Google Urges Everyone to Update Microsoft Teams on Android

As an old version of the app could block 911 calls

A compatibility problem that was discovered late last year and which impacted Microsoft Teams and Android caused some devices to no longer be able to dial emergency numbers, such as 911.

The issue was obviously treated with maximum urgency by Microsoft and Google, so the Redmond-based software giant came up with a software update shortly after the glitch was acknowledged.

Needless to say, the software update was published on the Google Play Store, but on the other hand, not everybody installed it. And this is quite a worrying problem, as sticking with the old version of Microsoft Teams could block emergency calling on some devices.

Google has therefore decided to start emailing users whose devices are still running an old version of Microsoft Teams (and which most likely have automatic updates set to off because otherwise, they would already be on the latest version of the app in the first place).

Update Microsoft Teams right here and now

An email that’s now landing in the inbox of these users prompts them to install the new Microsoft Teams app from the Google Play store as soon as possible.

“You may have a version of the Microsoft Teams app installed on an Android device that may unintentionally prevent emergency calling (e.g. 911, 999, 112, etc. depending on your region) when you are not logged into the app. The issue is caused by an unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system. Please visit the Google Play Store and update to the latest version of Microsoft Teams immediately,” Google says.

“For more information on this issue, please refer to this Help Center Article. If you have updated the Microsoft Teams app after December 10, 2021, you can ignore this email.”

At this point, it’s not yet known how many devices are still running the old version of Microsoft Teams on Android.