The Microsoft Teams mobile app for Android and iPhone brings nearly all desktop functionality to your phone — messaging, calls, meetings, and file access. This guide covers the key features, where to find them on mobile, and how the experience differs from the desktop version.
Installing and Signing In
Download the Microsoft Teams app from the Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (iPhone). Search for “Microsoft Teams” and install the official app published by Microsoft Corporation. Once installed, sign in with your Microsoft 365 work or school account — this is usually your work email address and password.
If your organisation has multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled, you will be prompted to verify your identity during sign-in. Have the Microsoft Authenticator app ready, either on the same device or a separate one. Some organisations use SMS codes instead — check with your IT team if you are unsure which method applies to you.
Mobile App Layout
The mobile interface uses a bottom navigation bar with five tabs: Activity, Chat, Teams, Calendar, and Calls.
- Activity — shows notifications, @mentions, and missed activity across all your teams and chats.
- Chat — your one-to-one and group conversations, synced in real time with the desktop app.
- Teams — all the teams and channels you are a member of, with posts, files, and tabs.
- Calendar — your meeting schedule, pulled from your Microsoft 365 calendar.
- Calls — recent calls, voicemail, and contacts (if your organisation uses Teams Phone).
The main difference from the desktop is the absence of a top navigation bar. On mobile, search is accessed via the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the screen. This gives you access to messages, people, files, and teams from a single search field.
[Screenshot: Teams mobile home screen showing bottom navigation bar with five tabs]
Joining and Starting Meetings on Mobile
To join a scheduled meeting, tap the Calendar tab, find the meeting, and tap Join. The first time you join a meeting, Teams will request permission to access your camera and microphone — grant both for full functionality.
To start an instant meeting or call from within a channel or chat, tap the camera icon or phone icon at the top of the conversation.
During a meeting on mobile, the on-screen controls give you access to the most important functions:
- Mute/unmute — tap the microphone icon at the bottom of the screen.
- Camera on/off — tap the camera icon to toggle your video feed.
- Raise hand — tap the three-dot (more options) menu to find the raise hand option.
- View participants — tap the people icon to see who is in the meeting.
- Share screen — available on mobile, though more limited than desktop. You can share your phone screen but cannot share a specific window or application.
- React — tap the emoji/reaction option in the more options menu to send a live reaction visible to all participants.
[Screenshot: Teams mobile in-meeting controls showing mute, camera, and more options buttons]
Making and Receiving Calls
Tap the Calls tab to see your recent call history, voicemail, and saved contacts. If your organisation has a Microsoft Teams Phone licence (available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise plans), you can also dial external phone numbers directly from the app.
To call a colleague, tap the search icon, type their name, and select Audio call or Video call from their contact card.
Incoming Teams calls appear as standard phone call notifications on your device, even when the app is running in the background or the screen is locked. You can answer or decline directly from the lock screen. If you miss a call, it will appear in the Activity tab and in your recent calls list.
Chat and Messaging on Mobile
The Chat tab mirrors your desktop conversations exactly, with messages syncing in real time across all devices. You can send messages, use @mentions to notify specific people, add emoji reactions to messages, and share files — all in the same way as on desktop.
One feature unique to mobile is voice messages. In any chat, hold down the microphone icon to record a voice message. Release to send, or swipe to cancel. This is not available on the Teams desktop app, making it a genuinely useful mobile-only addition for quick responses when typing is inconvenient.
To format a message, tap the pen or formatting icon to access bold, italic, and other options. For longer messages, tap the expand icon to open the full compose view.
Accessing Files on Mobile
Files shared in a chat or channel are accessible via the Files icon within that conversation or channel — look for the paperclip or files tab at the top of the channel view. You can also access all your recent files from the Teams tab by browsing into a channel and selecting the Files tab.
Microsoft 365 files — Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations — will open in their respective mobile apps if you have them installed (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are free to download but require a Microsoft 365 subscription for full editing on mobile). PDF and image files open directly within Teams without leaving the app.
Notifications on Mobile
Teams mobile notifications can quickly become overwhelming, particularly if you are a member of several active teams and channels. To manage them, tap your profile picture in the top left, then go to Notifications.
From here you can control which activities generate a push notification — for example, you might want to receive notifications only for @mentions and direct messages, rather than all channel activity.
Quiet hours let you set a time window during which notifications are suppressed — useful for evenings, weekends, or when you are on annual leave. Set your quiet hours and quiet days to match your working pattern and avoid being disturbed outside of office hours.
[Screenshot: Teams notification settings screen showing quiet hours configuration]
Key Differences from Desktop
| Feature | Desktop | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Screen sharing | Full — share any application or window | Limited — phone screen only |
| Multiple accounts | Easier to switch between accounts | Supported, but switching is less seamless |
| Background blur | Available | Not available on most devices |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Full shortcut support | Not available |
| Voice messages | Not available | Available — hold microphone to record |
| Split-screen multitasking | Standard window management | Possible on Android with split-screen mode |
Battery and Data Usage Tips
Video calls are the biggest drain on both battery and mobile data. A one-hour video call on Teams can use anywhere from 500 MB to over 1 GB of data, depending on video quality and the number of participants. If you are on a limited data plan or away from Wi-Fi, consider turning your camera off during calls — audio-only calls use a fraction of the data.
If Teams is draining your battery in the background, restrict background app activity in your phone settings. On iPhone, go to Settings > Teams > Background App Refresh and turn it off. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Teams > Battery and select Restricted. Note that restricting background activity may delay notifications slightly.
For day-to-day use on mobile data, the chat and calendar features are lightweight. It is primarily video calls and large file downloads that consume significant data, so plan accordingly if you are regularly working away from a Wi-Fi connection.
Related articles: How to Transfer a Call in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams Keyboard Shortcuts: The Complete UK Guide, How File Sharing Works in Microsoft Teams: Where Files Are Stored
For a full index of every Teams guide and troubleshooting fix on Serverman, see the Microsoft Teams complete guide and troubleshooting hub.
