Forum Discussion
Contact list no longer available in new Teams version
When new teams go live, can I keep using the old version?
The new version only has a chat list and no contact list.
I regularly use my contact list to determine if someone is in the office.
If I must use the new teams, can someone suggest a workaround?
- I am collaborating with multiple external companies, and it is really useful to show them in specific groups in the contact list (group "Company X"). I was trying out the new version of Teams client and I lost the overview and really missed such a structured view of my contacts. For this reason I have disabled the preview (pretty quick).
I agree that this is a problem. Our company is just diving into using Teams and dropping another internal chat software. My biggest complaint was that I would lose my list of employees. I found the Contact list in Teams and just finished entering everyone's information... tried the new Teams... and am very disappointed (but really not surprised) that Microsoft decided to get rid of the Contact list. I'm just glad I haven't spent any time writing instructions for my co-workers as to how to set up their Contact lists... what a waste that would have been. Also not thrilled with the options in the response to this problem...yes, there are certainly ways to work around the absence of this list, but the list is what we want... once it's set up, it's a simple way to have a roster of employees.
Dianne_NZ There's a lot to like about the new Teams but the Contact List on the old version is a very useful feature and it's just amazing that Microsoft didn't think to include it with the introduction of the new Teams. The suggested workarounds are not satisfying so I've gone back to the old version. Had MS included the Contacts List in the new version, there's no doubt that its adoption would be more successful. To me, the Contacts List is such an important feature that it should have its own menu option separate from Chat.
bblank1450 yes you nailed it. We won't be deploying the new version until there is proper contact management. It should have been central to new development not something that is coming later. It is an upgrade stopper.
- Just started using the new teams version, No contacts anymore, this is so inconvenient and no good alternative. This is not working for me.
same here, tried using the new Teams but without contact list it is not usable for me.
Jup... I just keep checking the "New Teams" from time to time and the Contacts "feature" is still gone. Just how could they have removed it is beyond me. I know several people who do not use it since Teams defaults to "Chat" and they've simply never checked it out. But it is vital.
- I don't know if it will make any real difference, but they do say ... " feedback is critical for improving the Teams experience. If you encounter a bug or have feedback when using the new Teams, select Help button Help>Give feedback and follow the prompts. " Hopefully this feedback on the Contacts feature is being seen and highlighted to those making the decisions. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/try-the-new-microsoft-teams-2d4a0c96-fa52-43f8-a006-4bfbc62cf6c5#bkmk_help-feedback
- Hi,
Roadmap feature for the New Teams Client. Until it is available better to use Microsoft Teams Old Client in the Web Browser.
With Regards,
Satish UHi RealTime_M365,
I have the same issue and have tried the web version and it has the same issue, web will typically get updates first so thats not surprising, is there a link to run the old version in the browser? or a download to install the old client?
i am very confused why microsoft seems to have silently released a new client that is missing fundamental features? is this a bug or did they know in advance they were just wiping a major basic primitive feature?- I can't focus on all of the new features they're touting because the groupable contact list and presence features are so critical to our organization. Has anyone seen evidence that they'll add that to the new teams?
- Guess we will be staying with the old until this feature is added to the client again. Our biggest issue is that we are manufacturing and most of our users have little to no knowledge of computers and the software that comes with it. We have 178 users, most of them know each other mostly by face. so.. each new user i set up I create a company group in their contacts and manually add everyone to the list. Then they can scan through the employee thumbnails to find who they are looking for. Unfortunately I see this getting worse as more people we are hiring lately, especially the younger crowd, have never touched a computer and grew up using tablets or phones.
RealTime_M365I got switched to the new Teams automatically today. old version no long available. super annoying. can't believe MS will do this.
- On the Teams Roadmap is a new "People app" integration, which will allow users to seamlessly manage their contacts in Teams. It will be available later this calendar year. Perhaps this will reintroduce the "Contact list" Tab capability currently missing from the "new Teams"... https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/new-microsoft-teams/
- As I have verified, it is not possible to see the presence in this application. Pitifully.
I've been hanging on to the "Old Teams" for as long as possible for the same reason (no Contacts list), but my Teams was force-updated by the company on Tuesday, and it defaulted to New Teams and there was no button in the top left any more to switch back. But I did find an Old Teams button hidden under the ellipsis menu next to my Profile picture, so I'm back to the old view for the time being. Please don't remove this in future updates!
- We use Teams for only 2 months now in our company. I updated to the new Teams app and without contact list, it's pretty useless as a telephone app. And if we can't use it as a telephone app, the whole app is useless for us.
- I've left feedback. I work in Medical support and had a large list of doctors in my list along with many other groups. I hope this is resolved.
- I noticed this reference in another discussion and author advised "brought this issue to the table at the product team as more clients face the same issue. And it is on the roadmap to be implemented." https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams/new-teams-version-remember-to-bring-back-quot-contacts-quot-in/m-p/3914566
- I have the same concern, and is preventing me from moving the new teams. I use it a lot- dividing employees into groups makes it easy for me to reach without the need to search every time. Pinning chats is not good as I already have 10+ pinned chats
