How to Create and Send a Microsoft Teams Video Call Link

A Microsoft Teams video call link lets other people join a meeting with one click, either in the Teams app or in a web browser. This guide explains how to create the link, send it, and confirm that people can actually join with their camera and microphone. Button names and their positions differ between the new and classic Teams apps, the free personal edition, work or school accounts, and mobile apps, so use the labels below as guidance and look for the closest match in your version.

Before you start

Creating a Teams link is not a local process. The link is generated by Microsoft's service, so you need to be signed in to Teams with a working internet connection. Other people also reach the meeting through that service, which means the meeting and any shared content are handled under your account's or organization's Microsoft terms and settings. If privacy or data handling matters for your call, check those settings with your administrator instead of assuming defaults.

• A Microsoft account signed in to Teams (free personal edition) or a work or school account.
• Permission to create meetings. In organizations, an administrator can restrict meeting creation, guest or anonymous join, and lobby behavior.
• A way to send the link: a Teams chat, email, a text message or any other messaging app.
• Optional but useful: a working camera and microphone on your own device, so you can test the call before others join.

Step-by-step instructions

There are three common ways to get a video call link in Microsoft Teams. Choose an instant link if you want to talk now, a scheduled meeting if the call is planned, or copy the link from a call that is already running.

Option 1: Create an instant link with Meet now

• 1. Open Teams and go to Calendar. In the free personal edition, look for a Meet section or a Meet button instead.
• 2. Select Meet now. In some versions this button has a drop-down or a separate option for getting a shareable link instead of starting the meeting immediately.
• 3. If you see an option such as Get a link to share or Create a meeting link, choose it, optionally rename the meeting, and copy the link.
• 4. If Teams starts the meeting straight away, use the invite or join information option in the meeting window or participants pane to copy the meeting link.
• 5. Paste the link into a chat, email or message and send it.

Option 2: Schedule a meeting and copy its link

• 1. In Calendar, select New meeting (or a similarly named scheduling button).
• 2. Add a title, date and time. You can add attendees directly; Teams then sends them an invitation that already contains the join link.
• 3. Save or send the meeting.
• 4. To share the link with people you did not invite, open the meeting from your calendar and copy the join link from its details. Some versions show a dedicated copy link button.
• 5. Send the copied link wherever you need it.
• 6. If you use Outlook with a work or school account, you can also add a Teams meeting to a calendar event; the join details are inserted into the invitation body.

Option 3: Share the link from a call in progress

If you are already in a Teams meeting, open the participants pane and look for an option to share an invite or copy the join information. The copied text contains the meeting link, which you can paste into any message. A one-to-one or group call started directly from a chat is not always the same as a meeting, so if you cannot find a shareable link there, create a Meet now meeting instead.

Settings worth reviewing before you send

Open the meeting options for your meeting (usually reachable from the meeting details or from inside the meeting) to see who can bypass the lobby, who can present, and whether attendees can turn on their camera and microphone. Available options depend on your edition and on organization policy. These settings are reversible, so you can adjust them after the link has been sent; changes apply to that meeting rather than creating a new link.

Check the output

The simplest test is to open the link the way a guest would. Use a private browser window or a second device where you are not signed in. A working link opens a Teams join screen that offers to continue in the browser or open the app, then asks for a name and shows camera and microphone controls before joining.

• The join screen appears instead of an error or sign-in wall. If a sign-in is required, guest or anonymous access may be restricted for that meeting.
• The browser asks for camera permission and microphone permission. If you deny it, the preview stays dark.
• The preview shows the selected camera. If the wrong device is shown, change it in the device settings on the join screen.
• As organizer, you can see the test guest in the lobby or in the participant list and admit them if needed.

Video quality on the call is not set by the link. Resolution and frame rate are adjusted by Teams based on network conditions, device capability and the number of participants. On the camera side, good lighting in front of the person and a correctly selected capture source usually make a bigger visible difference than any meeting setting. If you plan to record, recording availability, storage location and recording format depend on your account type and organization policy, so confirm them in your version rather than relying on assumptions.

Common problems and next steps

I can't find the option to create a meeting link

Look in Calendar for Meet now or New meeting, or in the Meet section of the personal edition. If neither is present, your organization may have disabled meeting creation for your account, or you may be in a chat-only view. Updating the Teams app or using Teams on the web can also reveal options that an older client hides.

Guests can't join with the Microsoft Teams video call link

Check whether the link was copied in full and that the meeting has not been cancelled or deleted. If guests outside your organization are blocked or forced to sign in, the cause is usually an organization policy on external or anonymous access, which only an administrator can change. If guests are waiting without being admitted, check the lobby in the participant list and review who can bypass the lobby in meeting options.

The link opens the Teams app instead of the browser

On the join page, choose the option to continue in the browser. On phones and tablets, Teams may require the mobile app to join; in that case the guest needs to install it or use a computer.

Camera or microphone doesn't work after joining

In a browser, allow camera and microphone access for the Teams page through the site permission controls, then reload. In the app, check device settings inside Teams and confirm the right camera is selected. Also make sure the operating system allows apps or the browser to use the camera, and that no other program is holding the camera at the same time.

Video looks blurry or freezes

Teams lowers bitrate and encoding quality automatically when the connection is weak, so blur or freezing often points to network limits rather than the link itself. Close other bandwidth-heavy apps, move closer to the router or use a wired connection, improve lighting, and turn off incoming video from other participants if the option is available in your version.