Microsoft Teams is now generally available for Office 365 customers, and for those of you who are planning to use it you may be looking for a way to deploy the Teams client to your user’s computers.

The Microsoft Teams desktop client installer is available for Windows, Mac, and mobile devices.

  • The Mac installer and the Windows setup.exe installer are available from Microsoft here. The Windows setup.exe package has basic command-line switches for silent install and uninstall. You can script the install and use GPO to deploy the package, which I’ll demonstrate later in this article.
  • An MSI package for Windows is also available in x86 and x64 versions. This package is suitable for GPO and SCCM deployment, but works a little differently than the setup.exe package, as you’ll see in the demonstration below.

Whichever method you use to deploy Teams, the installer runs in the context of the logged on user, and installs to the %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams folder. As you’ll see in the comments on this blog post below, this isn’t ideal for some environments for a variety of reasons.

Teams is a self-updating application. It will check for, and download, any available updates each time the user runs the program. That makes it simple to maintain (as long as you allow it to self-update), and means that deploying Teams is basically a task of running the installer once, and then not running it again. If you block Teams from self-updating, Microsoft warns that your Teams experience will likely degrade and you’ll miss out on new features and performance improvements that are released.

Preparing to Deploy Microsoft Teams

Before you deploy the Teams client you should verify that Teams in your Office 365 tenant is configured the way you want it. Teams configuration is demonstrated in my Getting Started with Microsoft Teams article.

Although Teams is included with eligible Office 365 plans, it can be enabled and disabled on a per-user basis. If you have had Teams disabled during the preview phase, now is the time to turn it back on. For my demonstration environment I’m using Azure AD group-based license management, and have an Active Directory group that is configured to enable the Teams option for users’ licenses. Helpfully, that also means I have a security group already in place that I can target my Group Policy to.

Download the Microsoft Teams installer using the links above, and place the files on a network share that users and computers can read from. For this demonstration, the installer will be running from the path \\mgmt\installs\MicrosoftTeams.

Deploying the Microsoft Teams Desktop Client

If you deploy an old package, the Teams application will self-update automatically. However, you should keep your deployment share updated on a regular basis with the latest install packages to save time.

Deploying Teams via Script or Group Policy using the Setup.exe Package

The Teams setup.exe installer has command-line switches for silent deployment. For example, to silently install Microsoft Teams, the following command line can be used:

C:\temp\> Teams_windows_x64.exe -s

To silently uninstall Teams, the following command line can be used:

C:\temp\> %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams\Update.exe" --uninstall -s

Any deployment script for the setup.exe package needs to run in the context of the user. A logon script assigned by Group Policy meets that requirement. So with a little scripting logic you can check for the existence of the Teams application in the user’s AppData folder, and run or not run the installer depending on the results.

As a side note, when Teams is uninstalled it leaves the Update.exe file in place. So checking for Update.exe in your script logic will give misleading results. Instead, you can check for the existence of a folder named “.dead”, which is placed in the application folder when Teams is uninstalled. For my deployment script which I’m sharing here, I’ve checked for “.dead”, and if found, will run the Teams installer again.

You can download my Install-MicrosoftTeams.ps1 script from the TechNet Script Gallery.

Create a Group Policy that assigns a logon script to run the Install-MicrosoftTeams.ps1 PowerShell script, and provide the -SourcePath as a script parameter.

Deploying the Microsoft Teams Desktop Client

If you are filtering the GPO to a specific security group, remember to also add Authenticated Users to the Delegation tab of the Group Policy and grant them Read (but not Apply) permissions.

At next Group Policy refresh and logon the Teams client will silently install for the user, and place a Microsoft Teams icon on their desktop.

Deploying the Microsoft Teams Desktop Client

Deploying Teams via Group Policy using the MSI Package

The MSI package for Teams behaves a little differently than the setup.exe package. The MSI package installs the Teams Installer on the computer, placing it in the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder, depending on which architecture you deploy. The Teams Installer will then run automatically for new users logging on to the computer, and install Teams to their %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams folder.

Deploying the Microsoft Teams Desktop Client

Create a Group Policy and add the Teams MSI package to the Computer Configuration as an assigned application.

Deploying the Microsoft Teams Desktop Client

Note that if you’ve previously deployed Teams using the setup.exe package, or the user has previously installed Teams themselves, and then uninstalled Teams later, the Teams installer will not reinstall the application due to the presence of leftover files. Microsoft has provided a cleanup script that you can run to remove the leftover files, and then the Teams installer should be able to successfully install the app for the user.

