Virtual meetings have been increasingly important to office life, and one of their top benefits is the ability to record sessions. You can review meeting material at any time, whether to check missed points or important assignment details.
If you’re using Microsoft as a Zoom alternative and want to learn how to record a Teams meeting, you’ve come to the right place. There are various methods to do so on your desktop or smartphone. This guide will walk you through the step-by-step process for each.
Note: You may be legally required to receive consent from all the participants before recording online meetings. If you’re using a method that secretly records a Team meeting, explicitly tell the attendees that you’ll be doing so.
How to Record a Teams Meeting on Your Desktop
Teams is one of the most popular business communication platforms in the world. Since there’s a good chance you’ll have to join a meeting on this application at some point, it makes sense that you’ll need to know how to record Microsoft Teams meetings.
Related: Using Google Meet instead? Discover how to record Google Meet meetings.
Method 1: With Teams Built-In Recorder
Microsoft Teams has a convenient, built-in meeting recorder. It works on desktop and web apps, so you can use it whether you have the app installed on your computer or use Teams from your browser.
Criteria to Start a Recording
- You should be part of the same organization as the meeting organizer or are the meeting organizer themselves. Guests won’t be able to record a meeting.
- You have Office 365 Enterprise E1, E3, E5, and F3; Office 365 Education A1, A3, and A5; and Microsoft 365 Business, Business Premium, or Business Essentials. Free Microsoft accounts can’t record a meeting.
- Your IT admin has enabled recording for your organization.
To record a Teams meeting using this built-in recorder:
- Join a Teams meeting from your desktop app or browser. Alternatively, you can start a new meeting.
- Click on the “More” button on the top toolbar.
- From the drop-down menu, select “Record and transcribe.”
- Choose “Start recording.”
A pop-up box will appear at the top of the screen. This indicates that the recording has started. This notification will also be visible to every participant currently in the meeting, as well as anyone who joins the meeting later.
To stop the recording, simply click on “More” > “Record and transcribe” > “Stop recording.” The recording will also automatically stop once everyone leaves the meeting.
After the meeting is recorded, it’s automatically saved to whoever started the recording’s OneDrive account. However, if the meeting is held within a channel, it will be saved to that channel’s SharePoint.
When the recording is ready to view, you’ll find a link to it posted in the meeting’s chat box. If you’re meeting in a channel, the link will be posted in the channel’s conversation thread instead.
However, not everyone can view the recording.
- You need to be part of the meeting to be able to access it.
- You must be in the same organization as the person who started the recording.
- If you’re an external participant, you won’t be able to see the recording unless you’re provided access to it.
Method 2: Windows Xbox Game Bar
The Xbox Game Bar is primarily designed to enhance the gaming experience on Windows. However, you can use the app’s built-in screen recorder to record essentially anything on your screen, including Teams meetings.
To use Xbox’s screen recorder, go to your Teams meeting and press Windows + Alt + R to start the recording. A recording notification/toolbar will appear on the top-right corner of your screen. Be sure to turn the mic on to capture audio.
When you want to stop recording, simply click on the “Stop recording” icon.
Your recording will be saved in your Videos/Capture folder. Additionally, since the recording is saved to your local storage, only you can access it. If you want to share it with the participants, you can upload it to a cloud storage service.
Method 3: With macOS QuickTime Player App
To screen record on macOS without using the Microsoft Teams built-in recorder, QuickTime Player already comes pre-installed in every macOS computer.
However, there’s a catch: The app can only record audio from your computer’s microphone, not from the speakers. Using QuickTime Player to record a Teams meeting will only capture your voice and the sounds in your surroundings. You won’t be able to hear the audio from other meeting participants in the recording.
Luckily, there’s a workaround to enable QuickTime Player to record your speakers:
- Go to the BlackHole driver download page. This virtual audio driver lets QuickTime Player access the audio of other applications like Teams.
- Enter your email and name in the fields.
- Press “Send Link to Download.”
- Click on the link sent to your email.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Select “BlackHole 2ch” to download the driver.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Click on the downloaded file and follow the on-screen installation instructions.
- Open your Audio MIDI Setup app.
- Click on the plus (+) sign in the bottom-left corner of the app.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Choose “Create Aggregate Device.”
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- In the Aggregate Device panel, check the boxes “Built-in Microphone” and “BlackHole 2ch.”
Source: jeffreythefrog/Apple Discussions
- Press the plus (+) sign again.
- Select “Create Multi-Output Device.”
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- In the Multi-Output Device panel, select “Built-in Output” and “BlackHole 2ch.”
Source: jeffreythefrog/Apple Discussions
- Click on the “speaker” icon in your menu bar.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Under Output, select “Multi-Output Device.”
Source: jeffreythefrog/Apple Discussions
QuickTime Player is now ready to record your Teams meeting using both your audio and other participants’ audio:
- Launch QuickTime Player.
- Select “File” in the top-left corner.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Choose “New Screen Recording.”
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- Click on “Options” in the bottom toolbar.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Under “Save to,” select “Desktop” to save the recording to your desktop.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Under “Microphone,” select “Aggregate Device.”
Source: jeffreythefrog/Apple Discussions
- Choose the icon for “Record entire screen.”
