What is Teams Calling?

Teams Calling is Bowdoin's new way to make and receive phone calls to anywhere, from anywhere.

With Teams Calling, you won't have to stay at your desk — you can call from across campus ... or around the world ... wherever and whenever you need to call.

  



 



 
 

How does
Teams Calling work?

Teams Calling works on your existing laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone.

If you're already familiar with Teams, it's just like calling a campus contact ... but you can call anyone.

Still new to Teams?
No problem: just enter a phone number and click the "Call" button — just like on your smartphone.



 



 

Can I Use A Desktop Phone?

Yes. Let IT know if you need a Teams-compatible desktop phone.

Desktop phones are not necessary, though. In fact, many of our Teams Calling testers prefered using Teams apps instead.

Note that our end-of-life Cisco desktop phones will no longer function once Teams Calling is fully implemented.

    



 



 
 

Teams Calling is convenient

Teams Calling is packed with features to make collaborating convenient, including:

 
  • Visual voicemail, like on your smartphone
  • Do Not Disturb (on-demand and scheduled)
  • Block unknown numbers and even some spam calls
  • Click-to-call contacts in your address book
  • Compatible with most headsets and earbuds
    (Note that headsets or earbuds are not required)
  • Click to transfer, merge, or park calls
  • Easily personalize your greeting
  • Easily delegate your calls to someone else
  • Easily configure Out Of Office features
  • and there's much, much more!



 



 

Teams Calling is more
than just calling

Teams Calling supplements Teams' existing collaboration features, such as:

  • Status indicators: who's available, busy, on a call, etc.
  • Audio-only calling
  • Video calling
  • Impromptu meetings
  • Scheduled meetings (integrated with Outlook Calendar)
  • Record meetings
  • Live transcription of meetings
  • Persistent meeting and channel chats
  • Create your own collaborative team channels
  • Quickly create and edit MS Office docs
  • File storage for Office docs, PDFs, images, etc.
  • Easily integrates with other Microsoft365 apps
  • Accessible on Macs, PCs, iPads, smartphones, etc.
  



 



 
   

How can I get help
with Teams Calling?

The IT Service Desk has compiled
Teams Calling resources
that can provide you with immediate answers to common Teams Calling questions.

Teams also has an excellent and easy-to-use built-in Help system, that's great for those trickier questions that we might not have thought about yet.



 



 

Sign up to switch
to Teams Calling

All College staff will be switching to Teams Calling by summer.

But if you want to start using all the great features of Teams Calling sooner, just fill out the short, easy sign up to switch form and IT will port your phone service to Teams Calling a.s.a.p..

  


 



 
 

You've got questions.
We've got answers!

People have asked lots of questions about Teams Calling.
Here are just a few of the popular ones:

Check out the full list of Teams Calling Frequently Asked Questions.
And if you don't find an answer to your question, ask us!

 


 




Supported Headsets or Earbuds

Certified Recommended May Work

Numerous headsets from Plantronics/Poly, Jabra, Sennheiser and other manufacturers are Teams-Certified by Microsoft. The list and models change frequently, so be sure to look for "Microsoft Teams Certified" before ordering.

The Service Desk has compiled a list of recommended headsets, including both single- and double-ear models, either wired or wireless.

Many popular headphones and earbuds – wired or wireless – that work with your electronic devices may work acceptably with Teams despite not being certified, such as:

  • Apple AirPods
  • Beats headphones
  • Bose headphones
  • Bose earbuds
  • Sennheiser headphones

Please note that not all audio devices are compatible with Teams, and that IT is not able to support non-Certified devices.
 


 


 

Project Status & Next Steps

Project Progress:
 
v
[Infrastructure]
July '21		 [Testing] [Early Adopters] [Teams Phones]
June '22



 
Current tasks:

911 "Emergency" calling service configuration – The IT Infrastructure team is currently configuring the system to comply with 911 requirements. This process is expected to be completed by mid-March.

Desktop Phones – IT is currently updating network and firewall configurations to allow for deployment of Teams-compatible desktop phones.
Coming tasks:

Early Adopters – Folks who would prefer to use Teams Calling on their existing smartphone, desktop/laptop, or tablet will be able to switch to Teams Calling beginning in March. Sign up to switch if you want to ditch your old desktop phone and start using Teams Calling.

Teams Phones – Global supply shortages are delaying the availability of Teams-compatible desktop phones. The college will begin distributing desktop phones in the coming weeks to users and positions that prefer to have a desktop phone (instead of or in addition to Teams apps on other devices).

 
[ back to top ]