After Teams has installed, it will automatically launch for the user and prompt them for their sign-in credentials.

Deploying the Microsoft Teams Desktop Client

Summary

Microsoft has provided multiple software packages for Teams so that we can choose the best deployment method for our environment. The MSI is suitable for Group Policy or SCCM deployment, and is also a good way to pre-stage the Teams application on newly deployed computers. The setup.exe package requires additional scripting but can be deployed via GPO or SCCM as well. In either case, the installer is smart enough to detect existing installs, and avoid reinstalling on uninstalled systems. The self-update capability also means that Teams requires very little maintenance over time.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on March 15th, 2017.

Managing Microsoft Teams can be a tricky and complex task if you don’t know the right way to do so. Check out this must-read ‘How to Manage Microsoft Teams: An Admin Guide’ for the essential skills for managing teams effectively. 

About the Author

Paul Cunningham

Paul is a former Microsoft MVP for Office Apps and Services. He works as a consultant, writer, and trainer specializing in Office 365 and Exchange Server. Paul no longer writes for Practical365.com.

Comments

  1. Anton Leslie

    I have Teams on my Laptop when I tried to down load Microsoft 365; the down load failed.
    Now when I log into Teams I get two Teams icons.
    One icon flashes the message installing & loading, it’s successful.
    Second icon says: download failed, down, downloading & installation failed.
    How can I get rid of the SECOND icon.

  2. majel

    i using this ps1 for uninstall … (uninstall teams and remove his folder)

    $TeamsPath = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($env:LOCALAPPDATA, ‘Microsoft’, ‘Teams’)
    $TeamsUpdateExePath = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($env:LOCALAPPDATA, ‘Microsoft’, ‘Teams’, ‘Update.exe’)

    try
    {
    if ([System.IO.File]::Exists($TeamsUpdateExePath)) {
    Write-Host “Uninstalling Teams process”

    # Uninstall app
    $proc = Start-Process $TeamsUpdateExePath “-uninstall -s” -PassThru
    $proc.WaitForExit()
    }
    Write-Host “Deleting Teams directory”
    Remove-Item –path $TeamsPath -recurse
    }
    catch
    {
    Write-Output “Uninstall failed with exception $_.exception.message”
    exit /b 1
    }

  3. Dash

    Hi Paul

    I am getting error “Installation has failed: Failed to extract installer” when the user login.

    Please help me to resolve this issue.

    Many thanks.

    Regards
    Dash

    1. Alexander

      This is probably because you have an active AppLocker policy. You need to allow Teams application to run from the user profile.
      Putting this here in case someone else runs in to this problem.

  4. sankarasubramanian parameswaran

    we are not able to give control and reported error your hardware acceleration disabled …any suggestions

  5. Josh

    All you have to do is move the teams folder copy/paste to: %ProgramFiles(x86)%

    then run %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Teams\current\teams.exe

    go in the registry to: under your current admin user and go to:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

    look for the string value: com.squirrel.Teams.Teams

    It should have this: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Teams\Update.exe –processStart “Teams.exe” –process-start-args “–system-initiated”

    copy the string Name and value or just remember it.

    export the key to make a backup in case you do forget it.

    delete the string from current user.

    then go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

    and add the same string value.

    right click -> new string name: com.squirrel.Teams.Teams

    Value data should be: C:\Program Files (x86)\Teams\Update.exe –processStart “Teams.exe” –process-start-args “–system-initiated”

    add that and exit out and see if it works.

  6. Josh

    All you have to do is move the teams folder copy/paste to: %ProgramFiles(x86)%

    then run %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Teams\current\teams.exe

    go in the registry to: under your current admin user and go to:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

    look for the string value: com.squirrel.Teams.Teams

    It should have this: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Teams\Update.exe –processStart “Teams.exe” –process-start-args “–system-initiated”

    copy the string Name and value or just remember it.

    export the key to make a backup in case you do forget it.

    delete the string from current user.

    then go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

    and add the same string value.

    right click -> new string name: com.squirrel.Teams.Teams

    Value data should be: C:\Program Files (x86)\Teams\Update.exe –processStart “Teams.exe” –process-start-args “–system-initiated”

    add that and exit out and see if it works.

    1. pushpa mamilla sayappagari

      this worked for me. Thanks a ton.

