New Features in Teams and Microsoft 365 | Monthly Updates | University of Twente | Service Portal

Language:

Oktober 2025

Tricks, Treats & Teams-timers

Halloween is just around the corner and who knows what might be lurking on this page... But don’t worry, there are also plenty of clever tricks in Microsoft 365 and sweet treats in Teams. As always, we’ve gathered the most important improvements of the month in one clear overview. Dare to scroll down?

🔃 Microsoft 365: Visual refresh of app icons

What? Microsoft is introducing refreshed Microsoft 365 app icons for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the rest of Microsoft 365 productivity tools. This is a visual-only change; there is no impact to app functionality, user settings, or workflows.

When? Rollout begins in early October 2025 and will roll out in phases across web, desktop, and mobile platforms.

⏲️ Countdown timer for Teams Meetings

What? Keep meetings efficient and on schedule with the new countdown timer in Microsoft Teams. This feature allows any meeting participant to add a visual timer (up to 100 minutes) directly within the meeting window, helping teams manage time effectively without external tools. A meeting participant can open the timer by navigating to the More (three-dot) menu at the top of the screen, can set the timer duration up to 100 minutes, and start the timer.

When? Now available

🎛️ Organizer controls now available in meeting toolbar

What? Organizers and co-organizers now see a new ‘Controls’ button on the meeting toolbar. This gives quick access to key settings like participant management and security options. Need more settings? Click ‘View more options’ at the bottom of the panel.

When? Now available

🎙️ Improved device selection on Microsoft Teams meeting join screen

What? To reduce confusion and last-minute device switching, Microsoft is introducing improved audio device selection on the Microsoft Teams join screen. Users can now confirm and change their microphone, speaker, or headset directly from the join screen, without navigating to separate settings menus.

When? Now available

🪟 Open Teams channels in dedicated windows

What? Microsoft is introducing a new productivity feature in Microsoft Teams: Open Channels in a New Window. This enhancement allows you to detach any channel from the main Teams client and view it in a separate window, supporting better multitasking and focus.

When? Rollout will begin in late October 2025 and is expected to complete by late November 2025.

Microsoft 365 Retirement party
In this edition of “new” features for Microsoft 365, we take a moment to remember several apps that are heading into retirement. They leave behind memories of countless clicks, edits, and let’s be honest, a fair share of frustration. So let’s pause for a brief virtual moment of silence… before we cheer up, because new versions and alternatives are waiting to keep us productive.
📝Reminder: OneNote for Windows 10 End of Support
What?
OneNote for Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. After this date, the app will enter read-only mode. We recommend transitioning to OneNote on Windows (OneNote for Microsoft 365), which is available to download at the following page: Download OneNote for Windows.
When?
OneNote for Windows 10 will end support on October 14, 2025.
📨Reminder: End of support for legacy Outlook for Mac
What?
Like we communicated before on this page, the legacy Outlook for Mac version is reaching end of support. Read more in the following news article: End of Support for Legacy Outlook on macOS.
When?
Support ends after October 2025
💬Microsoft Teams: Send messages to attendees in the meeting lobby
What?
Meeting organizers will be able to send one-way messages to attendees in the meeting lobby using the Lobby chat. The Lobby chat is intended to optimize the lobby experience for all participants, ensuring that organizers are better equipped to run external meetings and external attendees are well informed about the meeting when it begins.
When?
Now available
⏳Microsoft Project Online is retiring in 2026
What?
Are you using the online version of Microsoft Project? Microsoft has announced the retirement of Project Online. Only users with an active Project license within our organization are impacted. This retirement does not impact Project Desktop or Planner. As an alternative, Microsoft recommends switching to Microsoft Planner. More information can be found here: Get started with Microsoft Planner.
When?
Project Online will be retired by the end of September 2026.
Teams Updates You’ll Want to Answer
We’ve rounded up the latest updates coming your way in Teams and Microsoft 365. From a fresh calendar look to handy pop-out features in meetings, there’s plenty to explore this month. And if you hear a little beep during your next call, that’s just Teams making sure you don’t miss a thing.
Scroll through the highlights below and stay ahead of the curve!
📆New calendar layout in Teams

What?
Microsoft is rolling out a new calendar experience in Teams. This update brings several improvements, including a unified calendar with Outlook, enhanced scheduling features, and customizable views, expanded calendar settings and more.
If you prefer the old calendar style, you can easily switch back by turning off the New Calendar toggle in the top-right corner of your calendar.
Check out this article for more information: Get started with the new calendar in Microsoft Teams.
When?
Microsoft will begin rolling out late June 2025 and expect to complete by early July 2025.
💬Pop out Chat and Notes panes in meetings

What?
You will now see a pop-out icon at the top of your Notes and Chat side panes.
Clicking the icon will pop out the pane into a separate window, which you can resize and drag to any position on your screen. This allows you to view multiple meeting elements simultaneously, ensuring you don't miss the chat while keeping an eye on meeting notes.
When?
Now available
📞Call Waiting Beep Enabled on Desktop and Mobile

What?
Call Waiting Beep is a phone feature that provides a less intrusive tone when a user is in a call and a second call comes in to let the user know there is an incoming call when they are busy. A beep tone will play every 5 seconds for the duration of an incoming call ringing.
To enable this experience on Desktop, you must turn on the Setting within the Teams Settings > Notifications and activity > Play sounds while I’m busy or in a meeting. On Teams Mobile app client, Call Waiting Beep is the default experience. When you are in a Teams Call and receive a second incoming call, you will receive this functionality. Call Waiting Beep is on IOS and Android devices.
When?
Now available
⌛Classic Teams End of Availability by July 1, 2025

