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Is anyone using Teams' Walkie-Talkie feature? Apparently, not so much!
Walkie Talkie is apparently not so easy to set up and use
3 min. read
Published onFebruary 2, 2024
published onFebruary 2, 2024
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The Walkie Talkie feature in Teams was developed by Microsoft forfrontline workersto automatically listen or send PPT messages from their favorite channels.
Although it seems like a great idea that might replace a lot of expensive tools, the feature is not so popular, at least not yet.
Why don’t organizations use the Teams’ Walkie Talkie?
First of all,Walkie Talkie from Teamsis a pretty new addition and not many people have heard about it yet. It was available for Android and now, Microsoft is extending the feature for iOS as well.
Another reason for ignoring the feature is that although Microsoft has atutorial on using Walkie Talkie, IT admins didn’t yet grasp it’s settings:
What is the android keyevent that triggers the MS Teams Walkie Talkie PTT button? Out hardware button is registered as Camera 27 – that doesn’t work. It can be remapped if I knew what keyevent was picked. Anybody got lucky and found it by trial and error?
Everything looks easy in thehow tovideo guide provided by Microsoft but things are not so simple as they seem. You need to be in the same channel as the person you want to send the message to, and they need to have their Teams app open, as one of the users points out:
Unfortunately, MS Walkie Talkie requires more work. MS Teams Walkie Talkie will only work for users currently in one Teams group/channel. For members that may have Teams closed, have multiple channels (like us) or simply out of the particular channel won’t receive the Walkie Talkie communication. Microsoft should allow users the ability to get calls from all multiple channels to truly become a walkie talkie. I hope that they enhance this feature. They will destroy their competitors (e.g., Verizon’s PTT + ) if they can allow communication for all channels.
However, not all the user’s complaints are legitimate. Walkie Talkie allows you to listen to up tofive favorite channels since November, last year, but you need to pin them first to get the messages.
Also, Microsoft recommends IT managers to make sure that all endpoints listed for Teams in Office 365 and the IPs are reachable by the users on the network.
Do you use the Walkie Talkie Teams feature within your organization? Tell us all about it below, in the comments section.
Claudiu Andone
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Oldtimer in the tech and science press, Claudiu is focused on whatever comes new from Microsoft.
His abrupt interest in computers started when he saw the first Home Computer as a kid. However, his passion for Windows and everything related became obvious when he became a sys admin in a computer science high school.
With 14 years of experience in writing about everything there is to know about science and technology, Claudiu also likes rock music, chilling in the garden, and Star Wars. May the force be with you, always!
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Claudiu Andone
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Oldtimer in the tech and science press, with 14 years of experience in writing on everything there is to know about science, technology, and Microsoft
