Knowing how to use Microsoft Teams to record a meeting can save you so much time that's often spent asking people to repeat instructions or remind you of what they said. Organizations may also want to record troubleshooting meetings for later analysis, compliance requirements, or to recall significant decisions that were made.
Microsoft Teams understands this and has made the recording process simple to use – if it’s set up properly.
PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone with Teams access
Let’s go over what you need to record a meeting in Teams, how to find recordings when the meeting is done, and everything else you should know about the process.
Before you begin, make sure you have the right Microsoft Teams permissions. There are a number of permissions needed to start and stop a recording in a meeting.
First, the user needs a subscription like Office 365 Enterprise, Business Premium, or Business Essentials.
If you're working as part of an organization, your IT administrator may need to enable recordings for the organization. Some organizations default to disabled recordings except in certain situations. If you're working independently, then it should be enabled by default.
Only certain users can record meetings when they join. This includes both meeting organizers and those who are part of the organization on Microsoft Teams. Those who are part of different organizations and guests cannot record.
If you're ready to get started, follow along to record your Teams meeting.
Step 1: Log into Microsoft Teams and join a meeting. Arrange for one person to start and stop the recording if necessary – you cannot make multiple recordings of a meeting at the same time.
Step 2: In the meeting, select the More actions option (the three-dot icon) from the menu at the top of the window.
Step 3: Select Start recording in the drop-down menu.
Some organizations have a recording policy that you will then need to accept before the recording can start. All those who have joined the meeting will receive a notification that the meeting is being recorded.
Step 4: Turning on recording will also enable transcriptions, unless transcriptions have specifically been blocked by an administrator.
Transcriptions can be viewed in real time and are saved alongside the video when the recording ends. Transcriptions are important if the recording is being made for compliance or legal reasons, among other uses. Live transcriptions can be stopped at any time in the More actions menu.
Step 5: To stop recording, go to the More actions menu again and select Stop recording.
The recording is then processed, which can take a little time, so it may not be immediately available to view.
There are some other considerations to make when using the Microsoft Teams recording feature:
Recordings will automatically stop when everyone has left the meeting. However, recording will not stop if the person who began it leaves, so someone else may need to stop it manually at the right time.
Sometimes regional rules can impact recording settings. For example, local regulations may require that everyone give their permission to be recorded before beginning.
Guests and external attendees will not be able to view the recording unless someone shares it directly with them.
The video of the meeting can only show up to four video streams at once. You cannot switch to other streams when viewing a recording.
Compliance requirements may overrule some of the settings that we’ve discussed above.
If you're struggling, our guide to fixing Microsoft Teams problems can help.
When Microsoft Teams records a meeting, it is saved to SharePoint. If it was not a channel meeting, it is saved to OneDrive. Visit these locations to find the file of the meeting.
A link to the recording will also appear on the channel or chat where the meeting took place, and it will be available in the Files tab of the channel, too.
You can share the file either directly with someone else on Teams or copy and paste it into a variety of other platforms.
Important note: Microsoft Teams recordings often have a built-in expiration date, after which the meeting will be unavailable (plus a grace period for the owner of the recording). This can be disabled by IT. The expiration date will show up in Teams along with the link to the meeting, as well as in the Details section of Show actions in the recording file.
Those recording the meeting can typically customize the expiration date. It’s important to make sure the video is shared or used before the expiration date. If the recording was made for compliance purposes, expiration dates should be disabled or the files should be saved permanently in another way.
To save a recording, you can download the file directly from Teams. Remember, only the meeting organizer or attendee who started the recording can download it.
Step 1: Open Files to locate the recording.
Step 2: Select the recording and choose More options.
Can I record a call with myself on Teams?
Yes, you can create a recording without other attendees in Teams. Open the application, select Meet Now, and start your recording.
Can I record audio only on a Teams meeting?
Currently, there is no Teams feature for recording audio only. Recordings include video, audio, and screen sharing.
Is Microsoft Teams always recording?
The short answer is no, Teams is not recording by default. The organizer can set the meeting to record automatically when they create the meeting, but this is also not enabled by default.
If you're looking to set up a meeting with some colleagues, consider making a new team first.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
How can ORISA bring deleted AI conversations back?
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.