Microsoft Teams is the complete solution to all communications needs of businesses. It also has the capability to make calls to any phone outside your organization when bundled with a VoIP plan.
This article details how you can make a voice call using a VoIP subscription on Microsoft Teams.
Without wasting any further, let us get started.
What Do You Need to Make a VoIP Call on Microsoft Teams
The free version of Microsoft Teams supports audio and video calls. You can also attend meetings, but functionalities are limited. It does not allow you to call a network outside Teams.
You can bypass this restriction with a Teams premium subscription. Then you have the choice to either use Microsoft’s Teams voice plan or bring a third-party VoIP service to make the calls.
Confusing right? The licenses are layered like the skin of an onion. Do not worry; I will explain this in detail.
First, let us review the different plans that facilitate voice calls on Teams.
| Want Microsoft to handle the number | Want Third-party Provider to handle calls |
|---|---|
| Teams Essential + Teams Phone Calling Plan | Teams Essential + Teams Phone Standard |
| Office 365 Business + Teams Phone Calling Plan | Office 365 Business + Teams Phone Standard |
Office 365 Business: Upto 1 TB cloud storage + Teams + Office web and desktop apps.
Office 365 Basic: Upto 1 TB cloud storage + Teams + Office 365 web apps.
Teams phone standard: Cloud-based PBX solution supporting Microsoft or a third-party VoIP solution.
What about calling plans?
| Plan | Pay as you Go | 120 Min | 240 Min | Domestic | International |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cost/user/month | $2 | $6 | $8 | $12 | $24 |
| Allocated minutes | 3000 mins for US/UK/PR/CA 1200 mins for other supported countries | Same as Domestic + 600 international minutes |
Want to learn more about the VoIP capabilities of Microsoft Teams? Check out our detailed article to know more.
How to Setup Teams for Making VoIP Calls
After deciding on which license you need, you need to enable the appropriate licenses from the Teams admin panel. Then that user will gain the calling benefits.
These steps will setup Teams calling from the Office 365 Admin Panel:
- Go to config.office.com and log in using your credentials
- Navigate to Billing > Licenses > Microsoft 365 Calling Plan.
- Click on Assign Licenses.
- Select the user and click on the Assign button.
Next, add an emergency location for the user.
- Now, expand Locations and click on Emergency addresses.
- Click the Add button.
- Click on Save once you have added the name, location, address, and the organization name.
- Then, expand Voice > Phone numbers and click the Add button.
- Enter the name and country.
- Under Number Type, select User. There are different types of numbers you can choose from.
- Under Quantity, set 1.
- Enter your City code under Search by city name. Once you see it listed, click to select it. Also, select the appropriate area code under it. After that, click Next.
- You will see the number set for you now. If the information looks okay, click on Place Order > Finish.
Now you need to assign this particular number to a user.
- Click on Voice > Phone numbers. You should see the number that you generated listed here. Click on it.
- Click the Field under Assigned to and select the user account.
- Under Emergency Location, set the correct city.
- Click the Apply button.
The user should get an email that contains the newly generated phone number. As for the user, they do not need to perform any configuration on their end. A Call button should pop up in the Teams interface, which means the user is ready to make calls.
How to Make a VoIP Call on Microsoft Teams
VoIP calling is supported in the Teams app for desktop and mobile and the web. Once you have the correct subscriptions and the plans assigned to you, Teams is ready to make the calls.
Follow these steps to make a VoIP call on Microsoft Teams:
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- Click on the Call You will see your number above the number pad.
- Type in the number you want to dial. If you want to dial a saved number, click on Contacts. Scroll down and click the contact to dial. You can also click Speed dial and select a frequently dialed contact from here.
- Click the Call button.
- To Hold a call, press the three-dot icon and click Hold. Here you can also Transfer a call or go Full-screen.
- To enter the chat, click on the Chat icon. You can also mute/unmute and add more people to your call.
The interface on Team’s caller screen is similar to your phone’s dialer. Teams also allow you to add more people to your call. When you have finished a call, click the End button.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make a Teams call to a landline?
Yes, you can make a call from Microsoft Teams to any phone number as long as you are subscribed to a Teams calling plan. You also need to look into whether the number you are calling is on Microsoft Teams’ list of supported countries.
Why doesn’t my Teams meeting have a call-in number?
To enable the calling functionality, you must have a Teams phone subscription and the license must be enabled by your IT admin. So, if the call function is unavailable, contact the admin to enable these.
Final Words
MS Teams with VoIP functionality adds yet another feature to the already great communications hub that Microsoft Teams is becoming. This will help not only businesses but working individuals too looking for a solution to separate personal and work calls.
So use this article as a guide when configuring Teams for voice calls. As always, drop in a comment below if Teams throws out any unexpected errors.
Till then, it is goodbye.
