For Guest Users: Logging into Teams

Welcome, guest!

(If you're a Live Events guest presenter, see this article instead >>)

As a guest user, you have a slightly different Teams experience than a regular user of an organization using Teams.

• While you won't have access to all the same options and features as a regular user, you'll have most of the features you need. You will be able to create, upload, share, and collaborate on documents, start and join meetings, start and participate in Channel conversations, and more!
• Guest users will be prompted to sign in twice, once with your password and once with a pass code. This is expected behavior.
• IMPORTANT: If your account isn't yet associated with a Microsoft account, you will want to create a Microsoft account before you move on to the steps below (you can create your Microsoft account with your existing email address). 

Below you'll find information on logging into Teams for the first time. Overall we hope to make your transition to using Teams as a guest user as seamless as possible in this Guest Users guide series. 

Contents

NOTE: Clicking these section headers will skip you to just below the section header!

• Log into the Teams Web App (We recommend this covering this option first, though using the Desktop App will ultimately be the most ideal situation)
• Log into the Teams Desktop App
• Log into the Teams Mobile App
• Troubleshooting

Logging into Teams for the first time

Once you're invited to a Team, you will receive a welcome email with a link to the Team's associated SharePoint site. You can simply delete this email (you heard us right). Instead, we'll be signing directly into Teams. We'll discuss SharePoint in a later part of this series.

You may also receive a second email saying you've been added as a guest to a Team. You can save this email for the link to Microsoft Teams or delete the email. In the next section ("Log into the Teams Web App"), we'll go over logging into your Teams guest account.

NOTE: If you sign in as per the steps in the next section, it's expected that you'll sign in twice. However, if you click the link directly from the email below, you'll only need to sign in once with a passcode. 

Log into the Teams Web App

We'll go through this method first, since it's the simplest. It may also come in handy in the future if you find yourself without the access to the desktop or mobile apps. 

1. In a new browser window, navigate to https://teams.microsoft.com/
   
   1. NOTE: If you are signed into an existing work or personal account within your regular browser, you will want to perform these steps within an Incognito / Private browser window. (Otherwise, Microsoft will try to redirect you to different accounts and it can get confusing.)
   2. NOTE: You'll want to use a compatible browser, such as Chrome or Microsoft Edge. While other browsers may let you sign in, they may not have the audio/video capabilities necessary for joining or starting meetings.
      
      
2. You will see an email address prompt. Enter your email address (the same email address that received the invitation), then click Next.
   
   
   
3. You will be prompted for your password. Enter your password, then click Sign In.
   
   
4. If you have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) set up, enter the code and then click Verify.
   
   
5. If you don't have MFA set up, it will ask if you want to stay signed in. This is a personal preference that is completely up to you. If you are using a shared or public computer, we recommend clicking No.
   
   
   
6. You will then be redirected to the Teams web app. If instead it prompts you to download the Desktop app, you may do so if you want, but right now we just want to click to Use the Web App Instead, then click Continue.
   
   
7. It will prompt you again to sign in. This time, it will give you the option to obtain a login code. Click Send code. 
   
8. Navigate back to your email inbox and you will see an email from Microsoft with a verification code. Copy the code, then navigate back to the browser window prompting for the code. Paste or enter it manually in the text field, then click Sign In. 
   
   
   
   1. Just for reference, here's what the Microsoft account verification code email will look like:
      
9. Once you enter in the code, you will need to review and click to Accept the permissions.
   
   
   1. NOTE: You will only see this prompt once, upon the first time signing into your Teams/SharePoint account.
10. The Teams web app will then load and upon the first time signing in, you'll see a few introductory pop-up windows to help you start using Teams. Feel free to explore from here!

Here's a summary video:

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Log into the Teams Desktop App

Download and install the Desktop App

1. In a new browser window, navigate to this Download page.
2. Click Download for Desktop, then on the next page that loads, click Download Teams. A file will begin downloading.
3. Once the file is done downloading, click on it to run it. You will need administrator permissions on the computer you are using in order to install this program. If your computer is managed by your organization's IT provider, you will need to contact them for installation assistance.

Sign into the Desktop App

1. Once you open the Teams Desktop App, it will prompt you for an email address. Enter your email address (the same email address that received the invitation), then click Sign In.
   
   
   
2. You will be prompted for your password. Enter your password, then click Sign In.
   
   
3. If you have Multi-Factor Authentication set up, enter the code and then click Verify.
   
   
4. You'll be given the choice for which Team you want to sign into (this is mostly relevant for people who are part of multiple Teams across different organizations). Select the relevant Guest account, then click Continue. 
   
5. You will be prompted to sign in again. It will give you the option to obtain a login code. Click Send code. 
   
   
   
6. Navigate back to your email inbox and you will see an email from Microsoft to verify your email address. Copy the code from the email, then navigate back to the browser window prompting for the code. Paste or enter it manually in the text field, then tap Next.
   
   
7. CRITICAL STEP: If it prompts to stay signed in to all your apps, we recommend unchecking the box, then clicking No, sign in to this app only, especially if you have multiple Office 365 or other Microsoft accounts. Do NOT click OK.
   
    
8. Upon the first time signing in, you'll see a few introductory pop-up windows to help you start using Teams. Feel free to explore from here!

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Log into the Teams Mobile App

Download and install the Mobile App

1. In a new browser window, navigate to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/download-app#office-SmsEmail-ntsjwrn
2. Enter your phone number, then click Send Now. (You can use your email address, but phone number is the fastest method).
3. If you entered your phone number, you will receive a text message with a link to install the Microsoft Teams mobile app from your phone's app store.

Sign into the Mobile App

1. When opening the app for the first time, it will prompt for your email address. Enter your email address (the same email address that received the invitation), then tap Sign In.
   
   
2. If you have Multi-Factor Authentication set up for your account, it will prompt you for the code. Input the code, then tap Verify.
   
   
3. Then, if you have multiple accounts, it will give you the option to select which account to sign into. In this case, we tap to our Guest account to sign in with that account.
   
   1. The first time you do this, it will ask if you want to "Redeem invite to the [organization name] org?" - you can tap OK.
      
      
4. If it asks if you want to switch to [organization name], you can tap OK.
   
   
5. If it asks you to sign in again, go ahead and do so.
   
   
6. It will then give you some introductory Teams welcome slides, on which you can swipe left or tap Next, then tap Got it.
   
   
7. Now you will be redirected to your Teams guest account and can explore from here!

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Troubleshooting

Ideally your experience will be smooth sailing, but just in case you run into issues, here's some solutions to try:

1. If something goes wrong, usually Teams will give you the option to "Try Again" and then it will work as expected after that. 
2. Try signing out of the Teams app, then sign back in. If it doesn't give you the Sign Out link on an error page, you can usually find the Teams icon in the lower right-hand task tray of your PC, right-click on it, then select Sign Out.
3. Try restarting your computer, then try again.
4. Sometimes it will prompt you twice to log in, then will work as expected.
5. Sometimes the login/code prompt window will get stuck behind the Teams loading window. On a Windows computer, you can use Alt+Tab on your keyboard to try to navigate to the other window. You can also try hovering on the Teams icon at the bottom app tray of your screen and see if you can click on the secondary window. 

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