How to Set Up Microsoft Teams Shared Channels to Collaborate with External Brisbane Businesses

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to Set Up Microsoft Teams Shared Channels to Collaborate with External Brisbane Businesses. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure the following requirements are met:

• Both organisations must use Microsoft Teams with a compatible business licence (such as Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, or Enterprise plans).
• B2B direct connect must be enabled by administrators in both tenants via the Teams Admin Centre.
• You must be a team owner in the Microsoft Teams team where you want to create the shared channel.
• The external organisation must also have B2B direct connect configured to accept the channel share.

Steps to Set Up a Shared Channel

1. Open Microsoft Teams and navigate to the team where you want to add a shared channel.
2. Select More options (three dots) next to the team name and choose Add channel.
3. Enter a channel name and description.
4. Under privacy, select Shared channel.
5. Add external participants by email address and send the invitation.
6. Confirm the external organisation accepts the shared channel invitation.

Detailed Instructions

Create a Shared Channel

1. Open the Microsoft Teams desktop app or web client and sign in with your work account.
2. In the teams list, select the team where the shared channel will live.
3. Click More options (three dots) next to the team name, then select Add channel.
4. Enter a clear Channel name and optional Description.
5. Under Privacy, select Shared channel. Note that this option only appears if your administrator has enabled shared channels.
6. Click Create.

Add External Organisations or People

1. In the new shared channel, click Add members.
2. Enter the email address of the external contact or select Add external participants if prompted.
3. Enter the full email address of the person from the external Brisbane business (for example, [email protected]).
4. Set their role as Member or Owner, then click Add.
5. Microsoft Teams sends an invitation to the external user. They must accept it to access the channel.

Accept a Shared Channel Invitation (External Users)

1. The external user receives an email invitation or a notification within Microsoft Teams.
2. They select Open or Accept to join the shared channel.
3. If prompted, they sign in with their own Microsoft 365 work or school account.
4. The shared channel appears in their teams list under the organisation that shared it.

Troubleshooting

Shared Channel Option Is Missing

• Confirm your Microsoft 365 licence supports shared channels.
• Check that your organisation's administrator has enabled B2B direct connect and shared channels in the Teams admin centre.
• Ensure you are a team owner, not just a member.

External User Cannot Access the Channel

• Verify the external organisation has B2B direct connect enabled on their side.
• Ask the external user to check their spam or junk folder for the invitation email.
• Ensure you used their work or school email address, not a personal address such as Gmail or Outlook.com.
• Remove the user from the channel and re-invite them if the invitation expired.

Cannot Add External Participants

• Check your organisation's external access settings in the Teams admin centre.
• Confirm the external domain is not on your organisation's block list.
• If the issue persists, contact your internal IT administrator or Open a Ticket for assistance.

If you experience issues that are not covered here, you can Open a Ticket with our Brisbane support team for further assistance.

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