What is Intercom in Microsoft Teams and how does it work?

What is Intercom on Microsoft Teams?

As the name suggests, the new Walkie Talkie feature allows users on Microsoft Teams to connect with their team members by using their voices to communicate with them in real time. Users connected to a Walkie Talkie in a channel can listen to one counterparty at a time in push-to-talk format. This way, only one person can get attention while speaking without being interrupted by others.

Microsoft is targeting this feature to frontline workers, who they say contribute 80% of the global workforce. The company says Walkie Talkie allows frontline workers who work directly with end users to communicate more seamlessly within an organization. This can come in handy for colleagues who need immediate help on important topics, coordinate with superiors, contact the security team, etc.

This also eliminates the need for workers to carry bulky radios to communicate using push-to-talk (PTT), as they can simply connect their phones to the internet and start using Walkie Talkie directly on Microsoft Teams.

Walkie Talkie How does it work on Microsoft Teams?

Just like a traditional intercom, when you want to comment on something going on, you tap and hold the large talk button within the channel. Releasing the talk button will mute your microphone and allow others to speak.

The new feature can be added as an app to your Microsoft Teams organization and can be used directly within any channel without starting a meeting. You just need to be actively connected to the internet to use Walkie Talkie within the app.

Microsoft says that when you use Walkie Talkie in a Teams channel, it only requires speeds of up to 20 Kb/s, which is negligible if you're connected to a channel where no one is talking. This means that Walkie Talkie should work fine even if you have a poor internet connection (although this is not recommended).

When someone speaks during an intercom session, no one else can interrupt them in their session. If you want to speak on this channel, you must wait for them to take their finger off the call button to activate your microphone.

Who can use Walkie Talkie on MS Teams?

The new Walkie Teams feature in Microsoft Teams is primarily designed for an organization’s frontline employees who may need help from other employees in their day-to-day interactions with end users. Therefore, this feature is only available to users and organizations that subscribe to Microsoft 365 for frontline workers.

This means you can use the Walkie Talkie feature in the Teams app on Android and iOS, as long as you subscribe to any of these plans - Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365 F3, or Microsoft 365 F3. If you are not already subscribed to these plans, you can activate your Microsoft 365 F1 paid license through this link to check out the new Walkie Talkie app for as low as $2.25 per user per month.

In addition, you also need to note that Walkie Talkie can only be used within a channel and cannot be used in one-on-one chats. When you use this feature on one channel, you will not be able to use it on another channel at the same time.

How to Enable Walkie Talkie on Microsoft Teams

Walkie Talkie is an app that can be installed within your Microsoft Teams account/organization, however the app is not pre-installed and will not be installed normally from The Teams home screen will be unavailable when searching for apps to install. In order to use Walkie Talkie, your organization's administrator should first add the app to the App Settings policy from your Teams admin center.

You can ask your team admin to add Walkie Talkie to your organization, or if you are a team admin yourself, you can open the Teams Admin Center by entering your account credentials and go to the Teams app >Set policy to add this app to your organization. Here you need to make sure to turn on the at the top to allow users to pin the toggle.

#On the same page, click Add app under the Pinned Apps section.

#You should now see the App pinned app sidebar appear on the right. Use the search box in this sidebar to search for "Walkie Talkie". When the Walkie Talkie app loads in the search results, click Add.

#Intercom should now be added to the pinned apps list within the settings policy. You can then confirm your changes by clicking the Save button at the bottom.

That’s all. Walkie Talkie should be available in Microsoft Teams within 48 hours.

How to use Walkie Talkie with Microsoft Teams

When your Teams administrator adds Walkie Talkie to your organization, you can start using it, but before that, you need to ensure that your Android or The Microsoft Teams app on your iOS device has been updated to its latest version from the Google Store or app store.

Open Walkie Talkie in MS Teams

Now you can do this by opening the Microsoft Teams app on iOS or Android and going to More> Walkie Talkie to access the Walkie Talkie feature.

You should now see the Walkie Talkie screen loading in Microsoft Teams. Within this screen, click Channel in the upper left corner.

In the list that appears, select the team and channel on which you wish to start push to talk.

After selecting a channel, click Connect at the bottom of the screen.

Your device is now connected to the selected channel and you will be able to hear any conversations going on in it. Once connected, you should see a large microphone icon in the center.

Start talking to the intercom

To speak from your end or start a push-to-talk, tap and hold what Microsoft calls the Call button Microphone icon.

When you are the one speaking in the channel, you should see a Live label appear above the Speak button and the button itself will be highlighted with There is a circle. You need to hold your finger on this call button for as long as you want to speak.

After you finish the call, release your finger from the call button to close it. Now, others in the same channel can start speaking by tapping and holding the Talk button on their device.

When someone else starts speaking in the channel, their name and account picture should appear in the center of the screen instead of the Speak button in the center of the screen.

See who is listening on your walkie talkie

If you have just started a Walkie Talkie session and no one else is logged in, you will see the "No one else connected" message above the Talk button .

When you are connected to a channel in a Walkie Talkie session, you can see how many people are connected to the session by looking for the number next to the Participants icon in the upper right corner. This number will tell you who, besides yourself, are currently connected to that channel.

To see who can actively hear the conversation, click this Participant icon.

Pin Walkie Talkie to Teams home screen

By default, when Walkie Talkie is added to your Teams organization, it should be accessible in the More tab in the lower right corner of the screen it. If you want to use Walkie Talkie more often, you can pin it to the Teams navigation bar at the bottom for quick access. To do this, open the Teams app and tap the More tab in the lower right corner.

When more tabs expand, click Reorder.

You will now be taken to the edit navigation screen and you should see the Walkie Talkie app appear under "More". To pin the Walkie Talkie to the Teams navigation bar, click and hold the Hamburger menu next to the Walkie Talkie, then drag it up and out of the More section.

Note: You can only have a maximum of 5 active tabs on the team navigation bar. So, if you already have 5 tabs, moving the Walkie Talkie app to the navigation bar will remove the lowest priority tab and move it to the "More" section.

After moving the intercom to the desired location, click Done in the upper right corner.

You should now see the Walkie Talkie tab on the Teams app's home screen, where you can quickly access it later.

Disconnect from the channel's walkie talkie

When you have finished communicating via voice within the channel, you can stop Walkie Talkie or leave by clicking the Disconnect button at the bottom of the Walkie Talkie screen it.

The intercom screen will now be minimized and neither you nor anyone else can communicate with each other anymore.

Do you always need to unlock your phone for your Walkie Talkie?

Contrary to what you may think, you don't need to unlock your iOS or Android phone and turn it on to listen to what others are saying on Walkie Talkie. As long as your device is connected to the internet and you're connected to a specific channel, you can listen to others on Walkie Talkie even when you're not using your phone.

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