How to Fix Microsoft Teams External Users Stuck in the Lobby Waiting to Join Meetings for Brisbane Small Businesses

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to Fix Microsoft Teams External Users Stuck in the Lobby Waiting to Join Meetings for Brisbane Small Businesses. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Microsoft Teams uses a virtual lobby to keep meetings secure by holding external guests until they are admitted by the host. If your clients or external partners are consistently stuck in the lobby and cannot join your calls, it is usually caused by meeting options, tenant security settings, or account authentication issues. This guide provides steps for Brisbane small businesses to resolve external lobby issues in Microsoft Teams.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Ensure the meeting organiser admits the guest from the lobby notification.
2. Check that the external user is signed into a Microsoft account.
3. Verify the meeting was scheduled using the official Teams Outlook add-in.
4. Confirm the lobby bypass settings are configured for external participants.

Detailed Instructions

Adjust Meeting Options Before the Call

1. Open Microsoft Teams and go to the Calendar tab.
2. Select the meeting and click Meeting options.
3. Under Who can bypass the lobby?, select People in my organisation and trusted organisations or Everyone to allow external guests to enter automatically.
4. Click Save.

If you are not the meeting organiser, you cannot change these settings. Ask the meeting host to update the lobby options.

Admit External Users During a Meeting

1. When an external user waits in the lobby, a notification appears on your screen.
2. Click Admit next to the guest's name to allow them to join.
3. To admit everyone waiting, click Admit all.

Ensure External Users Are Signed In

1. Ask the external guest to sign in to Microsoft Teams using a Microsoft account (such as Outlook, Hotmail, or a work/school account).
2. Guests joining as anonymous users without signing in are more likely to be held in the lobby.
3. If using a web browser, ensure they are using Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

Troubleshooting

Guest Still Stuck in the Lobby

• Check that the external user's email address was entered correctly in the meeting invite.
• Ask the guest to clear their browser cache or restart the Teams desktop app.
• Verify that your organisation's Microsoft 365 tenant allows external access in the Teams admin centre.

Meeting Options Are Greyed Out

• Only the meeting organiser can change lobby settings. If you are a required attendee, contact the organiser.
• If you are the organiser but cannot access options, ensure you created the meeting through the Teams app or Outlook add-in.

If external users continue to experience issues joining your Teams meetings, Open a Ticket with 220 Internet Services for further assistance.

For related communication issues, see our guide on Email not sending or receiving.

Still Having Issues?