Whether you organized the event or you're a participant, everyone must join a MS Teams meeting to virtually connect with one another. This guide explains three aspects related to joining a meeting: Find a join meeting link. Choose Teams desktop vs your web browser. Use your UIW account. Find a Join Meeting Link There are multiple ways to join MS Teams meetings and where you find a MS Teams join meeting link depends on how the organizer created the meeting. The most common link options used at UIW include: Calendar Invitation: Either access your Outlook Calendar or Teams Calendar if the organizer invited you to a meeting. These calendars are synced by Microsoft to show your scheduled meetings and include the join link. Canvas Invitation: If an instructor uses the Microsoft Teams Meetings app on their Canvas course navigation and invites students to scheduled meetings, everyone in the course accesses the join meeting options in the course or through their Outlook and Teams calendars. However, only those invited will see the scheduled events and be able to join. Copied Meeting Link: Meeting links can be copied and sent in chats, emails, or placed in Canvas courses separate from a scheduled event, which means you won't see these on a calendar. Since there's no calendar item in Outlook, Teams, or Canvas, participants must click the link where it was shared with them. When you click a link to join, you may be prompted to make a choice between Continue with this browser or Join on the Teams app. We recommend selecting the second option to Join on the Teams app, which opens the desktop version rather than the web app. Choose Teams Desktop vs Web Browser You can join an MS Teams meeting with either the desktop version installed on your computer or the web app from Cardinal Apps. However, MS Teams desktop version offers more features than the web app and you want to consider that when deciding how you join. The desktop app is recommended for all faculty, employees, and students, but is most critical for meeting organizers who want to use breakout rooms. You are unable to manage breakout rooms in the web app. Contact the UIW Help Desk for assistance installing and updating Teams on your computer or mobile phone. Use Your UIW Account For the best experience meeting on MS Teams, sign in with your UIW account to ensure you're recognized as part of the university. Similar to organizers not being able to manage breakout rooms using the web app, people not signed in experience feature limitations. Specifically, users who join with a personal Microsoft account won't be able to participate in breakout rooms or polls. Employees and students who have personal Microsoft accounts or Microsoft business accounts with other institutions are encouraged to add other Microsoft accounts so you can switch accounts in Microsoft Teams. Know that MS Teams uses the account you used the last time you signed in, so manually switching back to your UIW account is often necessary, even if you access a Teams meeting directly through a Canvas course. After you add additional accounts, switching options are found by clicking your user profile.

Although MS Teams supports switching accounts, using your UIW account ensures you have full access to all our features. Using your personal Microsoft account or a business account from another institution can limit your options and ability to participate. If you add additional accounts to switch in MS Teams, ensure you switch back to your UIW account if you encounter any issues. For example, if you join an online class meeting and your instructor is unable to add you to a breakout room, you likely are using an account other than your UIW one. This guide explains how to add another account and switch between multiple accounts. Add Another Microsoft Account to MS Teams Click on your profile picture/initials in the top-right corner. Select the option to Add account or Sign in with a different account. Enter your UIW email address and password. Switch to Your UIW Account in MS Teams Click on your profile picture/initials in the top-right corner. From your connected accounts listed, click on your UIW account to switch. Switch Accounts During a Meeting Click on the Change option next to your profile picture/initials in the meeting window. Select your UIW account from the list.