🎯 Teams Administration Course · Module 3 of 6
Meetings, Webinars & Audio Conferencing
MS-700 Exam Alignment
MS-700
Manage meetings and events in Teams: configure meeting policies (per-user vs tenant-wide), set recording and transcription settings, control lobby bypass, manage audio conferencing bridge numbers and PIN resets, configure webinar settings, and understand the differences between meetings, webinars, and town halls.
- Know the difference between meeting policies (per-user, assigned) and meeting settings (tenant-wide, no assignment)
- Identify each lobby bypass option and which participant types it allows to skip the lobby
- Know where Teams meeting recordings are stored and when OneDrive vs SharePoint is used
- Understand audio conferencing licensing — who needs the licence and who does not
- Distinguish meetings, webinars, and town halls by attendee interaction model and size
Exam Tip: The most common MS-700 trap on meetings: Meeting policies are per-user (assigned via TAC or PowerShell, controls what the user can do as an organiser or attendee). Meeting settings are tenant-wide (one setting applies to everyone, controls things like anonymous join and PSTN dial-in). Know which is which for every setting.
Meetings are the most-used feature in Microsoft Teams and the section of the Teams Admin Center with the most policy knobs. As an admin, you control recording behaviour, who waits in the lobby, whether transcription is on, how audio conferencing numbers work, and what format large virtual events take. This module covers all of it — from the TAC portal through to the PowerShell cmdlets.
📋 Meeting Policies vs Meeting Settings
This distinction is fundamental and tested directly in MS-700. The two are configured in different places and behave completely differently:
| Meeting Policies | Meeting Settings | |
|---|---|---|
| Where configured | TAC → Meetings → Meeting policies | TAC → Meetings → Meeting settings |
| Scope | Per-user — each user can be assigned a different policy | Tenant-wide — one setting applies to the entire organisation |
| Assignment | Must be assigned to users or groups (Global policy = org-wide default) | No assignment needed — automatic for all users |
| What it controls | What an individual user can do as a meeting organiser or attendee — recording, transcription, who can present, whiteboard, reactions | Network-level and PSTN settings — anonymous join, email invites, network QoS, conferencing bridge phone numbers |
| Example setting | "Allow cloud recording" — can be on for executives, off for contractors | "Allow anonymous users to join meetings" — on or off for the entire tenant |
🎥 Recording & Transcription Settings
Recording and transcription are configured in meeting policies. When a meeting is recorded, where it saves depends on the meeting type:
| Meeting Type | Recording Saved To |
|---|---|
| Scheduled meeting (channel meeting) | SharePoint — the team's channel folder in SharePoint |
| Scheduled meeting (non-channel / private meeting) | OneDrive for Business — the organiser's OneDrive |
| Meet Now (ad-hoc) | OneDrive for Business — the person who started the recording |
💡 Key Recording Policy Settings
- Allow cloud recording — Whether the user can start a recording (as organiser or participant, depending on other settings)
- Allow transcription — Whether real-time captions and post-meeting transcription are available
- Recording expiry — Recordings can be set to auto-expire after a number of days (e.g. 60 days), after which they move to the recycle bin
- Allow recording for the organiser only — When enabled, only the meeting organiser can start/stop recordings (participants cannot)
- Store recordings outside your country/region — Controls whether recordings can be stored in data centres outside the tenant's home region
🚪 Lobby Bypass Settings
The lobby is a waiting area where participants wait until the organiser or a presenter admits them. The "Who can bypass the lobby" setting controls which participants skip the lobby and join directly. This is one of the most-tested meeting settings on MS-700:
| Bypass Option | Who Skips the Lobby | Who Waits in Lobby |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone | All participants including anonymous users and external guests | Nobody — lobby is effectively disabled |
| People in my organisation and guests | Internal users and B2B guests already in your tenant | Anonymous users, external federated users, dial-in callers |
| People in my organisation, trusted orgs, and guests | Internal users, B2B guests, and federated (external) users from trusted organisations | Anonymous users, dial-in callers |
| People in my organisation | Only internal (licensed) users in your tenant | External users, guests, anonymous users, dial-in callers |
| Invited users only | Only users who were explicitly added to the meeting invite | Everyone not on the original invite (including internal users who joined via a link) |
| Organiser and co-organisers only | Only the meeting organiser and any assigned co-organisers | Everyone else, including all internal users |
⚠️ Lobby Policy vs Meeting-Level Lobby Setting
The meeting policy sets the default lobby bypass for all meetings created by the assigned user. However, meeting organisers can override this default when scheduling individual meetings — unless the admin has configured the policy to prevent organisers from changing it. The admin can lock the lobby setting via the policy's AllowOrganiserToChangeLobbyBypass equivalent (now surfaced as "Who can bypass the lobby" in the policy). When locked, the organiser cannot change the lobby setting in meeting options.
