IT-Tips-and-Tricks

Together Mode

Recently introduced to Teams is Together Mode. A new feature that differentiates from the standard video conference mode where attendees are aligned in a grid format. This new feature creates an “avatar” of each attendee and places them next to each other. 

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How to enable Together Mode 

 

Note: You'll need to use the Teams desktop app to access Together Mode. 

 

Start by checking if "New Meeting Experience" is enabled. Click on your profile image and select Settings 

teams settings

Under General settings, enable "Turn on new meeting experience" if not already selected, and restart Teams. 

Breakout Rooms Settings

To turn on Together Mode while in a meeting, select the three-dot ellipses and choose Together Mode. Please note that a minimum of five participants will need to be in the meeting. 

start Together Mode

The best times to benefit from this feature include:

  • When you’re chatting with a larger group: If lots of attendees are speaking, then they may feel more comfortable in a Together mode environment that feels like an old-fashioned boardroom.
  • When your team struggles to pay attention: Together mode can help people to stay attentive during meetings and lectures.
  • When you have frequent video meetings: Microsoft says that people have less meeting fatigue with together mode.
  • When you want to see attendee sentiment: If you need to see how people respond to your message, then Together mode is ideal.

However, there are some limitations to Together mode too. For instance, it’s not a good option if you want to show off whiteboard content, because the only image you’ll transmit is your face. You also can’t share your screen using PowerPoint presentations right now, and you can’t show the space around you. 


Turn Off Incoming Video

Having issues with the quality of your Tams meetings? Perhaps you are not close to your wireless router or your internet provider's bandwidth is not optimal at the time of your meeting, turning off incoming video can improve the audio quality of your meeting. 

 

By clicking on the three-dot ellipses and choosing Turn off incoming video, video from all participants will be turned off only to you, providing a better audio connection. To turn the incoming video back on, just repeat the same steps. 

Turn off incoming video