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- Press the “Record” button.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
- Go to your Teams meeting.
To stop the recording, simply click on the “Stop” icon in your menu bar.
Source: Howfinity/YouTube
The recording will appear on your desktop after a few seconds.
Method 4: With ScreenRec
Apart from pre-installed screen recorders, you can also use a third-party app (like ScreenRec) to record Teams meetings. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, this app is free to use and doesn’t leave watermarks on recordings. Here’s how to use it:
- Download and install ScreenRec on your computer.
- Launch the app.
- On the small ScreenRec toolbar, click on the “Settings” icon.
- On the Settings page, select “Sign up for free.”
- Create an account to get unlimited recording time.
- Close the Settings page.
- Go to your Teams meeting.
- Click on the “Record your screen” icon on the ScreenRec toolbar.
- Select the capture area by dragging your mouse.
- Release the mouse to automatically start the recording.
- On the ScreenRec toolbar, make sure the speaker and mic icons don’t have a small red cross. If they do, that means they’re off. Click on them to turn them on.
If you want to stop the recording, select the blinking “Record” button on the ScreenRec toolbar.
The recording will automatically be saved online to ScreenRec. To view it, click on “Open link” within the pop-up box in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
You can also view a local copy of the recordings on your drive. Just look for the StreamingVideoProvider/ScreenRec/Records folder.
How to Record a Teams Meeting on Your Phone
Method 1: With Teams Built-In Recorder
Like desktop and web apps, the Teams mobile app also has a recording feature. Follow the steps below to use it.
- Upon joining a Teams meeting, click on the three horizontal dots (…) at the bottom of the screen.
- Select “Start recording” from the menu.
When the recording starts, a notification will appear at the top of the screen.
To stop the recording, press the same three horizontal dots (…) on the toolbar. Next, select “Stop recording.”
You can now find the recording on either your meeting chat box or the channel’s conversation thread.
Method 2: With Android Built-In Screen Recorder
If you prefer not to use the Teams screen recorder, you can use Android’s screen recorder instead. This feature is available for Android 11 and later, so ensure your device is running on the right OS version.
To use this built-in screen recorder on your Android device:
- Join your Teams meeting.
- Go to your “Quick Settings” menu by swiping down from the top of the screen.
- Look for “Screen Record” and tap on it. If you can’t find it on your menu, select the pen icon and drag the Screen Record to the top.
- On the dialog box, turn on “Record audio.”
- Click the drop-down menu next to “Record audio.”
- Select “Device audio and microphone.” This will record both your phone’s speaker and your microphone.
- Select the “Start” button.
- Return to your Teams meeting.
Swipe down from the top of your screen to check if the recording is ongoing. You should see a red notification indicating that the recording has started. To stop the recording, just press this red notification.
You can then view the recording on your Google Photos app.
Method 3: With iOS Built-In Screen Recorder
Just like Android devices, iPhones also come with a screen recorder. Here’s how to use it so you can record Teams meetings.
- Open your “Settings” app.
- Go to “Control Center.”
Source: Justin Brown-Primal Video/YouTube
- Click on the green plus (+) sign next to Screen Recording.
Source: Justin Brown-Primal Video/YouTube
- Join your Teams meeting.
- Swipe down from the top of your screen.
- Tap and hold down the screen recording icon.
Source: Justin Brown-Primal Video/YouTube
- Turn on the microphone.
Source: Justin Brown-Primal Video/YouTube
- Press “Start Recording.”
Source: Justin Brown-Primal Video/YouTube
- Go back to your Teams meeting.
- To stop the recording, simply tap on the red timer on the top-left corner of the screen and select the “Stop” button in the pop-up box. Your recording will be saved automatically to your Photos app.
Source: Justin Brown-Primal Video/YouTube
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Legally Record a Teams Meeting?
In the US, federal law calls for one-party consent when it comes to recording conversations. This means that you have to be part of the conversation itself or have the consent of at least one participant in the conversation. However, several states (including California, Washington, and Florida) require all-party consent. This means that everyone in the meeting must know about — and consent to — the recording.
Before recording any Teams meeting, check where your state/country stands on recording conversations. It is generally recommended to inform all meeting participants you’ll be recording. This allows them to disagree/leave if they don’t consent.
Can You Just Record the Audio in a Teams Meeting?
Teams doesn’t have an audio-only recording feature yet. However, there are other apps that you can use to record only the audio in a Teams meeting, such as QuickTime Player (macOS) and FonePaw (Windows).
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to record a Teams meeting can come in handy — especially if you frequently organize or attend meetings. You won’t be left struggling to remember decisions made and action items identified. These recordings can also serve as references for participants who missed the meeting.
Looking for ways to take your presentations to the next level? Check out ClickMeeting, a leading app for hosting webinars and training sessions!
Related:
- How to Share Screen on Zoom [Easy Guide]
- Google Meet Change Background: Desktop & Mobile How-Tos
- How to Change Background on Zoom [Desktop and Mobile]
Marinel is an Electronics Engineer whose first love is writing. She has been writing about consumer tech and tools since 2019 and working with various tech outlets like MakeUseOf and SlashGear. On her free time, you'll typically find her learning new productivity tools and building DIY electronic projects.
