Others

How to Fix Microsoft Teams Cannot Make Outgoing External Calls

Bushra Parveen Oct 20, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users are able to receive incoming calls in Microsoft Teams but cannot place outgoing calls to contacts or numbers outside their organization.

How to Fix Microsoft Teams Cannot Make Outgoing External Calls

Product: Microsoft Teams
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to communicate with external parties, commonly experienced after a migration to Microsoft Teams for Education.
Observed behavior: Incoming internal and external calls work normally, but all attempts to initiate outgoing calls to external domains fail.

Before you start

Confirm the exact date the issue started and try placing an external call from both the Teams desktop application and the Teams web browser version to rule out local software glitches.

Solution 1Recommended

Verify Calling Plan and External Access Settings

Since outgoing external calls are controlled by organizational policies and licensing, your Microsoft 365 administrator must verify your account permissions.

In Microsoft 365, the ability to call phone numbers or users outside your directory is not enabled by default for all license types. It requires a specific Calling Plan and proper external access configurations in the Teams admin center.

Test across platforms

Log into Teams on the web (teams.microsoft.com) and attempt the outgoing call. If it fails there as well, the issue is account-based.

Check Microsoft 365 licensing

Ask your organization's IT administrator to log into the Microsoft 365 admin center and verify that your specific user account has an active and appropriate 'Calling Plan' license assigned.

Review external access settings

The administrator must open the Teams admin center, navigate to the organizational settings, click on 'External access', and verify that communication with external domains is toggled on.

Report hardware specifics

If the problem persists after permissions are confirmed, provide your administrator with your specific desk phone model (if applicable) and screenshots of any error messages to escalate to Microsoft Support.

Verify Calling Plan and External Access Settings

Administrator Rights Required: Standard users cannot change calling plans or external access configurations. You must contact your IT department or Microsoft 365 global administrator to perform these steps.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Enhance Your Daily Productivity with WPS Office

While resolving Microsoft Teams communication issues, you might also be seeking a lightweight and cost-effective solution for your documents. WPS Office is a powerful, free alternative to Microsoft Office, offering complete compatibility and a familiar interface for seamless migration.

1. Download the Installer: Visit the official WPS Office website and download the free installation package for your operating system.
2. Install WPS Office: Run the downloaded installer and follow the quick on-screen instructions to set up the software.
3. Open Your Documents: Launch WPS Office to instantly open, edit, and save your existing Microsoft Office files without losing any formatting.

Keep your team collaboration flowing smoothly by sharing standard document formats over Teams.Highly compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file formats.Completely free and lightweight, taking up minimal system resources.Familiar tabbed user interface ensures a zero-learning-curve migration experience.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can I receive calls in Teams but not make them to external numbers?

This usually indicates that your account lacks an active Calling Plan license, or your organization's IT department has disabled outbound calling to external domains in the Teams admin center for security or billing reasons.

Does moving to Teams for Education affect my external calling capabilities?

Yes. When migrating to Microsoft Teams for Education, default security policies are often stricter to protect students. Administrators typically need to manually re-enable external communication and reassign appropriate calling licenses.

How can I tell if the outgoing call issue is a problem with the Teams app or my account?

You can isolate the issue by logging into the Microsoft Teams web app via a browser. If you still cannot make external calls from the web version, the restriction is tied to your account settings or licenses rather than a local app bug.

Office Quick Solutions