Get started with Teams Walkie Talkie

Overview

You may already use a walkie talkie-like device at work to coordinate with coworkers, ask for immediate assistance, contact security, and so on. Like traditional walkie talkies, you press and hold a button to speak on Teams Walkie Talkie and release the button to listen. 

Unlike regular walkie talkies, Teams Walkie Talkie is on your phone and works with your Teams environment.

Open Walkie Talkie

If you're using Walkie Talkie for the first time in Teams, you'll see a red dot notification on the Walkie Talkie icon in the Teams app bar.

To open Walkie Talkie, tap Walkie Talkie in the Teams app bar.

If you don’t see the Walkie Talkie app when you open Teams, swipe up from the bottom of your screen or tap More  to access it.

Pin Walkie Talkie for quick access

If Walkie Talkie isn't already pinned to the app bar in Teams, here’s how to do it.

1. In Teams, swipe up on from the app bar and tap Edit.

2. In Edit navigation, drag Walkie Talkie from More Apps to the top section.

Connect to a channel

You can connect to and talk on only one channel at a time in Walkie Talkie.

You can choose one channel to connect to or select up to five favorite channels. Your favorite channels are pinned at the top of the Walkie Talkie screen in alphabetical order. This makes it easy to change channels.

1. Tap Select channels.
   

2. Select up to five channels.
   If you select more than one channel, and you want to hear activity on all your selected channels, turn on the Listen to multiple channels toggle. 
   
   

3. If you selected one channel, you're automatically connected to that channel. The channel name appears next to > and the team name is under that. 
   
   
   
   If you selected more than one channel, you're automatically connected to the first channel in your list of pinned channels. 
   
   The channel name next to > shows your active channel. It's also highlighted in your pinned channel list. You'll see the team name under that. The active channel is the channel you speak on. 
   
   

   To speak on a different channel, tap a pinned channel to switch to it. The channel name next to > changes to show it's your active channel. You'll see it in your list of pinned channels.  

   : Walkie Talkie remembers the last channel you connected to. It automatically chooses and connects you to that channel the next time you open Walkie Talkie.

   Learn more about how to communicate with your team on Walkie Talkie.

See who's connected to a channel

The number next to   indicates how many people are currently connected to the channel, including yourself. Tap  to see who's connected.

Walkie Talkie devices and headsets

You can use Walkie Talkie with special devices and headsets that have a PTT button. You can also use wired headsets that have a play/pause or answer/end call button.

Press the PTT button or tap the play/pause or answer/end call button to instantly talk to your team members on your connected channel.

With these devices and headsets, you can communicate on a channel even when your phone is locked. For a list of these devices and headsets, see Walkie Talkie devices and accessories.

If you're using a wired headset with Walkie Talkie, see Set up and use a wired headset with Walkie Talkie. 

Settings 

To change Walkie Talkie settings, select your profile picture, go to Settings > Walkie Talkie.

The settings you choose will apply across all the devices on which you use Walkie Talkie. 

Want to know more?

Communicate with your team in Walkie Talkie

Set up and use a wired headset with Walkie Talkie

Use live captions in Walkie Talkie

For IT admins

Manage the Walkie Talkie app in Teams