Before a Meeting

To create breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams before the meeting starts, follow these steps:

1. Schedule the Meeting

• Breakout rooms cannot be created when scheduling a meeting. You must create and send the meeting invite first.

2. Edit the Meeting in the Calendar

• After scheduling the meeting, open the meeting invite and click Edit.
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3. Access Breakout Room Controls

• Once you're in the meeting, click on the Breakout Rooms option from the meeting control bar.
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4. Create Rooms

• Click the Create Rooms option.

5. Assign Participants

• Click the Assign Participants option.
• Indicate whether you want Teams to automatically assign participants to breakout rooms or if you want to manually assign them yourself.  
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6. Save the Room Setup

• Once you have configured the rooms and participant assignments, simply close the breakout room settings. The rooms will be ready for use when the meeting starts.

During a Meeting

To create breakout rooms during an ongoing Microsoft Teams meeting, follow these steps:

1. Join the Meeting

• As the organizer or co-organizer, join the Teams meeting.

2. Open Breakout Room Controls

• In the meeting control bar, click on the Breakout Rooms icon at the top of the meeting window.
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3. Select the Number of Rooms

• In the popup window, choose how many breakout rooms you want to create. You can create up to 50 breakout rooms.
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4. Assign Participants

• Assign participants and Create rooms. 
  • You can assign participants to breakout rooms in one of two ways:
    • Automatically: Teams will divide the participants evenly into the rooms.
    • Manually: You will be able to assign specific participants to each room.
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6. Open the Rooms

• Once the participants are assigned, click Open rooms. This will send all assigned participants to their respective breakout rooms.

7. Manage the Breakout Rooms

• You can:
  • Join a breakout room: Click on the room name and select Join room to enter any of the breakout rooms.
  • Broadcast messages: Send announcements to all breakout rooms by clicking on Make an announcement.
  • Reassign participants: You can reassign participants to different rooms by going back to the breakout room controls.
  • Set a time limit: Optionally, you can set a timer for the breakout sessions.

8. Close the Rooms

• When it's time to bring everyone back, click Close rooms. This will close all breakout rooms, and the participants will return to the main meeting.