Guest access in Microsoft Teams allows individuals outside of your organization to join teams and channels, collaborate on projects, and share files. Essentially, it enables you to extend team collaboration beyond your organization’s boundaries. One point to remember is that guests should have a valid Microsoft 365 or Office 365 work or school account. However, if they don’t have one, they can sign up for a free account that will allow them to participate as a guest in Teams.
Licensing Requirements
For guest access to be enabled in Microsoft Teams, you need to have the required licenses. These include:
- Azure Active Directory Free: This Microsoft cloud-based service provides identity and access capabilities in the cloud for your employees and guests. A free licensure of Azure AD is included with many Office 365 commercial subscriptions.
- Microsoft Teams: Obviously, a basic Teams subscription is necessary. Microsoft Teams comes with many commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions.
Allowing Guest Access in Microsoft Teams
Before your guests can join Teams, there are several settings you need to ensure are enabled in your M365 environment. From the Microsoft 365 admin center, Teams settings, Services & add-ins, and then Office 365 Groups, you need to enable the following:
- Let group owners add people outside your organization to groups
- Let group members invite guests to the group
- Let guests access group content
- Let guests access group calendar
Once you’ve set these, the guest users should be able to access the Teams they are invited to, collaborate with team members, and engage in other activities based on the access rights you have granted.
Setting Guest Permissions
In Microsoft Teams, you can employ granulated control to set guests’ permissions for features such as making private calls, sharing screens, and deleting sent messages. These settings are crucial for maintaining your organization’s security and ensuring that guests only have access to the information they need.
Please note that due to multiple system considerations (Microsoft 365 organization-level settings, Teams settings, and individual user settings, for instance), there may be some variance in what guests can do within specific contexts.
In conclusion, understanding the requirements for expanding your Teams environment beyond your organizational boundaries is key to optimizing international collaborations and maintaining secure access. Guest access licensing in Microsoft Teams is not just a must-know topic for your MS-700 exam but also a vital skill in managing any organization’s Teams environment. This understanding allows for effective teamwork without compromising any professional boundaries.
Practice Test
True/False: All types of Microsoft Teams licenses permit guest access.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Not all Microsoft Teams licenses enable guest access. Factors such as company policies and licensing restrictions can affect guest access.
The Commercial Cloud Trial license of Microsoft Teams allows guest access.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: A) True
Explanation: The Commercial Cloud Trial license provides users the ability to invite guests into their Teams environment.
What is the maximum number of guests that can be invited to a team on Microsoft Teams?
- A) 5
- B) 10
- C) Unlimited
- D) 500,000
Answer: D) 500,000
Explanation: A single team in Microsoft Teams can have up to 500,000 guests.
True/False: In Microsoft Teams, a guest is someone from outside the organization who doesn’t have a school or work account.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: A guest in Microsoft Teams is anyone without a work or school account with the organization.
Which license type restricts guest access in Microsoft Teams?
- A) Pay-as-you-go
- B) Subscription-based
- C) Free trial license
- D) None of the above
Answer: C) Free trial license
Explanation: Free trial licenses restrict guest access as they are generally provided on a temporary basis with limited capabilities.
What does a company need to have enabled before guest access can be configured?
- A) Azure AD
- B) Microsoft 365 Business Standard
- C) Breakout rooms in Teams
- D) All of the above
Answer: A) Azure AD
Explanation: Before guest access can be configured, Azure AD must be enabled for identity services.
True/False: You can control guest access to individual teams but not to the entire organization.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: You can control guest access at both the team level and at the entire organization level.
What type of license is required for each individual guest user in Microsoft Teams?
- A) Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- B) Microsoft Teams Free
- C) No license is required
- D) Office 365 E3
Answer: C) No license is required
Explanation: No specific license is required for guest users. Guests are added to an existing license of a user in the organization.
True/False: Microsoft Teams guest access is off by default.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Guest access in Microsoft Teams is off by default. An organization’s admin has to turn it on to allow guest access.
Which of the following licenses for Microsoft Teams limit guest access to only users within the same organization?
