Many people need to access Microsoft Teams with more than one account — a work account and a personal account, two different employer accounts, or a client account alongside their own. Teams now supports multiple account sign-in but the experience differs between the new and classic Teams clients. Understanding which client you are using, and what it supports, will save you a lot of frustration.
New Teams: Multiple Account Support
The new Microsoft Teams client, rolled out from 2023 onwards, supports adding multiple accounts directly within the app. To add a second account, click your profile picture in the top-right corner of the Teams window, then select Add another account. Sign in with the credentials for your second account when prompted.
Once added, both accounts are accessible from the profile menu — you can switch between them with a single click. Notifications from both accounts appear in the Activity feed, with an indicator showing which account each notification belongs to. This makes it practical to keep across two tenants without constantly signing out and back in.
[Screenshot: New Teams profile menu showing two signed-in accounts with a switch option]
If you are not sure whether you are on new Teams or classic Teams, look for the toggle at the top of the app. New Teams has a cleaner, updated interface and Microsoft has been migrating all users across automatically since late 2023.
Classic Teams: Limitations
Classic Teams — the original desktop client — only supports one signed-in account at a time natively. There is no built-in option to add a second account from the profile menu. If you are still on classic Teams and need to access a second account, you have two practical workarounds.
The first option is to use Teams in a web browser. Navigate to teams.microsoft.com and sign in with your second account. If you already have Teams open in the browser under your primary account, use a separate browser profile (explained below) to avoid conflicts. The browser version of Teams is fully functional for most day-to-day tasks including chat, meetings, and file access.
The second option is to upgrade to new Teams, which is free for all Microsoft 365 users. Microsoft has been pushing this update automatically, so switching may simply be a case of accepting the prompt the next time Teams opens.
Using Teams in Multiple Browser Profiles
Browser profiles are the most reliable way to run two Teams accounts simultaneously without any interference between them. This works in both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
To set this up in Edge or Chrome:
- Click the profile icon in the top-right corner of the browser (usually a circular avatar or silhouette).
- Select Add or Add new profile.
- Give the profile a name that helps you identify it — for example, your second employer’s name or “Client Account”.
- Open a new window under that profile and navigate to teams.microsoft.com.
- Sign in with the second account credentials.
Each browser profile is completely isolated. Cookies, sessions, and sign-ins do not bleed across profiles. You can have both profile windows open at the same time on separate areas of your screen, effectively running two full Teams sessions side by side.
[Screenshot: Chrome or Edge browser showing the profile switcher with two named profiles]
Teams Personal vs Teams Work Accounts
It is worth understanding that Microsoft operates two distinct versions of Teams. Teams for work or school is part of Microsoft 365 (previously Office 365) and is tied to a business or educational tenant. Teams for personal use is a free product linked to a personal Microsoft account, such as an Outlook.com or Hotmail address.
These are separate systems and were historically handled separately by the Teams app. The new Teams client does allow both a work account and a personal Microsoft account to be active simultaneously, which is helpful if you use Teams free with family or friends alongside your work account. When you add a personal account via the profile menu, it is kept visually distinct from your work accounts.
If your organisation uses Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, or any of the enterprise plans, your Teams licence is included. Personal Teams is free with any Microsoft account regardless of plan.
Notifications Across Multiple Accounts
With multiple accounts active in new Teams, notifications from all accounts arrive within the same app. Each notification is labelled with the account it originates from, so you can tell at a glance which inbox or channel needs your attention.
Notification settings are configured independently per account. To adjust them, switch to the relevant account first via the profile menu, then go to Settings and adjust notifications from there. Changes you make to one account’s notification settings do not affect the others.
If you find the combined notification volume overwhelming, it is worth setting quiet hours or turning off certain notification types (such as reactions or channel mentions) on your less-active account.
Mobile: Multiple Accounts in the Teams App
The Teams mobile app on both Android and iPhone supports multiple accounts using the same approach as the desktop client. Tap your profile picture at the top of the screen, then select Add account and sign in with your second account credentials.
You can switch between accounts from the profile menu at any time. Both accounts will receive push notifications to your device, so you will not miss messages from either. As with the desktop app, notification settings for each account are managed independently.
[Screenshot: Teams mobile app profile menu showing multiple signed-in accounts]
Common Issues with Multiple Accounts
Running more than one Teams account on the same device introduces a few predictable snags. Here is how to handle the most common ones.
Calendar showing meetings from the wrong account. The Calendar tab in Teams shows meetings from whichever account is currently active. If your meetings are not appearing, check which account you are viewing — switch via the profile menu and check again.
Files opening or sharing from the wrong account. Before sharing a file via Teams, confirm which account is active. Files in Teams are stored in the SharePoint or OneDrive associated with each account separately. Attaching a file while on the wrong account will pull from that account’s storage.
Meeting invites going from the wrong account. Teams meeting invites are sent from the account you are currently signed into when you create the meeting. If you use Outlook to schedule Teams meetings, verify that the Outlook account you are composing from matches the Teams account you intend to use. Mismatches here are a common source of confusion when working across two employers.
Second account not showing in the profile menu. If the option to add a second account is missing, you may still be on classic Teams. Check whether a Try the new Teams toggle is visible at the top of your screen and switch across if so.
Related articles: Microsoft Teams Running Slow or Not Loading: How to Fix It, Microsoft Teams Audio Echo and Feedback: How to Fix It, How to Clear the Microsoft Teams Cache: Windows and Mac
For a full index of every Teams guide and troubleshooting fix on Serverman, see the Microsoft Teams complete guide and troubleshooting hub.