🖥️ Meeting Policies — TAC Portal
TAC › Meetings › Meeting policies › + Add
🏠 Dashboard
👥 Teams
👤 Users
📅 Meetings
Meeting policies
Meeting settings
Meeting templates
Events policies
Audio conferencing
📞 Voice
Meeting policies
+ Add
+ Add
PowerShell — Meeting Policies
Connect-MicrosoftTeams # View all meeting policies and key settings Get-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy | Select-Object Identity,AllowCloudRecording,AllowTranscription,AutoAdmittedUsers # Create a custom policy — recording on, lobby restricts to org users only New-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity "Corporate-Meetings" -AllowCloudRecording $true -AllowTranscription $true -AutoAdmittedUsers "EveryoneInCompanyExcludingGuests" -AllowMeetNow $true -AllowIPVideo $true -AllowExternalParticipantGiveRequestControl $false # Assign to a specific user Grant-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity user@techcareers.in -PolicyName "Corporate-Meetings" # Update the Global (org-wide default) policy instead of creating a new one Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity Global -AllowCloudRecording $true -AutoAdmittedUsers "EveryoneInCompanyExcludingGuests" # Find all users assigned to a specific policy Get-CsOnlineUser -ResultSize Unlimited | Where-Object TeamsMeetingPolicy -eq "Corporate-Meetings" | Select-Object DisplayName,UserPrincipalName
📞 Audio Conferencing
Audio conferencing allows meeting participants to join a Teams meeting by dialling a phone number (PSTN dial-in) — useful when someone cannot use the Teams app or has no internet connection. This requires the Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing add-on licence (or it is included in some Microsoft 365 E5 and Teams Essentials plans).
⚠️ Audio Conferencing Licence — Who Needs It?
Only the meeting organiser needs the Audio Conferencing licence. Participants who dial in do not need it — they simply dial the number included in the meeting invite. When a licensed organiser creates a meeting, Teams automatically adds dial-in phone numbers (from the conferencing bridge) to the meeting invite. If the organiser is not licensed, no dial-in numbers appear in the invite and PSTN join is unavailable for that meeting.
Conference Bridge Settings
The conference bridge is the collection of PSTN phone numbers available for dial-in access. Managed in TAC → Meetings → Conference bridges.
| Setting | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| Default phone number | The number shown first in meeting invites — typically a toll-free or local number for your primary country |
| Meeting entry/exit announcements | Whether a tone or name announcement plays when someone joins or leaves via dial-in |
| PIN length | Length of the PIN that organisers enter to start a meeting when joining by phone (4–12 digits) |
| Automatically send emails | Whether Teams sends dial-in info to users when their conference bridge number or PIN changes |
PowerShell — Audio Conferencing
Connect-MicrosoftTeams # View a user's audio conferencing settings and assigned numbers Get-CsOnlineDialInConferencingUser -Identity user@techcareers.in | Select-Object Identity,ConferenceId,TollNumber,TollFreeNumber,AllowPSTNOnlyMeetings # Reset a user's conference PIN (sends new PIN by email) Set-CsOnlineDialInConferencingUser -Identity user@techcareers.in -ResetConferenceId # List all available dial-in bridge numbers Get-CsOnlineDialInConferencingServiceNumber | Select-Object Number,City,CountryOrRegion,IsDefault,CapacityCount # Assign a specific dial-in number as default for a user Set-CsOnlineDialInConferencingUser -Identity user@techcareers.in -ServiceNumber "+442081234567" # View tenant-wide conference bridge settings Get-CsOnlineDialInConferencingTenantSettings | Select-Object AutomaticallySendEmailsToUsers,EnableEntryExitNotifications,PinLength
📣 Meetings vs Webinars vs Town Halls
Teams provides three formats for virtual events — the right choice depends on attendee size, interaction model, and registration requirements:
| Meeting | Webinar | Town Hall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical size | Up to 1,000 participants (overflow view to 10,000) | Up to 1,000 (Teams) / 10,000 (Teams Premium) | Up to 10,000 (Teams) / 20,000 (Teams Premium) |
| Attendee interaction | All participants can speak, share camera, and collaborate fully | Attendees are audience — can interact via Q&A panel, not mic/camera | View-only broadcast — attendees watch, no mic/camera, limited Q&A |
