How to Start an Instant Call in Microsoft Teams [5 Methods Explained]

You’re in the middle of a project, something comes up, and you need to talk to a colleague right now, not in 30 minutes after sending a calendar invite. That’s exactly what instant calls in Microsoft Teams are built for.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through all the ways you can start an instant call in Teams, whether you’re on desktop, in a chat, in a channel, or on your phone. No scheduling, no calendar juggling. Just click and go.

What Is an Instant Call in Microsoft Teams?

An instant call (or “Meet Now” meeting) is an unscheduled, on-the-spot call you can kick off in seconds. Unlike a scheduled meeting, there’s no invite required. You start it, share the link or ring people directly, and you’re in.

Think of it like walking over to someone’s desk, except everyone’s remote, and Teams is the hallway.

The best part? Everything from the call, chat, recordings, and shared files stays accessible to everyone after the call ends, just like a regular scheduled meeting.

Start an Instant Call in Microsoft Teams

Now I will show you different ways to start an instant call in Microsoft Teams.

Method 1: Start an Instant Call from the Calendar Tab in Teams

This is the most straightforward way. I use this when I want a quick, standalone call that’s not tied to any existing chat thread.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Microsoft Teams on your desktop.
2. Click Calendar in the left sidebar.
3. In the top-right corner, click Meet now.
4. A pop-up will appear where you can name your meeting (optional but helpful).
5. You’ll see two options: Get a link to share or Start meeting.
   • Choose Get a link to share if you want to copy the link and send it via email, chat, or WhatsApp.
   • Choose Start meeting if you just want to jump straight in.
6. You’ll land on the pre-join screen. Toggle your camera and mic on or off.
7. Click Join now to enter the meeting.

Once you’re in, you can invite others by clicking the People icon and searching for their names.

Pro tip: If you grab the link first, you can configure meeting options before anyone joins — things like who can bypass the lobby or who can present.

Method 2: Start an Instant Call from a Chat in Microsoft Teams

This is probably the method I reach for most often. When you’re already mid-conversation in a chat and want to just hop on a quick call, this saves you a bunch of steps.

For a one-on-one chat:

1. Open the chat with the person you want to call.
2. Look at the top-right corner of the chat window. You’ll see a Video call icon and an Audio call icon.
3. Click the one you need — Teams will ring them immediately, just like a phone call.

That’s it. No meeting room, no invite. They get a ring notification and can pick up.

For a group chat:

1. Open the group chat.
2. Click the Video call or Audio call button at the top.
3. Teams will ask you to confirm you want to call everyone in the group.
4. Once confirmed, everyone in the chat gets notified.

The neat thing about group chat calls is they don’t blast a ring to everyone by default — you can choose to Ring others to join selectively. So if someone’s offline or busy, you’re not disturbing them. To ring specific people, click Ring others to join, select individual names, and hit Ring — or use Ring all to notify everyone at once.

Method 3: Start an Instant Call from a Teams Channel

If your team works heavily in channels, which many do, you can spin up a meeting right inside a channel without leaving the context of the conversation.

Here’s how:

1. Go to the channel where you want to meet.
2. In the top-right corner, click Meet now (the label may vary slightly depending on your Teams layout).
3. Click Join now to enter.

This is great for team standups or quick syncs tied to a specific project channel. The meeting stays linked to the channel, so the chat and any files shared during the call are visible to all channel members — even those who didn’t attend.

Starting from a specific message in the channel: If you want the call to be in response to a particular conversation thread, click the … (more options) next to that message and look for Reply in meeting or a similar option. This keeps the call tied to that specific thread.

Method 4: Start a Call from Someone’s Profile Card

Here’s one that most people don’t know about. If you see someone’s name or profile photo anywhere in Teams — in a chat, in a team member list, in a search result — you can call them without opening a full chat window.

1. Hover over their profile photo or name.
2. A small profile card pops up.
3. Click the Audio call or Video call button right on the card.

Done. Teams rings them instantly. This works in channels, search results, @mentions — basically anywhere their name appears.

Method 5: Start an Instant Call on Mobile (iPhone or Android)

Not everyone’s at their desk, and Teams mobile handles instant calls well.

From the Chat tab:

1. Open the Teams app on your phone.
2. Tap the Chat tab at the bottom.
3. Open the one-on-one or group chat you want to call from.
4. If you are in a one-on-one, click the 3 dots, then tap the camera icon or phone icon at the top of the chat. If you want a group chat, tap the camera icon or phone icon at the top of the chat.
5. For group chats, tap Meet now if it appears, or use the camera icon.
6. Adjust your mic and camera on the pre-join screen, then tap Join now.

From the Calendar tab:

1. Tap the Calendar icon in the bottom navigation bar.
2. Look for the Meet or camera icon in the top-right corner.
3. Tap it, then tap Meet now.
4. Adjust settings and tap Start meeting.

Mobile works slightly differently depending on whether you’re on iOS or Android, but the core flow is the same — go to a chat or your calendar, tap the camera/meet icon, and you’re in.

What Happens After the Call?

Here’s something worth knowing: instant calls aren’t as throwaway as they might seem. After the call ends:

• The meeting chat stays in the group chat or channel where it was started.
• If you recorded the call, the recording is automatically saved and linked in that same chat.
• Any files shared during the call remain accessible to participants.
• People who missed the call can still rejoin from the chat (if you’re not the last person to leave).

When the last person leaves, Teams sends a notification to the group that the meeting has ended.

Quick Comparison: Which Method Should You Use?

Situation	Best Method
Completely unplanned call, no existing chat	Calendar → Meet Now
Already in a one-on-one chat	Audio/Video call buttons in chat
Team discussion in a channel	Meet Now from the channel
Saw someone’s name in Teams	Hover over profile → call
On your phone	Chat tab or Calendar tab on mobile

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

• Admin restrictions: Your IT admin can turn off the Meet Now feature for certain users or channels. If you don’t see the button, it might be a policy setting — check with your admin.
• Guest users in Teams may have limited calling features depending on how your organization has configured external access.
• Teams Free users can make one-on-one and group calls from chats, but some features, like recording, may not be available on the free plan.

Wrapping Up

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. In this tutorial, I explained different ways to start an instant call in Microsoft Teams quickly and easily without scheduling a meeting in advance.

We covered how to start a Meet Now call from the Calendar tab, launch instant audio or video calls directly from chats, create quick meetings inside Teams channels, call users from their profile cards, and even start instant calls using the Teams mobile app on Android or iPhone.

I also explained what happens after the meeting ends, including how meeting chats, recordings, and shared files remain available for participants.

Also, you may like some more Teams tutorials:

• Print Microsoft Teams Chat
• Microsoft Teams Default Profile Picture
• Zoom In on Microsoft Teams
• Archive Files in Microsoft Teams