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Team meeting issue

Bindu M S 40 Reputation points
2026-05-29T11:17:58.66+00:00

Can we have your assistance for the below issue,

  • We makes attendee changes, sets who can join to Everyone. Clicks Apply, at next screen on Desktop no further changes are made but it asks if i want to save changes or discard, please refer to screenshot.
  • Can meetings be made so that non-host guests who join can start the meeting and start talking to everyone first?
Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Meetings and calls | Other
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  1. Nam-D 3,870 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-29T13:45:23.9933333+00:00

    Hello @Bindu M S

    I understand that after you change the meeting option to Everyone and click Apply, Teams still asks if you want to Save changes or Discard. This can happen when Teams still detects a pending change in the meeting options page, even if no other change was made intentionally.

    For your second question, yes, in some cases guests can join first and start speaking before the organizer joins, but this depends on both the meeting settings and your organization’s Teams admin policy.

    Please note:

    Setting Who can bypass the lobby to Everyone allows people to enter the meeting without waiting in the lobby.

    User's image

    This setting alone does not always allow guests to start the meeting before the organizer joins.

    To allow that, the Teams admin must also enable Anonymous users and dial-in callers can start a meeting. 

    If guests need to speak as soon as they join, the meeting should also allow attendees to use their microphone.

    For reference: IT Admins - Manage lobby options in Microsoft Teams

    Meeting options in Microsoft Teams

    Therefore, I recommend:

    1/ Please update Teams to the latest version and test again.

    2/ Please open the meeting options in Microsoft Edge and check if the same message appears there.

    3/ If guests need to start the meeting before the organizer joins, please ask your Teams admin to check these settings under Teams Admin Center > Meetings > Meeting policies > Meeting join & lobby. That policy changes can take up to 24 hours to apply.

    • Anonymous users can join a meeting
    • Anonymous users and dial-in callers can start a meeting
    • Who can bypass the lobby = Everyone

    User's image

    Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution. Your detailed response will help us diagnose and investigate the issue more efficiently.

    I truly appreciate your patience and understanding. If I misunderstood what you’re looking for, feel free to let me know or share a screenshot. I’d be happy to help further!

    Thank you for your cooperation.

    If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

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  2. AI answer

    2026-05-29T11:18:12.8866667+00:00

    The behavior described on the desktop client is expected: when changing meeting options such as “Who can bypass the lobby?” or “Who can present?” and clicking Apply, Teams may still prompt to save or discard changes when closing the options window or event details. This is simply a confirmation that there are unsaved changes to the meeting; choosing Save will commit the updated options, and Discard will revert them. No additional configuration is required beyond saving the meeting after changing options.

    For the second question (letting non‑host guests start and talk in the meeting):

    1. Allow guests/anonymous users to join and bypass the lobby
      • In the Teams admin center, under Meetings > Meeting policies > Meeting join & lobby, configure:
        • Anonymous users can join a meeting: On (if external/anonymous participants should be able to join).
        • Who can bypass the lobby: Set to Everyone if all participants (including anonymous) should enter the meeting directly instead of waiting in the lobby.
          Any setting other than Everyone will cause anonymous participants to wait in the lobby.
      • Meeting organizers can also override the default per meeting in Meeting options by setting Who can bypass the lobby? to Everyone. This allows everyone to join the meeting directly.
      • Note: If anonymous participants join first, they still wait in the lobby and are admitted automatically only after someone from the organization, a trusted org, or a guest user joins, unless the admin enables “Anonymous users and dial‑in callers can start a meeting.”
    2. Allow non‑host participants to present and speak
      • Speaking (audio/video) is allowed for attendees by default; they do not need to be presenters to talk.
      • To let non‑host guests share content or control the meeting, configure Who can present:
        • In the Teams admin center, under Meetings > Meeting policies > Content sharing, set Who can present to Everyone (default) or People in my org and guests, depending on requirements. This sets the default for all meetings for users with that policy.
        • Organizers can change this per meeting in Meeting options under Who can present, choosing Everyone if all participants (including external) should join as presenters.
    3. Allow anonymous participants to start a meeting (optional and not recommended)
      • By default, Anonymous users and dial-in callers can start a meeting is Off, so anonymous participants must wait until a verified participant joins.
      • Admins can turn this on in Meeting policies if it is acceptable that anonymous users can start meetings using the link. Microsoft recommends leaving this setting off because it allows unverified accounts to start meetings at unscheduled times.

    In summary, yes, meetings can be configured so that non‑host guests can join and immediately talk to everyone, and even present, by allowing them to bypass the lobby and by setting Who can present appropriately. Allowing anonymous users to actually start the meeting without any organizer/verified user present is controlled by the Anonymous users and dial-in callers can start a meeting policy and is disabled by default for security reasons.

    References:

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