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One of the most annoying little bugs in Microsoft Teams should be fixed soon thanks to a new update.
The video conferencing service has long allowed users to “raise their hand” during a conversation if they want to interrupt or offer something to the conversation, without interrupting the speaker.
However, if the “raised hand” during a Microsoft Teams call is not addressed correctly, it will remain raised until the end of the meeting, which could become a potential nightmare for those trying to keep track of who spoke when and who is still waiting their turn .
Microsoft Teams raises hand
But now those of us who keep their Microsoft Teams meetings orderly can relax, as the company is working on a new feature that will automatically lower a user’s raised hand after they speak.
In the future, the program may suggest users lower their raised hand after Teams detects they’ve spoken in the meeting.
If the user takes no action on the suggestion notification, Teams will automatically lower their hand after a certain amount of time. They can also choose to raise their hand, for example if they have a follow-up question.
In his update to the official Microsoft 365 roadmap (opens in new tab)Microsoft says the move will reduce the number of “stale” hands raised in meetings, noting that it “should provide smoother meeting facilitation for organizers and presenters.”
The update is still listed as “in development” for now, with an expected availability date of March 2023, so users won’t have long to wait. Upon release, the feature will initially be available to both Mac and Windows desktop users.
The news could be especially helpful for those in conversations with a large number of participants, especially given that Microsoft Teams recently revealed it’s working on an “Interactive Large Gallery” upgrade, which means your conversations will now have feeds from will include even more people – allowing users to watch up to 49 video participants at a time.