Microsoft Releases New Teams Version - January 2024
Microsoft has released a major update to Teams that IT Services has released to our campus community on January 2, 2024. This go-live date was selected to avoid potential impact on classes while still giving faculty and staff time to adjust to the new experience.
The new version of Teams improves on the platform with an updated interface, better performance, and several new features, including 7x7 video feeds, contextual search in chats and channels, and more. The upgrade will download and install automatically, and, once ready, will prompt users to decide if they want to transition to the new version immediately or at the end of their current Teams session.
Do I have to update to the New Teams?
In January, you do not have to immediately update to New Teams, but you will be prompted to by the app to do so. We highly recommend updating to New Teams as we expect Microsoft to make this their only version by March of 2024. Especially for students and faculty, it may be helpful to use the New Teams before the semester starts so that you don't have to adjust experiences mid-term when you are busy with teaching and learning.
How do I update to New Teams on my desktop Teams app?
1. When you launch teams, you will be presented with a window that New Teams is available. Click the "Get It Now" button to start the update process. (To delay/avoid the update, click "Ask Me Tomorrow".)
2. Your (classic) Teams app will open and show a notification bar that it is downloading New Teams app which will automatically open when finished.
3. New Teams app will open on its own and guide you through some new features.
4. If you prefer to display all your Teams/Groups in List View, you may need to adjust that setting in the Appearances and Accessibility settings:
a. Open the Settings menu by clicking the three dots in the upper-right corner of the New Teams app. Click on Settings from the dropdown.
b. In the Settings menu, click on the Appearance and Accessibility sub-menu, and scroll to the Layout section.
c. Click on the radio button for the Grid or List view option you want to use to display your Teams/Groups in the app.
How do I use the New Teams experience on the web app (online)?
1. Access your Office 365 account online by logging into your email at email.msudenver.edu
2. Click on the app launcher in the upper left, the "waffle", and select the Teams app.
3. A window will prompt you that you can switch to the New Teams experience. Click "Switch Now".
How do I switch back to using Teams Classic (older version)?
As long as Microsoft is still supporting Teams Classic, you can switch back to that experience.
On the New Teams Desktop App:
1. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the Teams app. In the drop-down menu, and toggle off New Teams.
2. Upon toggling-off New Teams, the former, Classic Teams app will launch for you to use and New Teams app with close.
Note: Alternatively to this toggling process, the Classic Teams app is still installed on your device, so you could opt to open that directly when you start your work.
On the Web App:
1. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the Teams app. In the drop-down menu, and toggle off New Teams.
To turn back on the New Teams in the web app, a toggle button will be available on the upper-left corner of the web app to re-activate the New Teams experience.
A note for Mac users
Microsoft states New Teams is supported on macOS Monterrey (12.x), however some testing has reported bugs on Monterrey. These issues have generally been addressed by updating to macOS Ventura (13.x), so users are encouraged to update to the newest version of macOS. For instructions on updating your MSU Denver Mac, please see How do I install software on an MSU Denver Mac computer using Self Service?
Further Resources
If you have any questions or concerns, please submit a Teams support request or contact the ITS Service Desk at 303-352-7548.