Microsoft has announced this teams together The mode will be shut down on June 30, 2026. This feature, which places meeting participants in shared virtual spaces such as auditoriums, classrooms or conference rooms, will not be available after that date. Users will have to switch to the standard scalable gallery view or attend meetings in person instead.
Custom scenes and seat assignments will also be removed when Together Mode ends. Organizations that previously used these features for branded virtual environments will need to adopt branded backgrounds, which are still supported.
Why is Microsoft removing Together Mode?
Together mode was introduced in 2020 during the early stages of widespread remote working, aiming to make video calls feel more natural by placing participants in a shared virtual space rather than in separate video tiles.
Microsoft notes that the meeting landscape has evolved since then, with many companies returning to in-person work and Teams introducing new features like an expanded gallery view.
According to Microsoft blog postThe company is shutting down Together mode to simplify the meeting experience and allow engineering resources to focus on improvements that will benefit all Teams meetings.
Microsoft states that the variety of meeting view options has increased the cognitive load for users and has led to experience fragmentation across devices. The company expects this change to result in fewer clicks, easier meetings, and faster development of new features.
Recommended options and what do they mean in practice?
Microsoft recommends several existing Teams features for users who want to retain some of the social cues provided by Together mode. These include pinning speakers to keep specific attendees visible, spotlighting presenters to emphasize the active speaker, using multiple displays to put gallery views and content together, and implementing branded backgrounds for a consistent visual environment in meetings.
Anyone currently using Together mode for recurring meetings should plan to switch to Gallery view or one of the recommended options before June 30. Custom views created or licensed by some organizations will no longer work after that date, and any scheduling templates set by default in Together mode should be updated.
Microsoft hasn’t said whether elements of Together mode might return in a different form. It appears that the retirement is part of an ongoing effort to streamline the Teams meeting interface rather than a temporary change.
