Microsoft Teams meeting links that refuse to open in the app and redirect you to your browser can easily disrupt productivity. Whether you click on a meeting link in an Outlook email, browser, or the Teams app, the inability to join meetings in the app can be frustrating. To help out, we’ve compiled some useful tips to get Teams meeting links to open in the app on Windows 10 or 11 PC.
Table of Contents
1. Use the Correct Version of the Teams App
Microsoft offers two versions of the Teams app: one for personal use and another for work or school accounts. If you click on a meeting link meant for a work or school account while using the personal version of the Teams app, it may not recognize the link. Similarly, using a personal meeting link with the work or school version of the Teams app also won’t work.
Hence, it’s important to use the appropriate Teams app based on the meeting you’re trying to join. Alternatively, you can also keep both versions of the Teams app installed. This will allow Windows to automatically open Teams meeting links in the correct version of Teams app.
2. Change the Default App for Opening the Teams Links
Windows may fail to open Teams meeting links in the app if the default app for handling those links is not set correctly. Here’s how to fix that.
1. Press the Windows key + S to open the search menu. Type default apps in the box and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to the Related settings section and click Choose defaults by link type.
3. Type teams in the search box and select the first result that appears.
4. Select Microsoft Teams and click the Set default button.
3. Sign Out and Sign Back Into the Teams App
At times, Windows may fail to open meeting invites in the Teams app due to authentication issues with your account. You can sign out of the Teams app and sign back in to see if that resolves the issue.
Open the Teams app, click on your profile picture in the top-right corner, and select Sign out. Then, sign back into the app and open the Teams meeting links again.
4. Switch to a Different Browser
When you click a Teams meeting link in your browser, it typically prompts you to choose whether to open the link in the app or continue in the browser. However, if you don’t see such a prompt, there may be an issue with your browser settings.
To check for this possibility, open the Teams link in another browser on your PC. If it works in the other browser, you may need to reset the settings in your default browser to fix the issue.
5. Enable Teams Meeting Add-in in Outlook
Is Microsoft Outlook redirecting you to your default browser when opening a Teams meeting link? This could occur if you’ve disabled the Teams meeting add-in in Outlook. Here’s how to enable it.
1. Open the Outlook app on your PC and click the File menu in the top-left corner.
2. Select Options from the left sidebar.
3. Switch to the Add-ins tab. In the Manage drop-down menu, select COM Add-ins and click the Go button.
4. Tick the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office checkbox and click OK.
6. Modify Registry Files
Another method to ensure Windows opens all meeting links in Teams app involves modifying registry entries. However, creating a restore point first is crucial, as incorrect changes to registry files can make your computer unstable.
1. Press the Windows key + S to open the search menu. Type notepad in the box and press Enter.
2. Copy and paste the following text in the Notepad window.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Teams]
"currentTeamsDeepLinkUrlProtocolVersion"="1.0.0.0"
"minStableTeamsDeepLinkUrlProtocolVersion"="1.0.0.0"3. Press the Ctrl + S keyboard shortcut to open the Save as dialog. Type teams-desktop.reg in the File name field and click Save.
4. Double-click the teams-desktop.reg file to run it and click Yes when the User Account Control prompt appears.Â
Restart your PC and check if the issue still occurs.
7. Repair or Reset the Teams App
Using the built-in app repair feature in Windows is an effective way of fixing common issues with your apps. You can use this feature to fix the Microsoft Teams app to check if that gets meeting links to open in the app instead of the browser.
1. Press the Windows + S keyboard shortcut to open the search menu. Type Microsoft Teams in the search box and select App settings in the right pane.
2. Scroll down to the Reset section and click the Repair button.
If the issue remains after you repair the Teams app, you can try resetting it from the same menu. That will remove all app-related data from your PC and restore it to its default configuration.
8. Uninstall and Reinstall Teams
Several users on a Microsoft Community forums report fixing this issue by uninstalling Teams completely and reinstalling it. So, if nothing else works, you can try this option as a last resort.
1. Open the search menu, type in Microsoft Teams, and select Uninstall.
2. Select Uninstall to confirm.
3. Once removed, press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\ in the box and hit Enter.
4. Select the Teams and TeamsMeetingsAddin folders and click the Trash icon at the top.
5. Type %AppData%\Microsoft\ in the File Explorer’s address bar and hit Enter. Then, delete the Teams folder.
Download and install the Microsoft Teams app again. Following that, your Teams meetings links should open in the app as expected.
No More Meeting Mishaps
While you can join and engage in Teams meetings in browsers, it doesn’t provide access to advanced meeting controls available within the Teams desktop app. Applying the above tips should help resolve any underlying issues and get your Teams meeting links to open in the app on Windows.
