Body
Questions
- How do I enable location services for Teams Calling on my Mac?
- Why does Teams need access to my Mac's location?
- How does E911 work with Microsoft Teams Calling?
- My Teams Calling settings show an unknown location — how do I fix this?
- Teams says my emergency location is not verified — what should I do?
- Will 911 know where I am if I call from Teams on a Mac?
- How do I check that my campus location is showing correctly in Teams?
Environment
This article applies to Bowdoin College faculty and staff who use Teams Calling on a Mac on campus. Enabling location access allows Teams to share your precise building and room location with E911 dispatchers and Bowdoin Security when you call 911.
- Operating system: macOS Sequoia (15.x) and Tahoe (26.x)
- Requirement: Microsoft Teams must be installed and you must be signed in with your Bowdoin account
- Note: If you are working off-campus, Teams will still connect your 911 call through Intrado, Bowdoin's E911 provider, using your best known location. Enabling location services on campus ensures the most accurate location is transmitted.
Important: On Bowdoin-managed Macs, you may need administrator privileges to change Privacy & Security settings. If the location settings are grayed out, see Privileges for macOS in the Related Articles section to request temporary admin access, then return to these steps.
Resolution
Step 1 — Enable Location Services for Microsoft Teams
- Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen.
- Click System Settings.
- In the sidebar, click Privacy & Security.
- Click Location Services.
- Make sure the Enable Location Services toggle at the top is turned on.
- Scroll through the app list and turn on the toggle next to Microsoft Teams.
- Close System Settings.
Step 2 — Verify your campus location in Teams
- Quit and reopen Microsoft Teams so it picks up the new location permission.
- Click the ellipsis (…) to the left of your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the Teams window.
- Click Settings.
- In the Settings panel, click Calls in the left menu.
- Scroll down to the Emergency calling section.
- Confirm that your current campus building and room location are shown.
Done: When your campus location appears in the Emergency calling section, Teams will transmit that location to 911 dispatchers and Bowdoin Security if you ever need to call 911 from this device.
Additional Help
If you need further assistance, you have several options:
- Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
- Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
- In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
- Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.