How to use Microsoft Teams on iPhone

To get started using Microsoft Teams, first download the Microsoft Teams app from the App Store, and log in with your account. At the bottom of the app, you'll see a list of various tabs to access all the features that Microsoft Teams has to offer.

The features in the Microsoft Teams app on the iPhone device

1. The first tab is the "Activity" tab.

This is a news summary of all the notifications and alerts you have on Microsoft Teams. You can filter this feed to see your activity only by selecting the drop-down menu next to "Summary" at the top of the screen, and selecting "My Activity".

2. The next tab is the "Chat" tab. Here you can have conversations with members of your team.

 To create a new chat, select the "New Post" icon in the upper right corner. Then enter the name of the person you want to message. To add a message, start typing your message in the message field, and click "Send". In the upper right corner of the chat, you will also see a “video” icon and a “phone” icon. This allows you to make video or audio calls to people in the chat.

3. The next and most important tab is the "Teams" tab.

You can have multiple teams created in Microsoft Teams and this can be divided by departments, subsections, distribution lists, projects, and more.

To create a new team, select the "user" icon with the "+" in the upper right corner. Then select "Create a Team". To get started creating your team, enter your team name, quick description, and adjust your privacy settings. By setting it as private, only the team owner can add members. By setting it to "public," anyone in your organization can discover and join your team.

If you don't want anyone to discover your team, deselect the "discoverable" switch. Once all your settings are complete, click "Done." You can then add members by entering their name or email address, and once all of your members have entered, click "Done." Your team is now created and Microsoft Teams automatically creates a "public" channel. This includes all of your chats and content for your team.

If you want to create subtopics for your team so that their content can be further divided, you can create additional channels by selecting the three dots next to your team name, and choosing "Manage Channels". To create a new channel, select "+" in the upper right corner. Then enter your channel name, add a quick description, and adjust your privacy settings. Your privacy can be set to Standard, which makes the channel accessible to everyone on your team, or Private, making it accessible to a specific group of people. Once you are done with your details, click "Done" to create your channel. Under each channel there is a "Shares" tab. This allows team members to share messages with each other.

 To create a new post, select "New Post" at the bottom of the screen. You can start your letter by typing your message. Just below the message field, you'll see several icons that you can use to customize your post. By selecting the "Photo" icon, you can add photos by either creating a new one using the camera, or selecting a pre-existing one from the Camera Roll. By selecting "GIF," you can access Microsoft Teams' GIF Library. You can add attachments by clicking on the "Attachment" icon, tag other team members with the "@" button, and if you want access to more formatting options, you can select the "A" button. When you are ready to send your post, click the "Send" button in the lower right corner. If the post has important information in it and you want to save it for easy access at a later time, you can select the three dots on the right side of the post, and click Save. You will see the post is saved when a bookmark appears on the right side of the post.

Within your channel, you can also select "Files", this shows any files that have been shared on your channel.

 To add a new file, just click the "Add" button at the bottom of the screen. If you ever need to modify your teams or channels details, mark the three points next to the team name. Here you will see options to manage members, which include adding or removing members, managing tags and managing your channels, you can leave your team as an individual, edit your team details or delete the team entirely.

4. The next tab is the "Calls" tab.

Calls let you make video or audio calls through Microsoft Teams. It will also display any calls you made or received.

To initiate a new call, click on the "Phone" icon in the upper right corner. Then enter the people you wish to call, and click the "phone" icon on the right side.

5. Finally, under the "More" tab, you have more options for Microsoft Teams.

 You can select "Files" to view all files shared in Microsoft Teams, as well as access OneDrive cloud storage.

 By selecting "Camera," you can use your phone's camera to take pictures and share them instantly on Microsoft Teams. You can also select "Saved," which is where you can access all of your saved posts for quick reference.

The last area in Microsoft Teams to note, is your availability settings. To set your availability, you can go to the "Menu" icon in the upper left corner of the app. We are currently set to "available". By clicking on your availability, you will be presented with other options. You can set Availability to Available, Busy if you're in a meeting or appointment, Don't be bothered if you're deep at work, away, or back right now.