Microsoft Teams Rooms have become a crucial aspect of any company that uses the Microsoft Platform. The days of using a basic Polycom multi-microphone speakerphone in a conference room are long gone. Nowadays, it is expected that one can effortlessly join a Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting in a shared space. However, not every company can afford to spend $5000-10,000 per room to make this a reality. Fortunately, there is a hidden Microsoft application in the Microsoft Store that allows companies to create their own Teams Rooms using their own equipment. Alternatively, a small investment of $800 can provide the flexibility to design a Teams Room of any size.
This guide will show how to create a Teams Room using basic equipment for < $1000.
Option 1: Using your own equipment
This option will utilize equipment that you may have lying around your office. In order to accomplish this, you will need the following:
- A Touch Screen Monitor/Tablet to act as the Teams Room Controller
- A Speaker and Microphone Combination unit for Audio Control
- A secondary display for meeting content, such as a wall-mounted TV
- [Optional] A Camera for conference room video
One thing to note about this method is that these devices will not show up in the Teams Admin Center (TAC) as an official Teams Room device – but they will still function the exact same.
Before we proceed, you may be wondering about the process. There is a hidden application available on the Microsoft Store, but it cannot be found by searching for it – you need to have the exact URL to access it. We used this application without any issues for over two years before switching to “Option 2,” which I will explain later in this article. Initially, we experimented with Teams Rooms using our own equipment before deciding to invest in it, and this is what we will discuss in “Option 2.”
To begin, make sure that you have a clean installation of Windows 10 or 11 on the computer that will serve as the Teams Room’s central system. We used old Microsoft Surface Tablets that we had retired, and it was easy to buy docking stations for them on eBay, allowing us to have a seamless connection in our meeting rooms while we evaluated their effectiveness.
Once the Windows device is patched and ready to go, open the Microsoft Store and navigate to this link:
https://www.microsoft.com/store/productid/9NBLGGH5799L?ocid=pdpshare
While this is for a “Skype Room,” it still functions as a Teams Room. Note that there is no way to search for this app, you need the direct link to it, in order to start the installation.
Once installed, follow the prompts, and sign into the Resource Account created in Exchange Online.
Connect your peripherals, and you are good to go!
Option 2: Using a Microsoft Teams Certified BYOD Kit from MAXHUB
After using some old equipment in Option 1 for about six months, it became evident that we needed an upgrade from our first-generation Surface Tablets to an official Teams Room setup that we could manage through the TAC. Most entry-level Teams Room setups typically cost around $4,000-$5,000. However, we didn’t need a camera, soundbar, or anything more than we currently had:
- Speaker/Microphone Combination
- Tablet to control the meeting
- Secondary display to show the meeting content [Wall mounted TV]
After some digging, I stumbled across the MAXHUB XCORE Kit. This computer system is an affordable option that has been certified by Microsoft for use as a Teams Room. It comes with only the basic components needed for a company to create their own Teams Room setup. This is an ideal choice as it costs just $799 through Microsoft, and is compatible with our existing equipment. The system includes a tablet to control the Teams Room and an Intel computer to power the tablet. Once configured, it will appear as an official Teams Room setup in the TAC.
Equipment Recommendations
Every company might have outdated equipment that can be used to create a Teams Room.
- One MAXHUB Core Kit – This will provide the “Brains” for your Teams Room. Using older equipment can work, but I noticed major performance issues utilizing the old Surface Tablets we had laying around. It’s also beneficial to see your Teams Rooms in the TAC, which you can’t get using the application listed in Option 1.
- A Speaker/Microphone – After testing many different options, I landed on the Anker SR500 Speakerphone and Microphone Combination. You can daisy-chain up to 5 of these units to accommodate any size conference room, without having to worry about audio feedback.
- A Wall-Mounted TV for your Teams Room – I’ll leave this for you to decide.
Overall, I highly recommend creating Teams Rooms for your office if you are utilizing the Microsoft Stack. They are very easy to set up and allow for seamless connectivity if you are on Windows or macOS. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me!