What you need to know
- Microsoft Teams no longer supports Breakout Rooms in private channels.
- Breakout Rooms first launched in Microsoft Teams in December 2020.
- It's unclear why Microsoft has removed the functionality.
Microsoft has cut support for Breakout Rooms in private channels in Microsoft Teams. Breakout Rooms first rolled out in December 2020, and have been a popular feature since their launch.
A user in a Tech Community thread explains that their organization used Breakout Rooms in private channels for months, but no longer sees the option (via OnMSFT).
A different user shared clarification from Microsoft Premier support on the topic. Microsoft's phrasing on the feature being removed is a bit confusing:
- Teams Breakout room is not supported for Private Channels by the design of the feature.
- This feature was removed due to technical limitations which private channels functionality not allowing breakout rooms to be created, so the product team had to disable the option.
- As of this moment, there is no estimate as to when and if the feature will be reintroduced.
Microsoft's phrasing suggests that there are technical limitations preventing private channels from being able to use Breakout Rooms. There's a chance that there has been a change, as the feature previously worked for some people.
There seems to be some debate regarding if Breakout Rooms were ever supported in private channels in Teams.
KrisVB states in the same Tech Community thread,
The Microsoft representative who is handling my support ticket didn't seem to realize at first that breakout rooms wouldn't work in private channels (they had me screenshare and create test teams and meetings to see the issue). Then after a few days they told me that the breakout rooms had never been and aren't available in private channels. After I assured them we had been using breakout rooms for months, now will check more to find out "why it was working before the update." ...almost as if MS didn't know about it? I just hope they reverse this situation and allow breakout rooms in all meetings - its an essential feature.
If the feature was never supported, Microsoft stating that it "was removed" wouldn't make sense. Additionally, several people claim to have used the feature previously.
Microsoft Teams provides several ways to communicate with colleagues, coworkers, friends, and families. Due to a recent change, Breakout Rooms within private channels are no longer among those options.
