Microsoft Teams's UI is Broken

  • 26th Nov 2025
  • 2 min read
  • Tags: 
  • opinion

Why was I late to the meeting, boss? Good question. Let me walk you through the steps I had to take to get here:

  1. Get notification of Teams meeting starting
  2. Click link in Slack
  3. Get redirected to Teams
  4. Get a banner saying "Select Allow to let Microsoft Teams use your mic and camera." It already has permission. It has had permission since I started using this laptop, three years running. Also there is nowhere to allow this permission, because, as I said, it already has permission.
  5. Click on screen to clear that banner
  6. Get the "Join the meeting" screen
  7. Click "Join Now"
  8. Several times. It does nothing.
  9. Click the "Sign in" button at the top banner, cause heaven forbid the login I did yesterday stick around
  10. Get redirected twice
  11. Get dropped into a random meeting's chat. (It's never the meeting I was trying to join)
  12. Go to calendar page
  13. Sometimes get a notice asking me to grant calendar access. (It's had calendar access for as long as it's had mic and camera access.)
  14. Wait for Teams to load
  15. Click "Join" on meeting
  16. At this point I'm back on the "Join the meeting" screen, and get a Helpful(TM) popup that someone has started the meeting I wanted to join in the first place. This always comes up now no matter how long ago someone actually started the meeting I'm joining.
  17. Click "Join now"

Is it any wonder I freakin' hate Microsoft products?