Forum Discussion
Contact list no longer available in new Teams version
When new teams go live, can I keep using the old version?
The new version only has a chat list and no contact list.
I regularly use my contact list to determine if someone is in the office.
If I must use the new teams, can someone suggest a workaround?
- Microsoft's new "Call Experience" has also made things a little more confusing in classic Teams.
I think most Teams users have put together personal groups etc. in the chat area under contacts to get a quick overview of who of the relevant people can or cannot be reached.
Even in the "old" Teams, the call page was completely useless for most people, it is 80% occupied by a non-customizable call history, which at least in my work environment is not used by anyone. A narrow strip remains on the side for speed dialing, also useless, at least in my work context.
A contact view has been added to the new teams. In this view, the groups are taken from the contacts of the old Teams (from its chat view). In the new Teams, it is not possible to create a new group or edit an existing group.
Is there any coordinated development for Teams at all?
You get the impression that Microsoft is letting a bunch of script kiddies run riot here.
There are new features such as playing a game during a Teams session or a graphical gimmick for the background of the video screen.
This may be attractive to some users, but something like this should always take a back seat to the basic functions and their user-friendliness during development.
Now you are forced to switch to the new Teams, a software that at least gives the impression that it is still in the middle of development and is only partially finished.
The points of criticism mentioned above, especially with regard to user-friendliness, have been voiced repeatedly by many users in the (constantly changing) Teams forums over the last few years(!), but hardly any of this feedback has been incorporated into development.
For me, this behavior of Microsoft with regard to Teams is all the more incomprehensible when you consider that Teams has actually been something of a flagship for Microsoft since the pandemic. - Chat feature without the option to organize contacts? Come on, Microsoft. At least give us access back to Classic Teams.
- On the subject of "People app" being just two extra clicks compared to "Contacts" - it is not. When chatting - it opens a separate chat window for each contact. You will end up with a bunch of chat windows open for Teams app. Any replies will take you to the chat window. But if you have a habit of closing chat windows then the replies will take you to the main Chat "application". If someone drops a message and you do not have a chat window open it will take you to the "Chat App". You end up juggling the "Chat App" and "People App".
I could not make this work for me and remain on Chat App with pinned contacts. Even with my limited number of most contacted coworkers this is a struggle compared to the old version.People App looks like it was created by someone that has 2 weeks worth of programming experience. The UI design is even worse.
From Office communicator, Lync, Skype for business and now Teams, Microsoft is slowly but surely destroying its main communication application.
A communication app without a contact list... whose genius idea was that I wonder.
- Please add this function in New Teams. It's the main reason I use this app, because its makes it easier to see if a college in a specific group is available.
The people app is absolute trash, and should be deleted from the face of the planet.
CliffordJones Agree, not useful in my opinion.
Microsoft:
Please keep the Contacts list as is. The People app is a downgrade to what was working perfectly. I am not switching to the "New" Teams. I use it all the time to see who is available to initiate a chat or a call if they are.
Dianne_NZ As many have said, Microsoft has moved the Contacts to the People app. Originally, they didn't have the online status in the People lists, but they've fixed that. At this point, it's a suitable replacement. Everyone who still wants it to return to Contacts just to say Contacts may just be upset that their cheese was moved. If you use the new People app, it will be fine, people, I promise. 🙂 This is has been a helpful thread, but I'm considering it resolved - I don't know of anything else we've lost (other than it being in a different app [i.e., People]) in the update.
ecviets I don't know how you could consider the missing contacts issue resolved. the People app is not even close to the contacts features like everybody else mentioned. Able to see contacts on the left and type in the chat on the right and switching easily between chats are not available in the People app.
I agree with you, nothing is settled. The way the People app is configured doesn't give the same possibilities/flexibility as what in Contacts. For me, it's as if nothing had been done.
I will continue to use the old Team as long as possible...
- In the old/classic version on the left of the screen the contacts showed under the group/category allowing me to expand and collapse them. I could also chat on the right while viewing the contacts grouped on the left. The people app in the new teams puts the contacts to the right which does not allow me to chat nor expand and collapse the groups. I would say the people app does the same thing but not as elegant as the classic teams did thus my analogy
- Yeah, there are a few more steps to create groups and add people than before, but at least it's there now.
- I was using the old teams due to this issue. Company and/or Microsoft forced the new version on me so I am now left without my nicely organized contacts. People app versus classic teams contacts is like Zune versus iPod...
Well I found the People app (3 dots under the pinned apps) and pinned it to my Teams screen. 3 gripes:
1. I have not found a way to keep it from defaulting to my whole contacts list which is a useless list to have for my purpose of working with my team and related teams.
2. I can no longer scroll from team group category to another team group category. Instead I have to close one category to open another team group.
3. I can no longer view my whole primary team in one window. Work around = let 2 people go.
