It was too good to be true. Microsoft isn’t adding support for multi-user sign-ins to Teams in December 2020 — at least not in the way most all of us were hoping. Instead, true multiple work account sign-in to Teams is sounding like a 2021 thing.
Earlier this week, a just-added Microsoft 365 roadmap item made it sound as if Microsoft was finally delivering on a long-requested Teams feature: The ability to switch between different work accounts in a single Teams client (without having to resort to various workarounds). Like a number of other Microsoft watchers, I wrote about the plan and more than 700 people liked my Tweet about it. It’s definitely a pain point for many.
But as the week progressed, Microsoft quietly added a caveat to that roadmap item:
“We’re adding support within Teams desktop to be able to add one personal account, along with one work/school account, change their profile picture, and switch between accounts and orgs through Settings.”
Note: This wording was not in the original Teams roadmap item. Thanks to Michel de Rooij and a few others on Twitter who pointed out this change to me.
So, while it’s true that you’ll be able to switch from your work/school account to your personal account in Teams desktop by December 2020, you won’t be able to switch between multiple work accounts this year. My contacts say that’s a 2021 thing. (I haven’t heard whether H1 or H2.)
I asked Microsoft for comment on the roadmap change and the date for multi-user work-account switching and didn’t get a response.
Update (November 5): In response to one of several threads requesting the ability to log into multiple work accounts in Teams — this thread has nearly 29,000 upvotes — Microsoft Teams engineering has added this update:
“The engineering team is continuing to work on adding support for multiple accounts on desktop clients. We will first launch support for 1 work/school account and 1 personal account so users can enjoy Teams for work and personal side-by-side. Windows and MacOS. Support for multiple work accounts is still being worked on and will come at a later date.” (Thanks to Mark Allan for the heads-up.)
Microsoft is encouraging people to try using Teams not just for work, but for home/family projects. Microsoft began adding consumer Teams functionality to its Teams clients for iOS and Android earlier this year. Consumer Teams features are coming in preview to Teams desktop, as well, in the near-term, according to Microsoft Corporate Vice President Jeff Teper. I assume this switching between a single work and home accounts feature coming in December is part of that plan.
Switching between work accounts in Teams has been a top UserVoice request for years. I would love to know the reason it still isn’t available in Teams, though is available in Slack, as several people on Twitter have emphasized.
While we continue to wait, Microsoft MVP Vesa Nopanen has some tips for workarounds for those struggling with the need to sign into Teams with multiple identities/accounts.
