Microsoft recently made its first Teams phone update of the year, bringing in new features to help companies take full advantage of phones certified for Teams.
The Phones update aims to improve the in-meeting experience, as well as offering other advanced improvements to help users with staying connected. From simplified user sign-in functionality to remote provisioning and sign-in from the Admin centre, here are just some of the latest features you can expect from Microsoft Teams Phones.
Remote Provisioning and Sign-In Options
Microsoft first announced a new feature inspired by requests from customers. Apparently, users have been asking for IT admins to be able to deploy devices without being present in a room. Now, you just need to follow four steps to provision a phone from your Teams admin centre.
Devices will also show a code now when switched on, allowing users and admins to enter that code into a browser on a smartphone or PC to access the phone. To sign in without accessing the code, users can also do so by entering their password and username.
Microsoft Phones will also be supporting specialised sign-in options for specific clouds, like the government cloud. You can go into the settings within your sign-in page to see which options are available.
For Meetings, there will be a new option that allows the bottom bar hosting the mute/unmute feature as well as video on/off controls and toggling between Together Mode and Gallery to remain on a screen. This ensures that you don’t have to tap to activate the menu when you need to unlock functionality. The simple functionality should maintain the flow of modern collaborative experiences. Reactions are also now easier to access.
Further Updates to Phones
Additional updates to Teams Phones include the ability to transfer a call to work voicemail if a user needs to convey a message to someone else quickly. The Teams group have installed the new feature to “drop” into work voicemail. You can select the work voicemail option when you transfer the call to get to the mailbox.
LLDP updates have also been implemented. This is a standard link layer protocol used by devices to advertise capabilities, identity and neighbour information on a local network. This update allows Teams devices connected to the network through ethernet to dynamically update location details for emergency calls.
Microsoft has also introduced the arrival of “opt-out” options for call queues and also click to dial phone number functionality in meetings.