- A) Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- B) Microsoft Teams Explorer
- C) Office 365 E1
- D) None of the above
Answer: D) None of the above
Explanation: None of these licenses restrict guest access to only users within the same organization. Guest access policies depend on organization’s set rules and not on the license type.
To enable guest access on Microsoft Teams, the organization must have the correct subscription to which service?
- A) Office 365
- B) Azure AD
- C) Microsoft Teams
- D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: Enabling guest access requires a paid subscription to Office 365 or Microsoft 365, access to Azure AD, and Teams.
True/False: License types affect the amount of storage available to guests in Microsoft Teams.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: The storage available to guests in Microsoft Teams isn’t affected by license types. Instead, it depends on the settings of the inviting organization.
Which type of Microsoft Teams license does not allow guest access?
- A) Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- B) Office 365 E3
- C) Microsoft Teams free
- D) Microsoft 365
Answer: C) Microsoft Teams free
Explanation: The free version of Microsoft Teams does not permit guest access. To add guests, the organization must have a paid subscription.
True/False: External access and guest access in Microsoft Teams are the same.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: External access and guest access are different. External access lets Teams users from other domains chat, call and set up meetings, while guest access allows guests full access to teams, documents, meetings, and more.
Which type of Microsoft Teams license permits guest access by default?
- A) Microsoft 365 Business Standard
- B) Office 365 E5
- C) None, guest access must be manually enabled
- D) Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Answer: C) None, guest access must be manually enabled
Explanation: Guest access is off by default across all types of licenses. It must be manually enabled by the organization’s admin.
Interview Questions
What is the purpose of granting guest access in Teams?
Guest access in Teams allows teams in your organization to collaborate with individuals outside your organization by granting them access to Teams and Channels.
Can you limit guest access to certain Teams and Channels?
Yes, it’s possible to limit guest access to specific Teams and Channels based on user roles and permissions.
What is a licensing prerequisite for guest access in Teams?
In order to use guest access in Teams, the user should be licensed for the service dependencies such as Office 365 A1, Office 365 A3, or Office 365 A5.
What is the difference between guest access and external access (federation)?
Guest access grants an individual access to Teams, documents in channels, and resources, while external access (federation) allows users to find, call, and chat with other individuals in other organizations.
What is the first process when you want to provide guest access in Microsoft Teams?
The first process to provide guest access in Microsoft Teams is to enable guest access in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and then configure the guest access settings in the Teams admin center.
Can guests change team settings?
No, guests can’t make changes to team settings. They have a limited set of permissions.
Do guests need a Teams license to join a team?
No, a user must be identified as a guest in the Azure Active Directory, and need to be assigned a Teams license before they can access Teams.
Can you invite a guest to your team if their organization doesn’t have Teams?
Yes, they can receive and accept an invitation to join a team, but they need to sign up for Teams before they can join.
Will a guest have the same capabilities as a team member once a team is joined?
No. Although guests have access to most components of a Team like Channels and conversations, they won’t have the same capabilities like discovering and joining public teams, or creating a team.
If a guest’s permissions are modified in Azure AD, will it replicate in Teams as well?
Yes, any changes made in Azure AD will carry over to Teams as well.
How do you remove a guest from a team?
Team owners can remove guests from a team by choosing More options next to the guest’s name and then choosing Remove from team.
In which sector is Guest access in Microsoft Teams not available?
Guest access is not available for Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC), Microsoft 365 GCC High or Department of Defense.
Can a guest user be a part of multiple organizations?
Yes, a guest user can be a part of multiple organizations, but they must switch between organizations within Microsoft Teams to participate in another’s team.
Is there a limit to the number of guests you can add to Microsoft Teams?
No, you can add as many guests as you want to Microsoft Teams. However, the total number of all types of guests must be equal to or less than the number of subscriptions you have.
How do you switch from a team member to a guest?
In Microsoft Teams, click on your profile picture in the upper-right of the screen. In the menu, if you’re a guest, you can switch to your home organization or to other organizations where you’re a guest.