  7. Erik Hoffmann

    Nice try.
    1. the script won’t start because usual security doesn’t allow to run the ps1 script without setting the executionpolicy to unrestricted.
    2. trying to set the ep to unrestr. won’t work because a user has not right for doing this

    so how much more complicated can microsoft be with their crappy system?

    conclusion: make a share and point your user to install it manually

  8. Danie

    Hi Paul, the cleanup script seems to be gone from the ms article. Is there another location we can get it?

  9. Steve Stilson

    This article helped me a lot. I didn’t know whether I had Teams or not. This article told me that the existence of a .dead file means it needed to be reinstalled. That answered my question. Thank you.

  10. arana

    whre do i get the mentioned msi packages?

  11. Wayne Hanks

    We run in a Citrix environment and there are a number of issues with the install of the Teams client.
    First is the fact that it installs Teams in the Appdata folder, thereby creating a massive storage issue for each user, the second is that on Citrix, it will launch the first time, then on subsequent startups, will not load and just drops to a blank screen.
    I did see on some other forums that MS were looking at a Machine based install, supposedly due out this month, but I have heard nothing of this yet.

  12. Phillip

    had to modify the powershell script to determine the architecture to install the right version first, we’ll see how it goes…

  13. Immi Marzook

    Hi Paul

    Is there any way that changes MS teams general settings such select “Open application in Background ” while deploying the GPO?

  14. Chris Steenkamp

    HI all, just a quick one.
    How do you control the settings in Teams, to “AutoStart”, “Open App in background”, “On close, keep the application open”, as well as “Register as chat app”?
    I need to enable all, and prevent users from changing them?

    1. Kat

      Did you ever come up with a solution to “Register chat app” as an admin for certain users?

  15. Willem Verwijs

    As i understand it correctly, the install of Teams is now part of the normal office 365 install. So… how does it install teams and what is best practice to install this with sccm. When using sccm for office 365 it just install e.g. excel.exe in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
    But where is teams.exe installed?

  16. Pearl B

    Could someone please point me towards a list of the install switches for the teams MSI?

    I’m going to have another go now that we have finally removed the mess it left behind on so many clients, but I want to make sure it’s controlled in the best way possible (i.e. not running at startup and anything else we could find useful in a enterprise environmet).

  17. Rob Wickham

    I noticed a very important setting was not enabled by-default, that’s the “Register Teams as the chat app for Office (requires restarting Office applications)”. This thread does not cover how to rollout settings like this. Is there such guidance?

  18. johncz

    Only works for the user logged on when the silent install runs. I tried to add a pubic desktop icon which failed for the next user.

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams\Update.exe –processStart “Teams.exe”

    However when I ran the install normally, that icon worked as well as the ‘Microsoft Teams’ icon for the logged on user. Installs without admin permissions too.

    Fix this MS, a silent install should not get broken when using your latest version of Windows 10! /pain /banStoreApps

    1. Mark Fenwick

      It’s not a Store App

  19. Brandi Mahurin

    Does anyone know of a Microsoft Partner that has done a successful Teams Deployment for an organization of over 5000 users?

  20. Squuiid

    NO LONGER WORKS IN Windows 10 1809.

    When using this script in Windows 10 1809, the Teams application appears to install but no shortcuts are placed anywhere.
    This was not the behaviour in 1803 or previous Windows 10 versions.
    Get-StartApps in PowerShell does not show Teams in the list.

    If the Teams_windows_x64.exe is executed manually in Windows 10 1809 it installs correctly, with shortcuts present in the Start menu.

  21. Tom

    So I have tried to deploy teams both via MSI/GPO and your PowerShell Script. When I installed the MSI via GPO it installed the MSI on all my computers, but there was no application in the start menu or icons on the desktop. I had a couple of computers that already had teams installed and in the add/remove programs I saw both the teams wide installer and the Microsoft Teams app. So I tried to uninstall the app and also ran the cleanup PSS for good measure. I then tried your PSS to install the app and when I logged in I can see the teams installer/update working in task manager, but once it was done nothing no icons no start menu. So I am stumped at how to roll this application out to our computers. I have many other GPO MSI apps that all work without issue.

  22. Rashantha De Silva

    @Paul thanks for the write-up. We were able to push MS Teams via SCCM. The only issue is that the complete install runs only when a user logs in. Unfortunately, this gets blocked “cannot extract the installer”.

    Looks like we have to create a path to allow the installation path to finish. I have not come across any documentation from MS Teams on how this is done/or where. In AppData. But how about updates etc.

    Nightmare for an enterprise installation.