| Registration | No registration — join via invite or meeting link | Registration page with custom form (required or optional) | No registration — join via broadcast link |
| Presenters | Any participant can be made a presenter | Defined presenter roles — attendees join as audience only | Defined presenter/organiser only — fully curated broadcast |
| Use case | Team meetings, 1:1s, project standups, internal collaboration | Product demos, training sessions, client presentations with registration | All-hands, CEO broadcasts, company announcements to thousands |
| Recording | Organiser or permitted participants can record | Organiser can record; attendees cannot | Always recorded automatically (organiser cannot disable) |
Webinar Settings
Webinars are configured via TAC → Meetings → Events policies. The key settings control whether users can create webinars and whether external registration is permitted:
PowerShell — Webinar & Town Hall Policies
Connect-MicrosoftTeams # View all events policies Get-CsTeamsEventsPolicy | Select-Object Identity,AllowWebinars,AllowTownHalls,EventAccessType # Policy for marketing — webinars with public external registration New-CsTeamsEventsPolicy -Identity "Marketing-Events" -AllowWebinars Enabled -EventAccessType Everyone -AllowTownHalls Enabled # Restricted policy — internal-only events, no external attendees New-CsTeamsEventsPolicy -Identity "Internal-Events-Only" -AllowWebinars Enabled -EventAccessType InOrganization -AllowTownHalls Disabled # Assign to a specific user Grant-CsTeamsEventsPolicy -Identity user@techcareers.in -PolicyName "Marketing-Events" # Update org-wide default events policy Set-CsTeamsEventsPolicy -Identity Global -AllowWebinars Enabled -AllowTownHalls Enabled
🏛️ Teams Premium Meeting Features
Teams Premium (a paid add-on) unlocks additional meeting governance features that admins frequently need to know for MS-700:
| Feature | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Meeting templates | Pre-configured meeting options (lobby, recording, chat) that organisers must use — admin-locked so they cannot change settings |
| Sensitivity labels in meetings | Apply Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels to meetings to enforce confidentiality controls (who can record, who can see the transcript) |
| Watermarking | Overlay a watermark with the viewer's email address on shared video and content — deters screen capture of sensitive meetings |
| Intelligent recap | AI-generated meeting summary, action items, and chapter markers in the recording — surfaced in Teams after the meeting ends |
| End-to-end encryption (E2EE) | Full end-to-end encryption for 1:1 calls and small meetings — requires both sides to have E2EE enabled |
💡 Best Practices
- Set the Global meeting policy lobby default to "People in my organisation" for most organisations — this keeps external users in the lobby without blocking internal users from joining immediately
- Enable recording only in the Global policy if your organisation has a data retention policy for recordings — unlimited recording without expiry leads to large, unmanaged storage in OneDrive and SharePoint
- Set a recording expiry period (e.g. 60 or 90 days) in the meeting policy — recordings auto-move to the recycle bin after expiry, giving a safety window before permanent deletion
- Only assign the Audio Conferencing licence to users who regularly organise meetings with external dial-in participants — not every user in the org needs it
- Use webinars (not meetings) for any event where you want registration data — webinars capture attendee registration including email addresses, which meetings do not
- Use town halls for all-hands events above 1,000 attendees — they are optimised for one-way broadcast and scale to 20,000 with Teams Premium
🎓 Interview Q&A
Q: What is the difference between a meeting policy and a meeting setting in Teams?
A meeting policy (TAC → Meetings → Meeting policies) is per-user — it controls what an individual can do as a meeting organiser or attendee, and different users can have different policies assigned. A meeting setting (TAC → Meetings → Meeting settings) is tenant-wide — one configuration applies to the entire organisation with no per-user assignment. For example, "Allow cloud recording" is a meeting policy setting (can be on for some users, off for others), while "Allow anonymous users to join meetings" is a meeting setting (on or off for everyone).
Q: Where are Teams meeting recordings saved — OneDrive or SharePoint?
