External Calling with Microsoft Teams Voice is the strategic choice for university ‘voice’ communication. When the rollout takes place for your area, all inbound and outbound ‘external’ voice calls will be delivered via Teams – there will be no alternative method supported by the university.

The benefit of Microsoft Teams is that it offers integrations with the wider Microsoft 365 suite of apps and services. For example, Teams is intertwined closely with OneDrive and SharePoint, making file-sharing and collaborative working with your colleagues straightforward and intuitive.

If you are new to Teams there is support and training available on the following Teams and Teams Voice SharePoint site.  

The next stage of the rollout will be from March 2023 and will complete gradually, based on phone number order, over the next few months. 

If you have the relevant staff Microsoft 365 (M365) licence, and you are based in the UK, we will soon contact you directly by email with further details and to invite you to attend a live online training event. 

If you are new to Teams and would like to become familiar with the platform there is support and training available on the following Microsoft 365 help and support site.

If you are based in the UK and have a staff Microsoft 365 (M365) licence, your phone calls will be moving to Teams Voice.

Please note the rollout is only making changes to buildings where the phonelines are provided by the University. If you are unsure and would like clarification, please email Teams.Voice@manchester.ac.uk.

Where possible you will retain your existing University phone number. Your desk phone will also be removed.

If you do not have a University phone number, you will be given one.

If you are based in the new home for Engineering and Materials, previously known as Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD), and already have your new Teams phone number, this will remain your university phone number.

Requirements for common area phones will be determined during the project and where necessary a Teams handset will be installed.

If you are new to Teams there is support and training available on the following Teams and Teams Voice SharePoint site.

If you do not currently have access to an individual phone or common area phone, and you feel that you will need the ability to make and receive external calls for your role, you can request this by contacting your local Telecoms Liaison Officer.

Please follow these instructions to look up the type of Microsoft licence that has been assigned to you, Microsoft Teams will be assigned to those based in the UK who are on a Microsoft 365 A5 for faculty licence. 

If you do not currently have access to an individual phone or common area phone, and you feel that you will need one for your role, you can request this by contacting your local Telecoms Liaison Officer.

Network bandwidth requirements for MS Teams Voice calls are about 1/25 of that recommended for one-to-one video calls.

The Network Modernisation project has also undertaken significant network infrastructure improvements over the last year and is now progressing with the schedule of works at an individual building level. 

If Wi-Fi is not suitable in a particular location, then we advise you use a wired network port with your laptop or PC, or if using a mobile device to switch to the mobile network.

One of the benefits of the cloud-based service is that calls will not be lost in the unlikely event of the local network being unavailable.

Because the external calling service is hosted in the cloud by Microsoft, your incoming calls during network downtime would either go to voicemail or be diverted – depending on your chosen set up. For step-by-step advice on managing your setup, please view our handy hints and tips.

One of the benefits of moving to External Calling with Microsoft Teams Voice, is that it can be used via your mobile phone in the event of the network going down. If this should happen you will have the option to switch to your work or personal mobile, which will continue to work providing you have mobile coverage and a data package.

The Network Modernisation project has undertaken significant network infrastructure improvements over the last year to improve the network in university buildings.

One of the benefits of moving to Microsoft External Calling with Teams Voice, is that it can be used via your mobile phone in the event of a power outage. If this should happen you will have the option to switch to your work or personal mobile, which will continue to work providing you have mobile coverage and a data package.

For non-voice devices, we will be approaching each device type on a case-by-case basis, ensuring that any solution is appropriate and meets our health and safety / Disaster Recovery policies. Devices will not be migrated until a suitable solution is found.

If you have any issues with External Calling with Microsoft Teams Voice you can report these to our IT Support Centre 24 hours a day, seven days a week, either online or by calling 0161 306 5544. In-person IT support is available from the IT support desk on the ground floor of the Kilburn Building, Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4.30pm.

The University has detailed Privacy Guidelines for Recording Online Calls and Meetings, which you should refer to if you have any queries.

For recordings of taught activities that support learning, please refer to the separate Guidance for Recording Student Participation. 

If you have any questions regarding the available guidelines, please email the Information Governance Office: information.governance@manchester.ac.uk

Yes, Microsoft Teams Voice has been subjected to the standard IT Services due diligence, for selection as a University application.

If you have an existing issue with your device then you can contact our IT Support Centre 24 hours a day, seven days a week, either online or by calling 0161 306 5544. In-person IT support is available from the IT support desk on the ground floor of the Kilburn Building, Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4.30pm.

New desktop or laptop equipment will not be provided when External Calling with Microsoft Teams Voice is enabled for your area – most existing equipment should be capable of supporting voice calls.

The project team is currently looking into these scenarios in order to determine the best approach.

If you have access to a common area phone, (shared phone) this will also be provided, where still required, in the form of a Teams handset to be installed in identified locations.

If you are new to Teams there is support and training available on the following Microsoft 365 help and support site.

If you do not currently have access to an individual phone or common area phone and you feel that you will need one for your role, you can request this by contacting your local Telecoms Liaison Officer.

No, Teams Voice is only available in the staff Microsoft licences, it is not provided in the student Microsoft licences.

External Calling with Microsoft Teams Voice is not compatible with Zoom and can only be used with Teams.

Microsoft Teams Voice is the strategic choice for university ‘voice’ communication. When the rollout takes place for your area, all inbound and outbound ‘external’ calls will be delivered via Teams – there will be no alternative method supported by the university.