  23. Eirik Norum

    I have a Intune enrolled computer I try to install Teams on. Added the MSI in Intune, and it “installs” the msi to the program files folder. But nothing happens then, no install on the appdata folder. Any tips?

      1. Eirik Norum

        I think I understand. If I understand it correctly, the Teams install only installs when the user logs in for the first time? It doesn`t say anything about what to do with the file under program files. It should just install from programfiles and over to appdata automatically?

        1. Avatar photo
          1. Eirik Norum

            If I log in with a new user, Teams installs. If I have already logged in on that computer, the Teams client will not install. Will have to find out how to install it even if the user has logged in before.

  24. bdwilcox

    I’ve been installing the Teams app with a simple local batch command:
    start “” /wait “%~dp0Resource\Programs\Microsoft Teams\Teams_windows_x64.exe” –silent

    Problem is trying to programatically disable the Teams auto-start. Seems that Teams makes an entry in the registry like such:

    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
    “com.squirrel.Teams.Teams”=”C:\\Users\\\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Teams\\Update.exe –processStart \”Teams.exe\” –process-start-args \”–system-initiated\””

    If I use the Reg command in a script to delete that key, Teams simply recreates it the next time the program runs. If I use the Teams program interface to disable auto-run, it deletes that registry key and it stays deleted. So there is another mechanism for deleting that key that also prevents Teams from recreating it. Anyone know what that mechanism is? I tried using Procmon to monitor what processes were being initiated when I disabled auto-run through the Teams GUI and it returned a bunch of Japanese letters so something funky was going on there.

    Thanks!

    1. Darren

      You could try and use Procmon to caputure where Teams is writing too when you make the change to disable auto-start from within the client.

      1. bdwilcox

        Hi Darren,

        I tried that but it returned a line composed of a bunch of random Asian characters so I’m thinking it might be an encrypted store that it’s writing to and can’t display it properly.

        1. Robert

          In the %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Teams directory there is a file named desktop-configuration.json

          in the file change: “openAsHidden”:true

          1. Robert

            Sorry got that wrong, its actually:

            \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Teams\desktop-configuration.json

    2. Mark Wilson

      We’re working on this very issue in our organisation now bdwilcox. Some of our older kit takes a real beating with apps like this in startup.

      Tried various methods of deleting the \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “com.squirrel.Teams.Teams” key, only to have the software replace it when run by the user (due to the tick still being in place under ‘Settings’ I suspect).

      I am now deleting the HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “com.squirrel.Teams.Teams” key through a GPO logoff script, which does the job.

      Powershell:
      Remove-ItemProperty -Path “HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run” -Name “com.squirrel.Teams.Teams”

      Or if you prefer

      DOS:
      reg delete HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run /v “com.squirrel.Teams.Teams” /f

      If anyone does find a more correct way of changing that behaviour on a corporate level, I’ll be back for a look.

        1. Nahum

          Any news on this issue?
          We are currently pushing off the deployment to 2500 users because we cant properly control the startup behavior.
          It could be awesome if we could install with a “-DisableLogonStart” Switch to the EXE.

          1. Avatar photo

            Give that feedback to Microsoft via their Uservoice site if you haven’t already. That’s the only way to bring it to their attention and let them see how popular the idea is (through user voting).

          2. Eric Bostrom

            Switches to start the app silently, minimized or start to tray (background) would be greatly appreciated.

            Teams offers a lot and I prefer it to sfb but my users don’t like waiting for it, particularly when it starts full-screen maximized with that blank purple page.

          3. Avatar photo
  25. Bruce

    Hi Paul,

    The cleanup script from MS fails all the time. I like your powershell install script but it installs the EXE version. Would it be hard to update it to uninstall the EXE version and install the MSI?

    I’m going to try to make one if I get it to work before you reply I’ll share.

    Thanks,

    -Bruce

    1. Bruce

      I figured out MS’s code problem. They forgot to add {} brackets.

  26. Michael

    Hi

    The provisioning works well. Hovever using this in a Remote Desktop farm using User Profile Disks redirected to a share, the app is note opening correctly. It just shows white space.

    The log file containcs this line, saying that it cannt access files outside the appdata folder:

    — error — Blocked to load files outside of app folder

  27. Doug Cote

    Using the new MSI to install Teams on a per-user basis as part of OS deployment. What happens is the install works fine but then Teams opens up to a maximized state. What can we do to start it minimized?

