How to Join a meeting as a view-only attendee in Microsoft Teams

Desktop

You will only be able to view a Teams meeting that has reached capacity when you join it, but you will not be able to participate in some of the other features that were available earlier in the meeting to those who joined the meeting after its capacity was reached.

Note: There must be a configuration for the Microsoft 365 A3/A5 SKUs to be available as part of the Microsoft 365 E3/E5 SKUs to be available for the meeting organizer’s integration with the Microsoft 365 A3/A5 SKUs in order for people to be able to join a meeting that has reached capacity. The Public Cloud Support (GCCH and DoD) will be introduced at a later point in time after we have completed the preparations. Learn more about this program by clicking here.

In order to make sure that you get the most out of your “view-only” meetings in Microsoft Teams, there are a few important features that you should be aware of:

Joining a meeting that has reached capacity

It is possible to join the meeting as a view-only attendee through the Teams desktop apps, the Teams web app, as well as the Teams mobile apps for Android and iOS, all of which are available through the Teams desktop apps.

As an attendee:

When there is a lot of interest in the meeting in order for you to contribute via video or audio, you might be asked to become a view-only attendee. If this is the case, you will be asked to become a view-only attendee. When the meeting reaches its capacity, you may be asked to join as a viewer-only attendee if the meeting has reached its capacity.

As a presenter or organizer:

The most exciting part of this feature is that as a presenter or organizer, you will see all the usual meeting features you’re used to, including audio and video controls-so long as you join before the meeting reaches its capacity.

As a reminder, if you attempt to join the meeting after it has reached capacity, you will not be able to attend (like everyone else) as a view-only attendee (if the meeting is full), as you will only be able to join as a view-only attendee (like everybody else).

If you are a presenter and you wish to join the meeting later after capacity has been reached, in order to rejoin it later after capacity has been reached, then you will need to re-join the meeting as a view-only attendee in order to do so. It is important to note that organizers may always re-join as full-interactive participants in the event.

Attending a meeting that has reached capacity

As an attendee:

In order to join a meeting as a view-only attendee, you will be able to see a screen which will show you the active speaker or any materials which have been shared in the meeting.

There will be no active speaker displayed on the screen if there is nothing to share.

As soon as any content on the screen is shared, you will only see a copy of that content on the screen if that particular content is being shared at the time. The presenter will not be visible during the sharing process.

Attendees with view-only access are also reminded that they are not able to:

• There is a chat room available for you to view or join.
• Using PowerPoint Live, you can view PowerPoint files that have been shared with you. Presenters, however, are still able to share a desktop or screen, along with a PowerPoint presentation, that will be visible to those people with a view-only pass as it’s the same view-only pass available to those with view-only access.)
• We will be sharing a whiteboard during the meeting, and you will have a chance to view (or use) it while you attend the meeting.
• If you choose the rectangular layout, you will have the option of switching between the Gallery, Large Gallery, and Together layouts.

As a presenter or organizer:

You will receive a banner indicating the member(s) of the meeting who have joined the meeting as a view-only attendee whilst you are the presenter or organizer.

The following points should also be taken into consideration:

• Attendees who join as view-only attendees cannot be seen by presenters or organizers as they are not notified if they have joined the event as a view-only attendee.
• In the absence of attendance control, people who attend the meeting but did not participate in it will not appear on the roster, nor will their attendance be counted or reported in any way, since only those watching the meeting will appear on the roster.
• The attendance of a person who is merely a viewer may not be removed from a meeting.
• Any view-only attendees in a meeting will not be able to see any PowerPoint presentations that are shared with PowerPoint Live or used on the whiteboard if you share them with PowerPoint Live.
• There are, however, no restrictions on what attendees can see if they are viewing only. You can use a PowerPoint presentation as part of a desktop or screen sharing session if it is visible for the duration of the session.

Mobile

In Teams, you will still be able to view a meeting after it has reached capacity, but you will be restricted to accessing only some of the features that were available earlier to those who joined the meeting before it reached capacity.

Note: Default Settings for Microsoft 365 A3/A5 or Microsoft 365 E3/E5 SKUs are required for people to be able to join meetings that have reached capacity, and it should have been configured for the meeting organizer to integrate the Microsoft 365 A3/A5 or Microsoft 365 E3/E5 SKUs into the meeting. A later date will be able to access government cloud services (GCCH and the Department of Defense) through our online portal. You can find out more about this by clicking here.

When you are using a mobile device as a view-only participant in a Microsoft Teams meeting on a mobile device, you should keep in mind the following points as you see how the meeting appears:

Joining a meeting that has reached capacity

As a view-only attendee, there are multiple ways to join the meeting. You can join the meeting by using the Teams desktop applications, the Teams web application, or the Teams mobile applications for Android and iOS. These applications are all available through the Teams desktop applications.

As an attendee:

Upon joining as a view-only attendee, you will see a special screen that reminds you that you will only be able to browse the event, but no audio and video recordings will be able to be shared, and that you will only be able to view the event.

As a presenter or organizer: 

You’ll need to join the meeting before the maximum number of participants reaches in order to be able to take part in the meeting. This will allow you to see all of the usual Team meeting features, such as the ability to control the audio and video control, as well as all of the usual meeting features.

As soon as the meeting has reached its capacity, you will only be able to join as a view-only attendee (this is the same as everyone else) if you try to join after it has reached capacity.

As long as the speaker wishes to reinterview the meeting after it has reached capacity, he or she must re-join as a view-only attendee if he or she wishes to reinterview the meeting after it has reached capacity after leaving the meeting early. At any point during the meeting, the organizers will not be restricted from re-joining as full interactive attendees as long as they are in full attendance at that particular time.

Attending a meeting that has reached capacity

Note: In comparison to those who joined before the meeting reached capacity, those who are there only to view the meeting will experience a delay of 30 seconds.

As an attendee:

In the event that you join a meeting as a view-only attendee, you will receive a screen that shows you the active speaker or any other documents being discussed in the meeting.

You will only see the active speaker on the screen when there is nothing being shared, as you will not see any other information. If you are sharing a piece of content with you, that piece of content will only appear on the screen for as long as the content is currently being shared with you. As the presentation is being shared, you will not be able to see the presenter.

Attendees with view-only access are also reminded that they are not able to:

• There is a chat room available for you to view or join.
• Using PowerPoint Live, you can view PowerPoint files that have been shared with you. The presenter may, however, share his/her screen or desktop with those who have a view-only pass, including a PowerPoint presentation. This will still be visible to those who have a view-only pass.
• There will be a whiteboard shared during the meeting that can be seen (or used) by all participants.
• The layout of the gallery can be changed to Gallery mode, Large Gallery mode, or Together mode.

As a presenter or organizer:

You will receive a banner indicating the member(s) of the meeting who have joined the meeting as a view-only attendee whilst you are the presenter or organizer.

The following points should also be taken into consideration:

• Attendees who have registered for a view-only event cannot be viewed by the presenter or organizer since they have not been notified of a view-only event.
• The attendance report or attendance count for an event does not include attendance by attendees who attended solely for the purpose of viewing the program, and attendees who attended only for the purpose of viewing the program will not be included in the roster of attendees.
• Attendees who are invited only to view a meeting cannot be removed from it.
• The view-only attendees in the meeting will not be able to view any PowerPoint presentations you share via PowerPoint Live or use the whiteboard if they are watching the meeting through PowerPoint Live.
• View-only attendees, however, have access to all desktops and screens that have been shared with them as part of the presentation. A PowerPoint presentation can be included in this case in a screen share or on the desktop, and you can make it visible during the meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a view only attendee in Teams?