Estimated Time to Fix: 3 minutes

Summary

This article provides solutions for when you click a Microsoft Teams meeting link and it fails to launch the app, gets stuck on a loading screen, or opens an error page.

Symptoms

• You click a "Join Microsoft Teams Meeting" link in an email or calendar invite, and nothing happens.
• A web page opens but gets stuck on "Initializing..." or "Connecting...".
• The browser asks you to open the Teams app, but clicking "Open" fails to launch it.

Before You Start

• None required.

Instructions

1. Join via the Web Browser Instead

The browser route gets you into the meeting now, and you can sort out the app afterwards.

1. If the desktop app refuses to open, you can bypass it entirely by using your browser.
2. Right-click the Teams meeting link and select Copy link.
3. Open a new window in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome (Safari is not fully supported for Teams web meetings).
4. Paste the link into the address bar and press Enter.
5. When prompted to open the Teams app, click Cancel.
6. Click the button that says Continue on this browser.
7. Enter your name and click Join now.
8. If the browser tab sits on "Initializing..." or no Continue on this browser button ever appears, the link is not reaching the meeting at all. Continue to Step 2.

2. Join Using the Meeting ID and Passcode

Every invite carries a meeting ID, and it works when the link itself does not.

1. Look closely at the meeting invitation. Below the "Join Microsoft Teams Meeting" link, there should be a Meeting ID and a Passcode.
2. Open the Microsoft Teams desktop app.
3. Click the Calendar icon on the left sidebar.
4. In the top right corner, click Join with an ID.
5. Type or paste the Meeting ID and Passcode exactly as they appear in the invite, then click Join.
6. If the ID gets you into the meeting but clicked links keep failing to open the app, the handoff from your browser to Teams is broken rather than the invite. Continue to Step 3.

3. Clear the Teams Cache

A corrupted cache is the usual reason links stop handing off to the desktop app.

1. If links consistently fail to open the app, your Teams cache might be corrupted.
2. Completely quit Microsoft Teams by right-clicking the Teams icon in your taskbar (near the clock) and selecting Quit.
3. Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
4. Type %localappdata%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache (for New Teams) and press Enter.
5. Delete all the files in this folder.
6. Restart Microsoft Teams.
7. If links still open a browser page instead of the app once the cache has rebuilt, raise a ticket with the meeting link you were sent, the browser you clicked it in, and whether Join with an ID works for that same meeting.

4. Verify Success

Click a meeting link and confirm it opens Teams at the pre-join screen.

1. Click a Teams meeting link and verify that it properly triggers the app to open and brings you to the pre-join screen.

Troubleshooting

WARNING

If you are trying to join a meeting hosted by an external company, their IT department may have strict policies that prevent guest users from joining. You may need to ask the host to admit you manually or check their settings.

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
"When the meeting starts, we'll let people know you're waiting"	You are in the lobby	You successfully joined, but the meeting organizer has placed you in a virtual waiting room. You must wait for them to admit you.
The link opens a completely different meeting	Stale link	Ensure the organizer didn't accidentally copy an old meeting link. Ask them to send a fresh invite.

Related Articles

• How to Add or Remove a Teams Meeting from an Outlook Invite

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