How to run multiple instances of Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams allows users to join multiple teams and easily switch between them. What it doesn’t allow users to do is use multiple accounts. You can create more than one account for Microsoft Teams, but you will have to sign out of one account and sign in to the other account you want to use when it’s time to switch between them. The only alternative is to use Microsoft Teams from the web browser, where you can sign into different accounts across different browser profiles.

Need to disable multiple instances of an app? We’ve got a solution.

Multiple instances of Microsoft Teams

If you want to use the Windows desktop app for Microsoft Teams, but you’d like to use multiple accounts, you need to be able to run multiple instances of Microsoft Teams. You can’t do this out of the box however, there is a simple work-around.

1. Make sure Microsoft Teams for Windows 10 is installed on your system.
2. Download and run the free, open-source app called Multi MS Teams.
3. Click the New Profile button at the bottom right.
4. Enter a name for the profile; the name should tell you which account you’ll be using so that it’s easier to launch Microsoft Teams.
5. Add a profile for each account that you plan on using.
6. Select a profile, and click the Launch Teams button at the bottom left.
7. When Microsoft Teams opens, sign in with your account.
8. Go back to Multi MS Teams, and select another profile (after creating it).
9. Click the Launch Teams button again.
10. A second instance of Microsoft Teams will open.
11. Sign in with the account you want to use.
12. Repeat this for as many accounts/instances of Microsoft Teams you need.

Launch at login

If you need to open multiple instances of Microsoft Teams when you log in to your desktop, follow the steps below;

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Click your profile picture at the top and select Settings from the menu.
3. On the General tab, uncheck the ‘Auto-start application’ option.
4. Open Multi MS Teams.
5. Enable the ‘Auto start’ option.
6. When you next boot to the desktop, Multi MS Teams will open all configured Microsoft Teams accounts in their own separate instances.

Managing Notifications

For each instance of Microsoft Teams, you will get desktop alerts. The alerts alone will not be enough to tell you which account the message was sent to, so that is a limitation you have to work with. There will be a system tray icon for each instance of Microsoft Teams that is running. The icon will have a visual indicator if you have unread messages, but again, you cannot identify the account from just the system tray icon.

Conclusion

Multi MS Teams works really well however, you should know that in some cases, users have trouble signing into their account when they’re running a single instance of Microsoft Teams. You may run into some trouble if you’re trying to run multiple instances of the app. You can try troubleshooting the problem, but if you’re unable to fix it, you might have to limit yourself to just one instance of Microsoft Teams.

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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