This is the solution if you can't add anyone to a private channel in Microsoft Teams
If you cannot add someone to a private channel in Microsoft Teams it is because the guests or members are not on the main team.
It is not possible to add people directly in a private channel without them being part of the general channel.
Scenario: An example scenario i:; cooperation with external users. Add everyone to the same team. Do not use the general channel for 'internal' communication but create private channels for each need.
In this blog, I have provided a lot of information on how to organise a team in the ideal world.
Is it not possible to add members in Microsoft Teams ?
Want to add members, but can't do it in a private channel?
Open the team your private channel belongs to
Navigate to your main team. In this case: "Project Y
Add people to the team via 'Add member'.
Then open the Microsoft Teams private channel
Add the member or several new members in the private channel one by one or in group.
Also readthese handy manuals in Teams
How to prevent users from deleting channels, tabs & apps in Teams
Microsoft Teams - Create a read-only folder so that participants cannot edit your documents
best,
I have created a Team with 15 guests (external members).
I create a private channel and now I want to add certain guests to this channel.
I can add 2 guests ... a 3rd is no longer possible.
What is the cause of this or is 2 a maximum?
Hi Eric, have your guests been added to the main team? Normally there are no limits. Only above 5000 members.
The guests have indeed been added to the main team.
However, when I try again, I see that it works ... apparently "Teams" does not always respond as it should ...
Problem solved, thanks in advance.
I can't even add members in the main team.... arrghhhh help!!!
Are you the owner of the Team? I thought that only owners can add members, members have to ask permission from the team owner to add a member.
Yes, I am the owner! Very strange...
With previous teams it always worked. Now 2 new ones started and suddenly it doesn't work anymore....
Hi Lotte, can this blog help you? https://365tips.be/externe-toegang-inschakelen-om-te-kunnen-samen-werken-in-teams/
In the meantime, I have somehow managed to add them as guests ;-). But it would actually be better if they were 'members' or also 'owners'... Can you change this?
I really don't understand what is going wrong today... We ran a training course at Teams a few months ago and today we are starting a second edition...
You can change members into owners via: Team management -> Members -> Select member -> Make owner.
Yes, a member... but a guest, is that possible too?
A guest can also become an owner.
And how do you do that? Because I can't exactly change the role of guest via administration...
Hi Lotte, just tested. It does not work with real guests. It does work with other (external) office 365 users.
I have a similar problem. I have added guests to a Team, then try to put them in a private channel. For some it works, but not for others. It does not find that address when I want to add it.
Sometimes I manage to remove the guest from Teams and then add them again. Then (sometimes) it manages to invite the guest to a channel.
What strikes me is that when I try to find the guest in question via the 'search for members' field in the Team member overview (i.e. the highest level), the guest is not found either. However, if I scroll down the list, the guest is listed!
I am curious who recognises this problem and whether there is a solution.
grt, werner
Hi Werner, what you can do is check whether the guests have been added in the team itself. Only later can you add them in (private) channels.
Sometimes it takes a while. Have you tried the web version?