What?
Starting July 1, 2025, Classic Teams will no longer be available. It's super unlikely you're still using it, but if you are, it's time to switch to the new Teams experience.
When?
July 1, 2025
New Features in Microsoft Teams and OneDrive
Discover the latest updates in Microsoft Teams and OneDrive designed to enhance your productivity. From a streamlined Chat and Channels experience to new PDF export options, these features are set to transform your workflow. Read on to learn more!
The new streamlined Chat and Channels experience

What?
If your Teams Layout is set to List instead of Grid, Microsoft Teams is introducing a new Chat and Channels experience. The biggest change is that the Teams and Chat tabs will be combined.
When?
Expected to release between mid-June and early July 2025.
Microsoft Teams: Enhanced spell checking will support multiple languages

What?
Microsoft has taken quite some time, but spell check is finally available in Teams chat for languages other than English!
When?
Now available 🎉
Microsoft OneDrive: Export files as PDF

What?
In OneDrive, you can now access the Export as PDF command in the three-dot menu or the command bar for files and shared libraries in OneDrive. The following filetypes are supported: Word, Excel, PowerPoint. The Export as PDF command will only appear for supported file types.
When a file is exported as a PDF, the resulting document will be saved in the same parent folder as the original file. For shared files, the new PDF will be created in the root of the user's OneDrive, facilitating easy access and organization.
When?
Now available 🎉
New in Teams: Small Windows, Big Improvements
This month, we’ve got just two updates to share. Your meeting attendance reports now come with a one-year expiration date. Because let's be honest, do you really need to remember who ghosted your 9 AM call from last April?
Also, say hello to resize freedom! Soon, you'll be able to shrink the Teams window and wrangle those side panels however you like. Because nothing says "peak productivity" like adjusting your screen mid-meeting instead of listening.
These updates make Teams more user-friendly and multitasking-ready on Windows 11 and macOS, so you can keep looking busy with style.
Microsoft Teams: Updated retention policy for meeting attendance reports
What? As part of Microsoft’s updates to the attendance report service for Teams meetings, a one-year retention policy is implemented for meeting attendance reports. Meeting attendance reports will be stored for one year after meeting end date to align with the Microsoft privacy policy. Before this rollout, meeting attendance reports did not have a retention policy.
When? Available now
Resize Teams window and slots

What? Soon, you’ll be able to shrink the Teams window to a tiny size, about half of what it used to be. Plus, you can tweak the width of the side panels to suit your style. This update is like a superhero for accessibility, making Teams friendlier for people with low vision. And guess what? Multitasking just got a whole lot smoother, so you can juggle tasks and windows like a pro on Windows 11 and macOS.
When? Rollout will start at the end of March and expect to complete by mid-May 2025.
A New Update Is Here—Can You Feel It?
Microsoft 365 is bringing some Thriller updates your way! Soon, you’ll be able to access Teams meeting chats while sharing your screen, no Bad experience here. Working in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on the web? The improved File menu and easier file renaming will have you saying, You Rock My World. But Mac users, it's time to Remember the Time—legacy Outlook for Mac is History after October 2025. Don’t wait till the last Jam and switch to the latest version now!
💬Microsoft Teams: Access chats while sharing a screen
What? Coming soon to Teams: Microsoft will add a control to the meeting presenter toolbar so presenters can more easily access the meeting chat while sharing a window or a screen. This applies to Teams for Windows desktop and Teams for Mac desktop.
When? Expected to release in mid / late March 2025

📄Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for web: Enhanced File menu and easier file renaming
What? Microsoft 365 Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web now feature an enhanced File menu and more efficient file renaming. These updates aim to simplify file management and address user feedback for ease of use. This will make it easier to create, open, share, export, and manage files. Additionally, you can rename a file by selecting the file name in the title bar near the top of the browser window and entering the new file name.
When? Available now

⏳End of support for legacy Outlook for Mac
What? After October 2025, Microsoft 365 subscriptions associated with a Microsoft 365 account (personal, work, or school) will no longer be able to use legacy Microsoft Outlook for Mac. Make sure to switch to the latest version of Outlook for Mac.
When? Action required by the 31st of October 2025.
When Two Become OneNote
We’re making a slight change in format for this page. From now on, we will not only share interesting changes in Microsoft Teams but also updates for all Microsoft 365 applications. This will spice up your knowledge on the latest features, improvements, and updates across the entire suite of Microsoft 365 apps, all in one place. Say you’ll be there, and we’ll keep you informed.
This month, we have two updates to share with you. We’ll dive into the latest features of the Planner tool in Teams and explore a significant change in OneNote. Don’t miss out on our future updates and tips to enhance your Microsoft 365 experience!
Switch OneNote version before October 14, 2025
What? Are you using Microsoft OneNote on Windows? Then check which version you are using, because Microsoft OneNote for Windows 10 will reach the end of support on October 14, 2025. There’s a high chance you’re using this version, even if your computer has been upgraded to Windows 11. Download and install the right OneNote version to make sure you can keep using it.
When? October 14, 2025

Microsoft Teams: Updated Planner tab experience
What? The Microsoft Teams Planner tab is being updated to include built-in templates for creating plans. To access the built-in templates in the Planner tab in Teams, select Create new plan in the Planner tab. Templates will be below the options to create basic and premium plans from scratch.
When? Now available