Teams

What is Teams

Microsoft Teams organizes teams and projects in one place, allowing members to collaborate quickly and effectively.

A central hub

Microsoft Teams allows you to manage files created in Office 365 among your fellow collaborators, wherever they may be.

Team collaboration

Everyone can stay up-to-date on the latest project status: Teams allows multiple people to edit documents simultaneously.

Chat and share files

Group and individual chat functionality, easy access to shared team documents, and integration of other 365 apps.

Get started with Teams

Request your Team

University employees can complete the Microsoft Teams form to request a Team.

Add Teams to a personal device

Follow these steps to download Teams on a personal device.

Privacy and security

*Phone numbers of users who dial-in to Teams meetings are displayed to all meeting attendees.

Tools and resources

Get started

Submit a request to start using Teams today!

Knowledge Base

View our Teams how-to articles
Learn about best practices for participating in remote meetings and calls
Watch our Teams live training videos

Log in to Teams

Log in to Teams in your browser
On mobile? Get the Teams mobile app

Request a workshop

Get custom training for your team

Take our course

Get a complete overview of Teams

Help and support

New Teams features

Roster auto-sync feature

Learn more and submit a request to auto-sync your class roster with Teams

Use breakout rooms

Learn more about this new meeting feature

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I download Microsoft Teams?

Visit the Microsoft Teams download page to download Teams on your desktop or other devices.

How do I request to sync a class roster with Teams?

Instructors can now request a Team with roster synchronization by accessing the course in LEARN for which they would like a roster sync’d Team and clicking on Instructor Tools in the Course Tools widget on the course homepage. Select Request MS Team from the options. Rosters are loaded/sync’d once per day at 4:30 a.m. starting the day following the day on which the request is made. Please note that the Teams roster loads all students (not TAs – they must be added manually by the instructor) and does not distinguish section groups.

How many users can join a Teams meeting?

Up to 300 users can chat or call in to a Teams meeting. For more Teams limits and specifications, visit Microsoft's website.

Is the data backed up?

Data stored within OneDrive on Teams is subject to the same data retention policies as OneDrive. This means that if a file is accidentally deleted, you'll be able to restore this file yourself as long as it's within 30 days.

What are the limits and specifications for Teams?

Where is the data stored?

Teams effectively integrates your own OneDrive and your Team OneDrive, giving you access to plenty of space to save any documents. Both of these spaces are approved for storing anything but highly restricted information. This page provides guidelines for secure data exchange.

Aren't the existing tools enough?

Teams combines several existing tools in one place, and replaces certain others, allowing us to fully utilize more features of Office 365. This integration makes much of the functionality easier to use than using several other applications for the same tasks.

How is Teams different from SharePoint?

Teams provides an easy and effective way to chat and share documents with small groups or departments. When your Team is created, a SharePoint site for team files is also created. You can also easily include people who are not members of the University community. Teams works as a web application, or as a desktop application, and has support across multiple devices, including Android and iPhone.

Who can request a Team?

Teams are available to University of Waterloo employees (i.e. staff, faculty, and graduate students employed by the University).

I have a question about a specific Teams capability.

Please see the IST Knowledge Base for frequently asked questions about Teams features.