Starting in January 2024, Microsoft will require all users to move to the new Microsoft Teams app as the default Teams platform. To provide you with the opportunity to adopt the new Teams experience before it becomes the default choice, Information Technology Services (ITS) will enable a “Try the new Teams” option that will appear in the upper-left corner of your Teams classic app on Thursday, Nov. 9.
All WSU users are encouraged to activate by clicking the “Try the new Teams” button. Users who opt-in to the new experience beginning Nov. 9 will then be able to access the upgraded Teams app once the automatic installation completes.
After Nov. 9, new installations of the Teams app may default to the new experience. New employees and students who download Teams for the first time, along with current users who uninstall and reinstall the app on their devices, may be automatically moved to this new version.
Although you will have the ability to disable the new Teams and revert to Teams classic until January, ITS highly recommends all WSU staff, faculty, and students upgrade to the new client on Nov. 9 or as soon as possible to ensure a smooth user transition ahead of Microsoft’s mandated Teams change in January.
With many of the familiar features of Teams classic integrated into the new Teams, upgrading will offer additional performance benefits:
- A simpler user experience that makes it easier to do more in fewer clicks.
- Improved speed when launching the app, joining meetings, or switching chats and channels.
- Seamless collaboration across multiple accounts simultaneously with real-time notifications.
- Reduced memory usage and disk space with more battery life.
- Increased reliability and improved security.
Visit Microsoft’s support page to learn more about Teams improvements and what features will change.
For any questions or assistance transitioning to the new Teams app, please contact Crimson Service Desk via email at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or phone at 509-335-4357.