    1. Avatar photo

      That’s an option that you can set in the app. Or are you trying to find a way to make that the default for everyone? Not sure about that. I haven’t dug into the registry to see where it stores those settings.

  28. jason

    Started to see profile bloat in AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams can this be redirected ?

  29. Artem Makaryan

    Guys,
    How to create and enroll firewall rule through GPO that will allow Teams open UDP and TCP connections? Regarding to fact that teams installs to users directory “C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams” and that firewall GPO rules runs only from “Computer Configurations” objects we couldn’t create global rule for users, am i right?

    Thanks for answer and help!

    1. Dinator

      +1 to this. We’re trying to deploy this to a enterprise environment with 300+ employees. Our initial testing with about 30 employees all had the issue of UAC prompting to making Firewall changes on 1st call on Teams. Subsequent calls did not get the UAC prompt but now have denied firewall rules. Funny thing, Microsoft Teams still works fine with the denied rules in place

  30. Martin Gauvreau

    We have loopback processing mode for Servers, so it won’t apply.
    Thanks Paul

  31. Martin Gauvreau

    Hi
    Will this script install Teams in a Remote Desktop session when the user logs in?
    Thanks
    Martin

      1. Arjan Kop

        It does. I use the PS-script, and it nicely installs teams for a test user. All seems to work (after having to tweak app-locker a dozen times), except for the placement of a shortcut on the user’s desktop. Thank you very much for the time and trouble you took to write this post.

  32. me

    The GPO applies to windows 7 but teams does not install, please can you help/ advise.

  33. Bruce

    It will not install from a shared directory. but it works fine from a local directory.

    1. Francis Theys

      “unblock” the file on your network share .. this is normal behaviour when saving a downloaded file directly on a network share.

  34. BSK

    Is there a way to prevent Teams from auto updating? Will Teams still work fine if the version does not stay current?

      1. BSK

        While doing enterprise deployment, we prefer controlled updates. As a best practice, we suppress auto-updates and follow a testing process before introducing new versions.

        1. Avatar photo

          I think you’re likely to run into more problems that way with the Teams client falling out of step with the cloud service. That’s my suspicion anyway. If your tenant is not configured for Targeted Release (formerly First Release) you should be receiving pretty stable software anyway.

          If you insist on blocking it, I guess you’ll need to work out where the auto-updates come from and block that URL or IP. I don’t know of any way that actually works though (someone else might, but I haven’t found one… not that I’ve looked very hard).

          1. BSK

            Thanks Paul. So even if we are deploying Teams separately, will it get updates only as per the tenant configuration?

      2. BSK

        I could not find a clear reference from MS that states whether auto updates can be prevented or not in Teams. If updates cannot be controlled and is a requirement for proper functioning of Teams, then we would need to inform the same to the organization.

        1. limson louise

          If you remove update.exe file from the setup , it will block the autoupdate. i have tested it and works fine.

          But this is not supported by microsoft.

    1. Dean Gross

      Teams has its own update methodology, it has nothing to do with Targeted Release settings in an office 365 tenant, the Windows Updater or the Office Update process.

  35. Julius

    Can Team be packaged (Sequnced) and use as an AppV5 package

  36. Ryan

    Hey Paul
    Set this up as described. When I login to the computer I can only see the mouse cursor and a blank desktop. Any ideas?

  37. WowMS

    Looks like MS also has a way, not sure who stole who’s script
    (removed)

    1. Avatar photo
  38. Michele

    I don’t seem to find the script?
    “For my deployment script which I’m sharing here, I’ve checked for “.dead”, and if found, will run the Teams installer again.”

  39. Jon

    I created the group policy to install Teams, but on the client, at login I get a security warning popup:
    “We can’t verify who created this file. Are you sure you want to run this file?”

    I’ve unblocked the .exe, but I still get this popup which would not be a good experience for my users.

    Browsing to the installer on my network share and running the .exe from the client does not produce this warning. Any ideas as to what I’m missing?

    1. AOller

      Any news on this? I’m having the same issue

    1. Andreas

      Voted it up too!

  40. Jason

    And now we have news that they will start pushing teams even more while this issue with user based installs (appdata) still exists. At least Skype supports a decent install and update method. And Microsoft hasn’t listened to a group of us IT admins that have expressed our complete distaste for this approach. I will refuse to install it into they change this. I will not open my systems to be more vulnerable because of stupid decisions by the teams group.

  41. Ian

    Sadly I agree with many here.

