To create Breakout rooms during a meeting:

Join your Teams meeting.

At the top of your the screen click Rooms.

Teams main call window, indicating the Rooms button at the top.

Create Breakout rooms menu will open on the right side of the call window. 

Create Breakout rooms window inidcating the option to choose the number of rooms, and Automatic or manual enrolment.

  • Choose the number of rooms that you want to create.
  • Choose to let Teams automatically and randomly assign participants to rooms, or to manually assign participants to rooms.
Once you are happy with your settings, click Create rooms.


*Note: Participants organised into the rooms will be based upon the participants currently in the Teams call. Participants who join late or have dropped from the call will need to be manually re-assigned.

Assign participants to rooms manually window.

After the rooms have been setup the Rooms button will open the Breakout room menu for management features:

Breakout room manager panel with the rooms closed and the open all button Breakout room manager panel with the rooms open and the close all button.

  • Unassigned participants can be assigned with Assign participants button.
  • Open button opens all rooms at once, or if the rooms are open Close will close all rooms at once.
  • plus sign button allows rooms to be added.
  • trash bin button allow deletion of all rooms.
  • settings cog button opens the Breakout room settings.

Settings menu with control of presenters, room timer, and behavioural controls.

Within the Breakout room Settings menu, you can:

  • Assign your co-presenters, who will be able to assist with the managerial properties of Breakout rooms.
  • Set a time limit on the rooms, which will close at the end and re-assign participants to the main call.
  • Allow automatic enrolment to the rooms. 
  • Allow participants to exit their breakout rooms on their own prerogative. 
To control individual rooms or to Join them as a lecturer/presenter you can hover over the status of the room to get the more options ellipses. Click more options and you will get additional managerial features of the room, including the option to Join room.

Individual room controls, Join room, Open room, Rename, Close room, Delete room.

Once you have joined a room a second Teams meeting window will open. To leave this meeting carefully select to Leave the rooms instance of Teams, and click Resume at the top of the main call window.


* Note: In the main call participants who are in a Breakout room, or are transferring back to the main call meeting will be listed as On hold.