Teams Help

donnac2558

So, I only talk to my 78 year old brother in Canada.  We used Skype for years, no problems.

We moved to Teams and it is a nightmare.  First few videos calls, no problem.  But now when I try to call him to video chat I get the white circle with green around it. Then, when I try to call I get NOT AVAILABLE, TRY LATER.  But my brother is sitting in front of the laptop and for some reason he is unable to call me either.  I have got him to click the green dot beside his initials and says he is available, yet I get not available. He types with one finger, not much good.

He is a bit nervous hitting buttons, and I am pulling my hair out trying to get this sorted.  I have looked at the Microsoft Teams info but nothing matches my problem

Can someone help in simple instructions what to do?

Thank you.

Brie

I've never got on with Teams in any sense but have never set up calls on it. 

My oldest bro in Canada (73) sets up Zoom calls and we all join in.  Sometimes they work sometimes they don't and we have to start from scratch.  

Your alternative might be WhatsApp.  I've only used that for messaging.  

On-the-coast

If you’re just talking one to one then there are many alternatives to teams for video calling that in many ways are simpler to operate. 

The big 3 are 
Facebook messenger

Apple’s Facetime
whatsapp

Skype was getting pretty “spammy” towards the end for me. 

Zoom and teams (& googles’s version) I reserve for work or scheduled multiple viewer calls. 

RavingMad

Echoing the previous posters by suggesting that WhatsApp video calling might be the best solution. You can install it as a desktop app if you prefer it on a monitor rather than your phone. Or even using a browser.  Just need to link it with your phone's account 

Dobbibill

Have you tried using the calendar function on Teams to schedule a call? This should generate a link in the email invite which they can use to join early/late or on time. Maybe worth trying if dialling them is not working.  

donnac2558

My brother just wants to chat,, so no setting a time or day.

I was thinking Zoom and using laptop for that. But unsure? 

He has only just got a mobile and freaked out by it.

Reading the Microsoft community, so many asking for Skype to come back as they all hate Teams, which seems more set up for business meetings.

Thank you for all your help. I will think and see if I can get him on WhatsApp or Zoom. He is a total nightmare and stressed me out.

Vitor

Teams is overkill for personal calls between two people. I'd suggest Whatsapp, it's designed to be easy to use.

As an alternative, voice only, have you looked at calling plans which offer cheap rates to standard phones in Canada - Cheap Calls to Canada from 0.2p | Localphone

donnac2558

Vitor said:

Teams is overkill for personal calls between two people. I'd suggest Whatsapp, it's designed to be easy to use.

As an alternative, voice only, have you looked at calling plans which offer cheap rates to standard phones in Canada - Cheap Calls to Canada from 0.2p | Localphone

I always used one and now VirginMedia moved me to digital home phone and block all these cheap calls.  I phoned 181815 asking why my call would not go through and was told this.