How to automatically record all Teams meetings

Remembering or writing down everything said in a meeting can be demanding. That is why many applications like Microsoft Teams have the recording option. However, it’s easy to forget to hit the record button once the meeting starts and have to focus on other things. Fortunately, Teams allows you to record all your meetings automatically.

This article will explain how to find the option to automatically record your meetings in Teams and other useful recording features.

How to record Teams meetings automatically

Microsoft Teams allows you to automatically record video, audio, and screen sharing for each meeting. This option is available to both Microsoft 365 web clients and those using the Android and iPhone apps. Recordings are saved in MP4 format to OneDrive or SharePoint connected to the channel if it is a channel meeting.

Unfortunately, there is no option to enable automatic recording for all future meetings. You can only set up the feature for separate or recurring meetings once you schedule them.

Before you can activate automatic recording, you must make sure you meet other requirements:

• Enable OneDrive or SharePoint storage
• Have enough storage space (a one-hour recording takes up about 400 MB of storage)
• Have the “Meeting Recording” setting turned on if you are the user recording the meeting

Regardless of your device, Microsoft Teams sends a notification to each participant before the meeting recording begins and this cannot be turned off.

On the Microsoft Teams website

If you’re a Teams web user, you can enable automatic recording for a meeting by following these steps:

1. Schedule a meeting as you normally would and “KEEP IT.”
   
2. Click the session you want to record automatically.
   
3. Select “Edit” in the small pop-up window.
   
4. Click the “Meeting Options” button in the upper right corner.
   
5. Select the switch next to “Record automatically” to enable the setting and press “Save” to confirm your choices.

In Microsoft Outlook

You can also enable the auto-record option through Outlook.

1. Create a meeting as you normally would.
2. Click the scheduled meeting on your calendar.
   
3. Tap “Open.”
   
4. Go to the “Meeting Options” button next to “More Information.”
   
5. Click the button next to “Automatically Record” to enable the setting and select “Save” to confirm your choices.

Recording will now start automatically when the first person in the organization joins the scheduled meeting. The recording will continue even if the person who started it leaves the meeting.

Who can record team meetings?

Not everyone can record Teams meetings. Only those with specific licenses and who meet certain criteria can press the record button or enable automatic recording for a meeting. These are usually organizers, co-organizers, presenters, or those who are allowed this option by an IT administrator.

If you are the meeting organizer, you can enable meeting recording for “hosts and co-hosts” or “hosts and presenters” while creating the meeting. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Start a meeting as you normally would.
2. Invite others.
3. Go to “Meeting Options” in the invitation.
4. Designate meeting participants as “presenters and co-hosts.”
5. In the drop-down menu next to “Who can record”, select your choice.
6. Press “Save” to confirm the changes.

Guests, anonymous users, and people from other organizations or companies cannot record the meeting or be designated to record the meeting by the meeting organizer.

How to manage a Teams meeting recording expiration

Microsoft Teams recordings expire after 120 days by default. This frees up storage space for new recordings.

The expiration date is visible in the message that appears in the chat after the meeting ends. You can see it by following these steps:

1. Open the recording in your browser.
   
2. Select the “i” icon to view details.
   

EITHER:

• Go to “My Files” in OneDrive or SharePoint, depending on where the recording is saved.
• Hover over the recording whose due date you want to view.
• Click on the three vertical dots next to the file name,
• Select “Details.”

As the meeting host, you can change the default date from here by opening the drop-down menu. You can extend the expiration date by 14, 30, or 60 days, select a date from the calendar, or set it to “No Expiration.”

As a Teams administrator, you can set a new default due date by following these steps:

1. Click “Microsoft Application Launcher.”
2. Go to “Administrator.”
3. Select “Teams.”
4. Look for “Meeting Policies” under “Meetings.”
5. Go to “Global (default for the entire organization).”
6. Under “Recording and Transcription,” you can turn off expiration by clicking the button next to “Meetings automatically expire,” or you can change the “Default expiration date” by typing the desired number of days.

Changing the default due date will only affect future meeting recordings. To change the expiration date of existing recordings, you will need to follow the steps described above.

The expired recording is usually deleted after one day and the owner will receive an email notifying them. The deleted recording will remain in the Recycle Bin for 90 days. If you choose to recover the recording, it will no longer have an expiration date.

Recordings can also be deleted early, unless you must meet certain recording deletion requirements. Additionally, you can download recordings or move them to another platform for longer storage if your organizer enables this option.

Additional FAQs

What happens if I forget to stop recording at the end of a Teams meeting?

If you forget to press the “Stop” button once the meeting ends, the recording should stop automatically and will be saved to the meeting chat or OneDrive. If someone forgets to leave the meeting, the recording will automatically end after four hours.

Can you recover a meeting if you forgot to record it?

Unfortunately, Microsoft Teams doesn’t store your meetings unless you’ve hit the record button. You cannot access a session that has not been recorded by the participants, as it is against the privacy of the users.

Who can view Teams meeting recordings?

Meeting participants can automatically view the recording without download or share options. Guests will only be able to view the recording if the host allows it.

Can you transcribe Teams meeting recordings?

You will be able to see the transcription of the recording if the organizers allow it. To enable meeting transcription:

1. Go to “Meetings”.

2. Select “Meeting Policies” and “Recording and Transcription.”

3. Activate the “Transcription” button.

Automatic recording for your peace of mind

Recording meetings automatically is a useful feature when you have a lot on your plate and tend to forget these details. By following the instructions in this article, you can set up automatic recording for inpidual meetings once you create them. Rest assured that valuable information on your computer will be stored for revisiting and review later.

Have you already tried automatically recording a Teams meeting? Did you use any of the tips in this article? Tell us in the comments below.