Breakout Rooms in Teams

Meeting organizers using the desktop version of Teams can create and manage up to 50 breakout rooms or assign attendees to them. Click here to download the free desktop app.

Creating Breakout Rooms

To create breakout rooms before a meeting:

  1. Open the meeting details and select Breakout rooms > Create rooms.
  2. Choose the number of rooms and select Add rooms.
  3. Select Assign participants and choose to assign attendees automatically or manually.
  4. Select Next > Save.

To create breakout rooms during a meeting:

  1. In the meeting controls, select Rooms.
  2. Choose the number of rooms and assign attendees automatically or manually.
  3. Select Create rooms.
  4. To add more rooms, select Rooms > Add room in the meeting controls.

Changing Breakout Rooms Settings

Meeting organizers can plan ahead by naming breakout rooms, assigning participants, setting timers, and more. To adjust settings before the meeting:

  1. Open your calendar in Teams and select the meeting.
  2. Go to Breakout rooms > Rooms settings.
  3. Modify settings and click Save.
  4. To rename a room, however over it, click More options (…) > Rename, and enter a new name.

Opening Breakout Rooms

When breakout rooms open, participants will be moved into their assigned rooms automatically. To disable automatic entry, go to Room settings, allowing attendees to join a room of their choice.
To open breakout rooms:

  1. Click Rooms in the meeting controls.
  2. Select Open to start all rooms at once, or hover over a room and click More options (…) > Open to start a specific room.

Joining or Leaving a Breakout Room

As the meeting organizer or a breakout rooms manager, you can join any room.

  1. Click Rooms in the meeting controls.
  2. Hover over a room and click More options (…) > Join.
  3. To return to the main meeting, click Leave room in the meeting controls.

Interacting with Breakout Room Participants

Organizers can send announcements to all breakout rooms and participate in their chats.
Send an announcement to all break rooms:

  1. Click Rooms in the meeting controls.
  2. Select Make an announcement.
  3. Enter your message and click Send.

Alternatively, you can join a breakout room and use Chat to communicate with participants. Each breakout room has a separate chat,  accessible in your main Teams chat list.
 
Resources: 
Use Breakout Rooms in Teams Meetings guide (Microsoft) 
How to Use New Breakout Rooms in Microsoft Teams (Kevin Stratvert 5:39) 
How to Use Breakout Rooms in Microsoft Teams (Microsoft Education 5:04)