Test calls are ideal to ensure your device’s microphone, speakers, and camera are working correctly. Although you could just “wing it,” you’d be more prone to creating awkward scenarios where nothing works as expected. Fortunately, Teams PC and Mac clients support test calls; however, Teams does not support this feature on mobile devices.
At this time, Microsoft Teams mobile client lacks native support for test calls. However, that does not mean we cannot find ways to compromise. For example, try hosting a meeting on your own— you can use a private team to ensure you are not disturbed.
Although I cannot provide a natively supported means to host genuine test calls, I won’t let you leave this page empty-handed. So instead, I’ll be helping you attempt compromises such as creating private teams wherein you can host private meetings.
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- How to create a private team in Microsoft Teams
- How to host a private meeting in Microsoft Teams
- Blog post recap
Create a private team in Microsoft Teams to make a test call in Teams
Before proceeding with our workaround, we need to ensure a private team is available for use. Therefore, the first order of business shall be creating a private team in Microsoft Teams. You’ll be glad to know this is no more difficult than creating a standard team.
Some readers may find they cannot create a private team. This issue may result from policies created by your organization’s appointed administrators.
Step 1 — Launch Microsoft Teams
Alright, it’s time to get to work. First, launch Microsoft Teams. If you’re using the desktop client, hit the “Start” key, search for “Microsoft Teams,” and press “Enter.” Users of the web client can access Teams here or via Office.
Step 2 — Open the join/create team interface
With Teams open, we can begin the creation process. Use the sidebar on the left side of the screen to access the “Teams” page. Once there, redirect your attention to the bottom left of the said page. Select “Join or create a team.” A new menu will appear.
Step 3 — Choose to create a team
On the current page, you can join public teams within your organization; however, that’s not what we’re here for— instead, select the “Create a team” option.
Step 4 — Choose to create a team
At this stage, one might select a team template tailored to their interests and needs. However, our objective is relatively straightforward; thus, we can choose “From scratch” and proceed onward— not dwelling on this page.
Step 5 — Opt for a private team
Now that we’re creating a team, we need to make a vital decision: private or public. Anyone in your organization can access public teams; private Teams require a direct invitation. As I have oriented this guide around private teams and meetings, we’ll select “Private.”
Step 6 — Create your team
OK. Pay close attention. This next part is very important. It’s time to name your team. All jokes aside, please ensure you name your team appropriately. In the example below, I name my team “Test Calls — Demo.”
How to host a private meeting in Microsoft Teams
While “private meeting” isn’t an official feature, it is technically within Teams. In short, a private team hosting a meeting makes the meeting private by extension. In the following guide, I’ll be walking you through how you can host a private meeting in Teams.
The following guide will assume you have already created a private team— you can follow the guide I have linked (here) if you’re unsure what to do.
Step 1 — Launch Microsoft Teams
As one would expect for a process concerning Microsoft Teams, we need to open Microsoft Teams. You can use the desktop or web client (linked here). If you prefer the desktop client, tap the “Start” key and enter “Microsoft Teams.” Then, find and select the application under “Best match.”
Step 2 — Open your private team
Now that we’ve got Teams open, we need to find and open your private team. First, find and select “Teams” in your sidebar, which you can find on the left side of the window. Then, open a channel of your choosing. In the example below, you can see that I selected the default “General” channel.
Step 3 — Use “Meet now”
From your chosen channel, locate the “Meet” dropdown in the top-right portion of your page. Then, in the dropdown, click “Meet now.” Although there’s no problem scheduling a meeting, the only key difference would be assigning a start and end date.
Step 4 — Host your meeting
All that remains for you to do is name your meeting, configure your input and output devices, and join your meeting. Of course, since the meeting is private, you now have the perfect space to test your audio— which brings us to the next part—joining on your mobile device.
Step 5 — Join on your mobile device
When you open Teams on your mobile device, you’ll notice an alert informing you that you can join your existing meeting with both devices (or transfer to your mobile). Select join and when Teams prompts you, choose to “Add this device.” In the resulting meeting, you can use your desktop device to test your mobile’s functionality in Teams calls.
Blog post recap
Although Teams lacks native support for mobile test calls, we can compromise by taking advantage of private teams and meetings. The resulting drawback is a continued dependency on a computer.
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