SOLVED

Unmute participants as the meeting organizer.

Copper Contributor

HI ALL,

 

When in a group meeting the organizer can mute the attendees. Is it also possible for the organizer to unmute an attendee?

 

Thanks for the help

Louis De Clercq

38 Replies

@ChristianBergstrom this is about unmuting (not a hard mute)...the opposite.

@ChristianBergstrom Please explain further.  I can see in the settings that I can allow attendees to unmute.  But as a teacher of students with multiple disabilities I need to be able to unmute those who are physically incapable.

@dietcokecrazy Aha, now I get your use case. Don't know really. Let me get back to you when I have time to verify this.

Thank you! @dietcokecrazy Agree! I do not know why Microsoft Teams still has not made this update. Forums on this site have been asking for presenters to unmute since June of last year. I teach preschool and it is a huge hurdle for my students to have to continually unmute themselves. 

It is not not about a hard mute, teachers need to be able unmute and mute their students. @ChristianBergstrom 

 

I do not know why this is taking so long. I have tweeted, posted here, sent emails, and is increasingly frustrating to have Microsoft Teams not be there to support teachers. 

@williamkuehnle Yeah, I get that. Perhaps it's a privacy thing. That the organizer and presenter shouldn't be able to "hard unmute" the other parts mic. It's a bit scary when you think about it that way isn't it? But can't say because I don't know. Maybe another member with more knowledge will reply.

@ChristianBergstrom, I can understand that.  The problem is there is always those who abuse what is given.  If I mute myself because there is a commotion of some type at my house I wouldn't want to have someone else be able to unmute me.   I have muted individuals when I could here conversations that weren't appropriate.

 

But as a professional, using in it the context of my job, I have students with physically disabilities who cannot unmute themselves even if they wanted.  This makes teaching even more difficult in the virtual setting.

@ChristianBergstrom This is not what I mean. My teachers are constantly frustrated that they are not able to help their youngest children my unmuting for them. We teach online lessons with children from the age of 2 upwards. In Zoom they were able to do this - but we have moved to Teams for security reasons - but this functionality is essential. We really need Microsoft to act quickly on this. If this setting was just applied to 'class' type teams it would enormously.

Yeah, I know now. Just read the posts after my previous reply to you.

I think Microsoft have taken it for granted that schools will carry on using Teams whether they remedy this or not. Teams was not designed for teaching and they seem to have no inclination to make the change. There would be nothing to prevent Microsoft having an educational version of Teams. @Oliver_Sargent 

@J_Gray825 Hi there, Teams for Education is a reality including many "school features" not available in business/enterprise subscriptions. And many features are being released ongoing. As for this "hard unmute" I'm not sure if it's ever coming as it really comes down to privacy. But I'm only guessing here.

 

Microsoft Teams: Online & Remote Classroom | Microsoft Education

 

Microsoft Teams - Office Support

 

Keeping students safe while using Teams for distance learning - Office Support (microsoft.com)

 

 

In the context of the pandemic, Microsoft were asked by teachers to include unmute in March so that we could teach using Teams. The privacy issue can be managed because teachers would be able to mute as well as unmute. It is hard to understand why they are so reluctant.  @ChristianBergstrom 

@J_Gray825 

 

I've seen message boards about this since March and June. This board here is a wonderful place to vent. It just seems like a technology company with the ability to code their way to a solution just does not want to support teachers of young children and students with disabilities. It is so frustrating to have the same hurdles of student engagement this entire virtual year so far. Let us unmute our students! 

@ThereseSolimeno 

 

Back in September I followed all your advice and posted and voted on UserVoice, still looking for leadership from Microsoft Teams in support of early childhood education teachers. No one can give us a reason or offer to hear suggestions. Message boards have asked for this since March. It is a hurdle that happens everyday I teach with children. 

@williamkuehnle  I'm moving this discussion to the Microsoft Teams for Education community forum in the hope that someone with more experience using Teams for Education can assist.  @Mike Tholfsen ?

Thank you, I hope this simple request can be handled.

@DaveChomi I understand the teachers wanting to unmute the students who may have a problem unmuting but as a parent I feel this is an invasion of privacy. If you were to incorporate this feature maybe you can make it an option to allow the host to unmute you just like its asks you to show video or mute yourself before joining the meeting. That way the parents can allow this or not.

Hi everyone, I'm the I.T. support for a healthcare clinic (eating disorder patients). We're also trying to find a way to give the meeting organizers full control of audio and video. We hold virtual counseling sessions and our clinicians need to be able to observe the patients' demeanor during the call. Has Teams added a way for us to prevent guests from muting or turning off their video? Thanks!