The benefit of Microsoft Teams is that it offers integrations with the wider Microsoft 365 suite of apps and services. For example, Teams is intertwined closely with OneDrive and SharePoint, making file-sharing and collaborative working with your colleagues straightforward and intuitive.

If you are new to Teams there is support and training available on the following Teams and Teams Voice SharePoint site. 

Yes, Microsoft have provided Teams as a program to download and install on a Mac, and this version of Teams works the same as the Windows version.

The  Linux compatible version of Teams is not a mainstream application with consistent revisions and upgrades, as with on Windows devices, and therefore this may limit some of the capability available within Teams Voice. Linux colleagues experiencing any issues with Linux will need to liaise with IT Support for further assistance.

We are working with colleagues from the Disability Advisory Support Service, (DASS) to ensure a seamless transition to Teams Voice for staff.  If you have specific accessibility requirements or are supporting a disabled member of staff who requires individual adjustments, please contact the Disability Advisory Support Service (DASS) for support: ​​​​​​​

• Contact email: dass@manchester.ac.uk

Not currently, but this may change in the future. In the meantime, you will need to continue to use the existing phone system until this changes. Please note this only impacts people receiving payments by phone, not making external payments by phone, (which is allowed through Teams Voice).

We will be removing all desk phones for individuals unless there is an exceptional circumstance. If you need to discuss a specific requirement, you can request this by contacting your local Telecoms Liaison Officer.

You will not have to wear a headset all day to be able to hear an incoming call, or to use External Calling with Microsoft Teams Voice. Teams allows you to choose a ‘secondary ringer’ so that you can hear the ringtone via your computer speakers. Select your Teams profile picture and then ‘settings’. Next, select ‘Devices’ and find ‘Secondary Ringer’ in the options. Click the dropdown arrow then select ‘Speakers’ to let the call ring on both your headset and your computer speakers.

The project is responding to a change that is being made nationally by the telecoms sector. However, we are very mindful of the waste that this will potentially create. The project will be ensuring that all phone equipment is disposed of correctly via the IT Services Recycling Facility.

The replacement solution with Microsoft Teams Voice is, in the long term, much more sustainable as we will be using equipment that is already in use, for example laptops, PCs, mobiles and tablets. The new handsets that will be installed around campus will be on a much smaller scale, and only where there is a justified requirement.

You may already have been provided with a suitable headset as part of the hybrid working pilot, or you may own a device that you would prefer to use. 

If you do not have access to either you have the option to request a Teams-certified headset. 

To request one please contact your budget holder or requistioner. If you are unsure who your local budget holder or requisitioner is, please contact either your Directorate or School Operations team, or contact the Procurement Hub, who will be able help you help you locate this information.

There is a capped capacity in place for headsets to be charged by departments back to the project, during the project rollout.

Rather than share a physical handset, Teams allows users to set up calling groups so that incoming calls can be answered by colleagues instead. If you have a genuine requirement for a shared physical phone there is the option for Teams handsets to be installed in identified locations, to accommodate any highlighted needs of common area working, for example lecture theatres and shared workspaces. To request a common area Teams handset please contact your local Telecoms Liaison Officer.

If you are using Horizon to provide basic contact centre capability, (for example to allow multiple users to answer calls to a team), then Teams Auto Attendants and Call Queues may be able to fulfil that requirement instead. If this is applicable to you, and it has not already been reported to the project, please complete the following Form:

• Auto-Attendant and Call Queue Form   

If you need more advanced contact centre capability, then that will be delivered later with Phase 3 of the project.

If you are using Horizon to enable you to receive your landline calls remotely, then you can do that with Teams Voice instead. Once set up on Teams Voice, please let the telecoms team know that you no longer need access to Horizon by emailing:telecoms-services@manchester.ac.uk

In this phase of the project (phase 2) there will be no changes to fax machines. However, in phase 3 the plan is to remove fax machines and these will not be replaced.

Lab areas that require a handset to make and receive calls will have their existing handsets replaced with physical Teams phone handsets, subject to a request being made to the project team.

If you need to make a physical Teams handset request for a lab, please get in touch with Teams.Voice@manchester.ac.uk.

The project is currently working with the Telecoms Liaison Officers for each area in the University to identify any shared phone numbers that will require the setup of either a “Call Queue” (Hunt Group) or an “Auto Attendant”. If you currently have an advertised number that requires either setup, please can you log this with your Telecoms Liaison Officer and they will ensure the requirement is captured by the project. 

Alternatively, if your requirement has not already been reported to the project, you can complete the following form:

• Auto-Attendant and Call Queue Form   

Information of how to set up call groups and delegates to take and make calls on your behalf can be found in our handy hints and tips. 

If you have not been migrated to Teams Voice yet, and are still using a traditional landline, you will not be able to transfer a call to them using the 5-digit extension number as using the ‘9’ would start an outside call. Instead, you need to dial '9' followed by the full 7 digits (529 XXXX). This is only a temporary issue. Once you are using Teams for calls, you will be able to transfer to a colleague by searching for them by their name.

Yes. It is possible to block a number that has previously phoned you in Teams, as well as callers with a no caller ID, for step-by-step advice on now to do this please view our handy hints and tips.

Yes, you can press an ‘answer button’ on your headset if it has one.