Microsoft Launches All-in-One App to Simplify User Experience and Resolve Version Issues

It’s worth noting that Microsoft is going back to its original approach. When Teams was first introduced, it was designed to support all types of accounts, allowing personal Microsoft users as well as those from workplaces or educational institutions to communicate through the same platform.

However, a decision was made to create a separate version of Teams just for personal users, which led to a lot of confusion and made things complicated for users who depended on either or both versions of Teams.

Searching for “Teams” in the Windows start menu could bring up either version of the app, or sometimes both versions. This sometimes resulted in users launching the wrong Teams application, increasing their frustration. Additionally, an advertisement for Teams caused some issues that led to Windows 11 systems freezing back in 2021.

According to Microsoft, a new combined Teams application is now available again. This updated version is designed for users on Windows 10, Windows 11, and Mac devices.

Microsoft states that Teams will automatically update on Windows. Users can also get the app directly from the Microsoft website.

Key features of the updated Teams app include:

• The ability to log in with multiple personal, work, or educational accounts.
• Multiple accounts can now be displayed in “side-by-side windows from a single Teams app”.
• A feature that allows users to select accounts when joining Team meetings.
• The option to join as a guest user.
• A new Community feature designed for personal users.

Microsoft rolled out the new unified Teams app in March and has been testing it since then. This latest version comes preinstalled with Windows 11, version 24H2.

The company has not specified whether users need to manually uninstall one of the previous applications from their Windows devices.

Image Source: HJBC / Shutterstock