How to Create a Teams Call Queue in Microsoft 365

What Is a Teams Call Queue and Why Use One?

Call queues in Microsoft Teams direct callers to individuals in your organization who can assist with specific issues or questions. Calls are distributed one by one to the people in the queue, who are known as agents.

Teams call queues offer:

• A greeting message.
• Music while people are on hold in a queue.
• Call routing in First In, First Out (FIFO) order to agents.
• Options to handle queue overflow and timeout.

Below, we explain two methods for creating a Teams call queue:

Method 1: Create a Teams Call Queue Using PowerShell

Prerequisites: Required Modules, Roles, and Licenses

• Required PowerShell modules: ‍
• MicrosoftTeams (latest version recommended) ‍
• AzureAD (or migrating to Microsoft Graph modules where possible) ‍
• Tenant administrator rights for your Microsoft 365 environment. ‍
• Microsoft Teams Phone licenses purchased and assigned. ‍
• Pre-created agents, distribution lists, and Teams channels for use in your call queue (if needed).

Authenticate to Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Entra ID

Use modern authentication for secure access to Teams and Entra ID:

Connect-MicrosoftTeams
Connect-AzureAD

Note: If you are moving to Microsoft Graph modules, see getting started with Microsoft Graph PowerShell.

Prepare Audio Files for Greetings and Hold Music

To upload custom music or greeting audio, ensure your audio files are mono, PCM, and either 8 or 16 kHz in .wav format (required by Teams). Replace d:\ in the sample path as needed:

$content = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('d:\sales-hold-in-queue-music.wav')
$audioFileSalesHoldInQueueMusicID = (
  Import-CsOnlineAudioFile -ApplicationID HuntGroup `
  -FileName "sales-hold-in-queue-music.wav" `
  -Content $content
).ID

Retrieve Agent User IDs for the Call Queue

Obtain the Teams identities of your intended queue agents:

$userAdeleID = (Get-CsOnlineUser -Identity "sip:adele@contoso.com").Identity
$userSalesBillID = (Get-CsOnlineUser -Identity "sip:bill@contoso.com").Identity
$userSalesMaryID = (Get-CsOnlineUser -Identity "sip:mary@contoso.com").Identity

Create and Configure the Teams Call Queue with PowerShell

New-CsCallQueue -Name "Sales" -AgentAlertTime 15 -AllowOptOut $true `
  -MusicOnHoldAudioFileID $audioFileSalesHoldInQueueMusicID `
  -OverflowAction Forward -OverflowActionTarget $userAdeleID `
  -OverflowThreshold 200 -TimeoutAction Forward -TimeoutActionTarget $userAdeleID `
  -TimeoutThreshold 120 -RoutingMethod Attendant -ConferenceMode $true `
  -Agents @($userSalesBillID, $userSalesMaryID) -LanguageID "en-US"

For more details, refer to Microsoft’s official call queue PowerShell documentation.

Method 2: Create a Teams Call Queue Through CoreView

• Navigate to the CoreView app.
• Under “Actions”, select “Management actions”.  
• Under the Filter assistant, choose “Teams” and then select “Create Teams call queue”.

Let's take a detailed look at all the steps you'll need to complete in the wizard:  

Step 1: General Configuration - Name, Resource Account, Language

In this section, you will have to fill out the following fields:

• Name: give an appropriate name to your Call Queue ‍
• Resource account: in Microsoft Teams, a resource account is required for each auto attendant or call queue.  ‍
• Language: choose as per your requirement.

Resource Accounts are special Entra ID objects (you can think of them as Microsoft 365 User Accounts) that can only be created from the Teams Admin Center or via Teams PowerShell. You can't create these accounts in Microsoft 365 Admin or Entra ID. For more details, please refer to the Manage resource accounts for service numbers Microsoft article.

Step 2: Add a Greeting - Message or Audio File

In this section, you can choose one of the following:

• No greeting ‍
• Play an audio file: upload a file to play (supported formats include .wav, .mp3, or .wma). ‍
• Greeting message: add a text-to-speech greeting message.  

Step 3: Set Hold Music for Callers in Queue

This is the music that plays for people while they're on hold. You can either use the default music provided with the call queue, or you can upload a custom .wav, .mp3, or .wma audio file to use as your on-hold music.

Step 4: Add Call Agents and Set Routing

Here, you can add the users and groups who will serve as call agents and receive calls from the call queue. The service will prioritize the users in the list first, followed by the groups. The order of users and distribution groups will be respected by the service, depending on the routing type you choose.

Key terminologies

• Conference mode: this mode reduces the amount of time it takes for a caller to be connected to an agent after the agent accepts the call. ‍
• Attendant: with attendant routing, the first call in the queue will ring all of the call agents at the same time. The first call agent to pick up the call gets the call. ‍
• Serial: with serial routing, incoming calls will ring call agents one by one. starting from the beginning of the call agent list. ‍
• Round robin: With round robin routing, each call agent will get the same number of calls from the queue. ‍
• Longest idle: if you select “Longest idle” for the agent routing method, presence-based routing will be automatically enabled. ‍
• Presence-based routing: this method uses the availability status of call agents to determine whether an agent should be included in the call routing list for the selected routing method.

Step 5: Configure Call Overflow Rules

Here, you can set the maximum number of calls that can be in the queue at once, based on your needs. The limit is 220 calls. Once the maximum number is reached, any additional calls will either be disconnected or redirected, depending on your selection below.

Step 6: Set Call Queue Timeout Actions

Here, you can set the maximum wait time. You can also decide if the call will be disconnected or forwarded once this time limit is reached.

Step 7: Manage Calls When No Agents Are Available

Here, you have the power to queue, disconnect, or redirect calls when all agents are away. Use the toggle at the top of the tab to apply settings to new incoming calls only.

Step 8: Add Authorized Users for Call Queue Management

Here, you can specify the users who are authorized to make changes to this Auto attendant.

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