Learners find out that this course is independent of Microsoft, how personal Teams differs from work Teams, and which features depend on a consumer, small business or corporate plan, using plan details dated November 2026, and why IT may have switched some features off.

What You Have: Plans, Accounts and IT Settings

Independence notice: LevelUpWith runs this course on its own. Microsoft does not endorse or sponsor it. Microsoft changes Teams screens, plans and AI features often, so plan details here are dated November 2026. Check Microsoft's current pages before you buy anything or rely on a feature.

Two people can open "Teams" and see different apps. One may be using a free personal account. The other may have a work account whose IT team has turned features off. Before you learn any skill, find out which of these you have.

Step 1: Know the three kinds of Teams

Kind	Typical account	Who controls it
Personal (consumer)	A free Microsoft account (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live)	You
Small business	A work account on Teams Essentials or Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard or Premium	The business owner or a small IT provider
Corporate	A work account on an enterprise plan (for example E3 or E5)	Your organisation's IT department

Personal Teams is for friends, family and community groups. Work Teams covers organisations, teams, channels and company policies. On desktop, the same app can hold both kinds of account, but they open in separate windows. You cannot have two work accounts open at the same time.

Step 2: Find which account you are signed in with

Desktop (Windows or Mac)

Open Teams.
Select your profile picture in the top-right corner.
Read the name, email address and organisation shown. A work account shows an organisation name. A personal account shows your Microsoft account email.
To switch, select the other account in the list. If it is not listed, use the option to add an account.

Web

Note the address in your browser. Work accounts normally use teams.microsoft.com. Personal accounts normally use teams.live.com.
Select your profile picture to confirm the account.

Mobile (iOS or Android)

Tap your profile picture in the top-left corner.
Check the account and organisation shown.
Tap another account to switch, or add one. The exact menu wording changes between app versions.

Do now: Check every device you use and note which account each one is signed in with.

Step 3: Sort features by plan (as of November 2026)

Personal: free

Chat, calls and video meetings.
Group meetings end after 60 minutes, with up to 100 participants.
5 GB of cloud storage.

Personal with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium

Adds extras such as meeting recording.
Copilot in Teams can summarise conversations and draft replies. Usage limits (AI credits) apply.

Small business

Teams Essentials (about US$4 per user per month, annual): meetings of up to 30 hours with up to 300 people, 10 GB of storage per user, recordings and transcripts, and guest access. It has no email or Office apps.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Business Standard add business email, SharePoint and more storage. US list prices rose on 1 July 2026 to about US$7 and US$14 per user per month. Prices vary by country and contract.

Corporate and paid add-ons

Intelligent meeting recap needs either a Teams Premium licence or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is a separate paid licence. It is not included in the base plan.

Mark the status of each feature:

Label anything Microsoft calls "preview", "coming soon" or "rolling out" as PREVIEW.
Label anything you have only seen in a blog or video as UNCONFIRMED until a Microsoft page or your IT team confirms it.
Who organises a meeting matters. Limits such as the 60-minute cap follow the organiser's licence, not the guests' licences.

Step 4: Understand why IT may switch features off

In a work account, administrators control Teams through policies. The same plan can therefore look different in two organisations. Features often restricted:

Meeting recording and transcription, for legal or privacy reasons.
Guest access and external chat with other organisations.
Copilot, until licences, data checks or training are complete.
Third-party apps in Teams.
Anonymous joining of meetings.

A greyed-out button or a missing option usually means one of these:

Your plan does not include the feature.
Your IT team has switched it off for you or your group.
The feature is still rolling out.

You cannot tell which reason applies just by looking at the screen, so ask.

Who to ask:

Corporate: the IT service desk or the internal Teams or Microsoft 365 owner.
Start-up or small business: the person who manages the Microsoft 365 subscription. This is often the founder, an operations lead or an outside IT provider.
Personal: you. Check your Microsoft account subscriptions.

Your task: Write your plan profile

Write a short note on your own work:

Account: which account each device uses (desktop, web, mobile).
Plan: your best guess at the plan, and how you will confirm it.
Three features that may be off: for example recording, guest access and Copilot. Next to each, name the person or team you will ask.
Status labels: mark any feature you rely on as confirmed, PREVIEW or UNCONFIRMED.

Keep this note. Later levels refer back to it.

Key takeaways

This course is independent of Microsoft. Plan details are dated November 2026, so recheck them.
Personal and work Teams are different accounts. On desktop, switch between them from your profile picture.
Free personal group meetings stop at 60 minutes. The organiser's licence sets the limit.
Copilot and intelligent recap depend on the plan and usually need a paid licence or add-on.
A missing feature may be a plan limit, an IT policy or a slow rollout. Ask the right person before assuming.

A 6-question knowledge check follows this lesson in the app, free and without an account.

Lesson 1: What You Have: Plans, Accounts and IT Settings

By the end of this level you'll be able to