Your AirPods could soon be the most unexpectedly useful accessory for a Microsoft Teams call — and even save your job

a woman using a pair of airpods
(Image credit: Shutterstock.com / Prostock-studio)

Making sure your mic is muted on a Microsoft Teams call should soon be a lot easier, thanks to a new update from a potentially unexpected source.

The video conferencing platform has announced it will soon be allowing some users to mute and unmute themselves when on a call using their Apple AirPods.

Users with the wireless earbuds will be able to directly control their mic and audio feeds for the first time - but only a select few will be lucky enough to get the functionality for now.

Microsoft Teams and Apple AirPods

In its entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the update is described as helping Microsoft Teams "work seamlessly" with Apple AirPods.

The company notes that the same functionality is already available on iPhone running iOS 17, but now is coming to Mac models running macOS Sonoma.

The tool is also now supported on the new Teams for Mac app, meaning users will get the most up-to-date version of the service, wherever they are.

The update is listed as being "in development" for the time being, but has a scheduled rollout start date of March 2024, so AirPods fans shouldn't have too long to wait.

The news is the latest in a series of recent announcements concerning audio feeds on Microsoft Teams as the company looks to address what is clearly a growing concern for users.

This includes a recent addition allowing users to mute and unmute their audio simply by clicking the mic icon in the Windows taskbar (or by pressing the Windows logo key + Alt + K), which should in theory make it simpler to ensure your mic isn't accidentally on when it shouldn't be - but having such controls in such an obvious location might also put users at risk of an accidental click.

The platform also recently announced it will let users hide any general Microsoft Teams channels in their workplace or organization, which it says will go some way to, "helping you focus on the channels that matter most to you".

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Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

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