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?
180 Replies
- 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!
- 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.
- 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 URealTime_M365I got switched to the new Teams automatically today. old version no long available. super annoying. can't believe MS will do this.
- 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.
Hi 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?- It is the MS way...
Hi Dianne_NZ ,
If the new version of Microsoft Teams does not include a contact list and you rely on it for determining someone's availability, there are a few workarounds you can consider:
1. Presence Indicators: In the new version of Teams, you can still see the presence indicators of your colleagues. The presence indicator shows if a person is available, busy, away, or offline. This can give you a general idea of whether someone is in the office or not.
2. Chat Search: You can use the search feature in Teams to find specific individuals. Simply type their name in the search bar, and Teams will show you the matching results. This can help you locate and message a specific person to inquire about their availability.
3. Status Messages: Encourage your colleagues to update their status messages to indicate their availability or current location. People can add custom status messages to their Teams profile, such as "In a meeting," "Working remotely," or "Out of office." By checking their status message, you can get an idea of their availability.
4. Team Calendar: If your organization uses Microsoft Outlook or another calendar system integrated with Teams, you can check the team or group calendars to see if someone is scheduled to be in the office or has any appointments.
5. Pin Frequently Contacted People: In the new Teams version, you can pin frequently contacted people to your chat list. This will keep their names visible and easily accessible for quick communication. While it may not provide a comprehensive contact list, it can help you keep important contacts readily available.
Remember that these workarounds might not offer the same level of functionality as the previous contact list, but they can provide some alternatives in the absence of a dedicated contact list in the new version of Teams.
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None of these workarounds are sufficient.
I currently work with a customer who has their own domain. They DID provide me with an account in their domain, but alas, I cannot sign into that using Teams from a non-corporate machine due to very restrictive security settings. I.e. I need to keep using my own account.
And under my own account all the people from the other domain I need to contact are "external" by nature; using the search is extremely annoying.
Pinning is out of the question as there's too many people I'd need to pin. The other solutions aren't valid for quickly connecting and chatting.
The "Contacts" tab in Teams classic provides a way to create custom groups of people to quickly connect with. The new Teams is clearly lacking this feature.
I suppose the "People" feature is the closest equivalent, but it feels like it's designed for something else.
- Microsoft really needs to add the Contacts list back into new teams. This was a very useful feature.
You are not understanding the value of contact lists. For example, I could just drop down the contract group in which I added members of a certain team and could right away see who was available and who was not so I can initiate the chat. Please bring the feature back in the new teams.
