The fastest way to settle a long chat thread is often a two-minute call. Starting one straight from the keyboard turns "shall we jump on a call?" into a call that's already ringing. It's a small habit that makes you the person who gets things moving.
Alt+Shift+V
Step by step
- Open the chat with the person or group you want to call.
- Press Alt+Shift+V to start a video call, or Alt+Shift+A for audio only.
- Once connected, press Ctrl+Shift+O to turn your camera on or off, and Ctrl+Shift+M to mute.
Tips & troubleshooting
- Receiving a call? Ctrl+Shift+A accepts it with video, Ctrl+Shift+S accepts with audio only, and Ctrl+Shift+D declines.
- Ctrl+Shift+H ends the call when you're done.
- These shortcuts are for the new Teams desktop app on Windows.
A call or a meeting?
A call from a chat rings the other person immediately, like a phone. It suits a quick question to one or two people who are showing as available. A meeting, started with Meet now or scheduled in the calendar, doesn't ring anyone: people join when they are ready, and it comes with a meeting chat, a recording option and a link you can share. For more than a handful of people, or anyone outside your organisation, a meeting is the better choice.
Before you press the keys
- Check their status. A green tick means available, red means busy or in a call, and a red circle with a line means do not disturb, when a call won't get through.
- Send a one-line message first: Got two minutes for a quick call about the budget? It is polite and it gets answered faster.
- Use audio only (Alt+Shift+A) when video adds nothing or the connection is poor.
- In a large group chat, calling tries to reach everyone in it. Start a meeting and post the link instead.
Other ways to start a call
- Click the video or phone icon at the top right of any chat.
- Hover over someone's profile picture anywhere in Teams and use the call buttons on their contact card.
- Type a name in the search box (Ctrl+E), open their chat and press the shortcut.
- From the Calls app, choose a contact or a recent call.
Once the call has started
- Ctrl+Shift+M mutes and unmutes.
- Ctrl+Shift+O turns the camera on or off.
- Ctrl+Shift+E opens the share tray to show your screen.
- Add someone else from the People pane to turn a one-to-one call into a group call.
- Ctrl+Shift+H hangs up.