It depends on the meeting type. Channel meetings (scheduled in a Teams channel) save recordings to SharePoint — specifically to the channel's document library in the team's SharePoint site. Non-channel meetings (private meetings, Meet Now, and 1:1 meetings) save recordings to OneDrive for Business — in the organiser's or the person who started the recording's OneDrive. This distinction is tested directly in MS-700.
Q: Who needs an Audio Conferencing licence in Microsoft Teams?
Only the meeting organiser needs the Audio Conferencing licence (Teams Audio Conferencing add-on, or included in M365 E5). When a licensed organiser creates a meeting, Teams automatically adds dial-in phone numbers to the meeting invite. Attendees who join by dialling in do not need the licence — they simply call the number in the invite. If the organiser is not licensed, no dial-in numbers appear in the invite at all.
Q: When would you use a webinar instead of a standard Teams meeting?
Use a webinar when you need a structured event with audience-only attendees (no mic/camera for participants), registration with a sign-up form, and captured attendee data (names, emails). Common scenarios: product launches, training sessions for external customers, client presentations, partner briefings. Use a standard meeting for internal collaboration where all participants can speak and share. Use a town hall for large broadcasts (1,000–20,000 attendees) with no two-way interaction — all-hands, CEO announcements, company-wide updates.
Q: An executive wants to ensure that all participants in their sensitive board meetings wait in the lobby, including other internal users, until the executive admits them. Which lobby setting achieves this?
Set the meeting policy's Who can bypass the lobby to "Organiser and co-organisers only". This means every participant — including internal licensed users from the same organisation — waits in the lobby until the executive (as organiser) admits them individually. All other lobby settings allow at least some internal users to bypass. To prevent the organiser from changing this for individual meetings, also configure the policy to prevent organisers from modifying the lobby setting.
🎯 MS-700 Mock Test
Module 3 — Meetings, Webinars & Audio Conferencing
Question 1 of 5
You want to prevent external users and anonymous participants from joining Teams meetings directly, while still allowing all internal users and B2B guests to bypass the lobby. Which lobby setting should be configured in the meeting policy?
✅ Correct answer: B. "People in my organisation and guests" allows internal users and B2B guests already in your tenant to join directly, while external federated users and anonymous users (not authenticated against your tenant) wait in the lobby. Option C (People in my organisation) would also hold guests in the lobby, which the requirement does not call for.
Question 2 of 5
A Teams meeting was scheduled in a private chat (non-channel meeting) and recorded. Where is the recording automatically saved?
✅ Correct answer: C. Non-channel meetings (private meetings, Meet Now, and 1:1 calls) save recordings to the meeting organiser's OneDrive for Business. Channel meetings save to SharePoint — the channel's document library in the team's SharePoint site. Microsoft Stream classic (B) was the legacy storage location and is no longer used for new recordings.
Question 3 of 5
An organisation wants external clients to be able to join a Teams meeting by dialling a phone number. The meeting organiser is user@techcareers.in. Which user requires the Audio Conferencing licence?
✅ Correct answer: A. Only the meeting organiser needs the Audio Conferencing licence. When a licensed organiser creates a Teams meeting, the dial-in phone number is automatically included in the invite. External clients simply dial the number — they do not need any Microsoft licence. Internal attendees who join via the Teams app also do not need the licence. It is purely the organiser's licence that enables dial-in access.
Question 4 of 5
A company wants to run a virtual product launch for up to 5,000 external customers. Customers should be able to watch and ask questions via a Q&A panel but should not be able to speak or share their camera. Which Teams event format should be used?
✅ Correct answer: D. A Town Hall supports up to 10,000 attendees in standard Teams (20,000 with Teams Premium), is a view-only broadcast (attendees cannot use mic or camera), and supports a moderated Q&A panel — exactly matching the requirements. A webinar (B) only supports up to 1,000 attendees in standard Teams and is too small for 5,000 customers. Standard meetings (A) in overflow view lose interactivity and are not designed for broadcast-style events.
Question 5 of 5
You need to prevent contractors in your organisation from recording any Teams meetings they organise. Internal employees should still be able to record. What is the correct approach?
✅ Correct answer: A. Recording is a per-user meeting policy setting (AllowCloudRecording). Create a custom policy with AllowCloudRecording = false and assign it to contractor accounts. The Global policy (with recording enabled) continues to apply to all internal employees who have no custom policy assigned. Updating the tenant-wide meeting setting (B) is incorrect because recording is a meeting policy setting, not a meeting setting — and it would affect all users, not just contractors.
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