA (External)."

    This way, messages will be visible in both tenants. There is no direct way to sync chat messages between synchronized accounts in different tenants without manual switching.

    Here are some additional details about cross-tenant synchronization in Microsoft Teams:

    • Cross-tenant synchronization is a one-way process. This means that users from the source tenant are synchronized to the target tenant, but not the other way around.
    • Synchronized users have their own account in the target tenant. This means that they have their own profile, mailbox, and Teams chat history.
    • Synchronized users can access Teams in the target tenant. They can chat with other users, join teams, and participate in meetings.
    • Synchronized users cannot access other Microsoft 365 services in the target tenant. This is because they are not considered to be full members of the target tenant.

    For more information on cross-tenant synchronization in Microsoft Teams, please refer to the following links:


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    Kindest regards,


    Leon Pavesic
    (LinkedIn)

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