    Installing as a user context isn’t really working for me along with self updating. I cannot get it to work under a user login without making them an Admin. Additionally with SRPs etc its a heap of fun (NOT) to allow it to install to the Appdata folder.

    What happened to the tried and tested MSI installer like nearly everything else so it will push via GPO etc and you can have mapped start menu’s and programs etc.

    MS are not making it easy to use / deploy and I will remain using OfficeChat for now.

  42. Suman

    We are trying to deploy MS Teams on Citrix 6.5 Farm with PVS streamed Xenapp Servers.
    Is it possible to deploy on this environment?

  43. Darren Zappa

    Has anyone successfully installed/used Teams on a RDS server? Or is it possible?

    1. Emiliano Branca

      On RDS or Citrix the MS Teams binaries and cached data will occupy huge amount of space in every local and roaming profile path. We are back to the WebUI…

  44. Mark

    Really just echoing Dave’s comment here. Installing anything to appdata instead of Program Files (Clue is in the naming) is a stupid idea and disappointed to see Microsoft engaging in this bad practice (First seen by Google as a way of trying to bypass network administrators well meaning policys). Really keen to engage with this product but its a no go till it installs correctly and removes the user auto-update (Another stupid practice).

  45. Martin

    Where does this get logged if it fails to install ?

    Trying to push this out for a group of users and can’t get it to work. Even trying it with my account with domain admin rights doesn’t work.

    1. Michael Foley

      Wondering if you ever found this. Can’t get the script to deploy successfully but it doesn’t error out.

    2. Matt

      Check line 40, it requires powershell v4, I had the same problem on some Windows 7 systems which were running v2

  46. Ivan

    Very nice, thanks.

    The option for 64 or 32 bits is related to the OS or the Office installation?

      1. David

        This is not correct. I’m able to load Microsoft Team 32bit on a Windows 10 64bit.

        1. Lubomir

          You can install 32bit version on 64bit OS 🙂 but you cant install 64bit on 32bit OS

          1. Joseph

            Does this script account for 32 bit os and 64 bit os or does it need to be modified to work with both separately?

          2. Avatar photo

            It doesn’t account for 32bit vs 64bit OS, it just grabs the 64bit installer because that’s all I ever use. But if you still have 32bit OSes floating around then it would be a simple modification for you to either add the logic to the script or add a parameter to specify the architecture to install.

            Or just make a copy of the script and change the executable name for the Teams installer so that it installs the 32bit version instead.

  47. Avi

    Hi
    this is excellent and working just fine! thank you!
    my question is:
    i personally don’t like to distribute software as a user configuration. i much prefer to do it as computer configuration.
    i tried to use this script as a startup script (computer configuration) and it didnt work.
    is there any way to do the same action as this script does a logon script but a startup script?

    1. Avatar photo

      The Teams app installs to the user’s profile \ appdata, so it needs to install as the user.

      It would be nice to pre-install it on the PC just once, but that doesn’t seem to be possible. But once it’s installed for that user, it just self-updates and keeps working on its own, so it is nice a simple in that respect.

      1. Avi

        Hi Paul
        thanks for your reply.
        we have many users in our company that part of their job requires them to logon to servers as well. this might result in them triggering the install on teams on the servers as well. (at least in our AD structure). isn’t there any way to get the teams installer in an msi format? this way i will be able to deploy it to computer configuration as all other msi installers

      2. John Ferrini

        That is a moronic response, this is horrible piece of software in the first place as it also reinstalls itself at every logon As I watch it delete the Appdata\local\microsoft teams folder right when a use logs on. You drink too much coolaid.

  48. Dave

    How are we supposed to create a desktop icon for users that have a redirected desktop?

    Why in the world does this install to the users profile instead of the program files folder? It makes it impossible to deploy to enterprise users with standard tools

    1. Franc Riopel

      By installing to the user profile, it allows the application to install without requiring administrative access.

      Google Chrome has the same process …

      1. Sguilly

        There is an Enterprise version of Chrome that installs into the Program Files (or whatever directory you configure it to). This is a requirement in an Enterprise environment where the management of applications is required.

        Teams is a shocking example of how not to deploy an application. Not to mention that sorry excuse for an MSI that was provided, is basically just acting as a stub to launch the installer. Does not provide any configuration of installation options via PUBLIC Properties, Custom Actions etc, this is not the standard I would expect from MS.

        1. Paul

          We’re growing to loathe it in our environment. It’s nigh on impossible to prevent from running at startup using GPOs (except disabling the EXE altogether). Where are the ADMX templates MS?!

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