Microsoft Teams tips: How to send an SMS message directly from Teams

While SMS messaging may seem outdated in today’s instant messaging world, the cellular messaging service still has its place among some. While SMS/MMS doesn’t boast the speed, media capabilities and other features of apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, it can still work when a receiver’s mobile data is shut off or not working. Older people also sometimes prefer the simplicity of using SMS messages.

If you use Microsoft Teams for your work, you’d be glad to know that you can use the popular work conferencing app to also connect with peers via SMS, directly from the app. This feature is currently available only to Teams users on Android smartphones, though. Here’s how to use it.

How to send an SMS from Microsoft Teams

Start by updating Microsoft Teams to the latest version from the Google Play Store. Open the app and look for the ‘New Chat’ option on the main screen and tap on it. In the ‘To:’ row, you can enter the mobile number of the user you want to send an SMS message to.

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If the number you entered is that of a saved contact, you will see the suggestion below the number row. It is a new number; you should be able to send the number an SMS message directly. Begin typing in your message in the chat interface below. Just like conventional messages, you can use text, symbols and emojis. Stickers and media will not be supported. Tap on send and the message will be delivered.

Note that the message will be delivered along with a link to join Teams, and the receiver will not be able to continue to conversation over SMS, which means you can use this trick only once to get one message across along with a Teams invitation. For extended communication via SMS, you may still use your default SMS client, like Google Messages.