You won’t believe that Microsoft Teams has existed 7 years without this simple feature

You won't believe that Microsoft Teams has existed 7 years without this simple feature

What you need to know

  • Microsoft Teams will soon let you rename the General channel within a team.
  • Every team within the app has a General channel that cannot be archived or deleted.
  • Despite launching seven years ago, Teams has lacked the option to rename the General channel.
  • The new option is available now for members of the Teams Public Preview or Microsoft 365 Targeted release on the new Teams for Windows or macOS.

As a long-time user of Microsoft Teams, I’ve witnessed its evolution from a promising newcomer to a dominant force in the world of collaboration tools. With hundreds of millions of users and countless features under its belt, it’s safe to say that Teams has come a long way. However, there have always been a few quirks here and there that have left me scratching my head.


In about seven years since its introduction, Microsoft Teams is set to allow users to rename the default ‘General’ channel within a team. Prior to this update, users didn’t have the option to rename the General channel. However, the feature is now under final testing and can be tested by members of the Teams Public Preview or Microsoft 365 Targeted release on the new Teams for Windows or macOS.

In any given team on a platform like Microsoft Teams, there’s an essential channel called the General channel that cannot be deleted or renamed. By default, all team members are assigned to this channel. It might seem strange that this versatile platform doesn’t offer the ability to rename the General channel. However, this feature is soon to be added.

Microsoft announced that users requested the ability to rename the default channel to a more suitable title. In response, they’ve enabled this feature for the channel’s owners. The renamed General channel will now appear in alphabetical order among other channels in the team and channel lists for every member.

Channel administrators have the ability to rename the main channel either by clicking on the “More options” button within that channel or via the “Channel management” settings page. It’s worth noting that once you’ve renamed it, you won’t be able to restore its original name of “General” in future changes.

A strange omission

Introduced back in 2017, Microsoft Teams has undergone significant growth since then and now boasts hundreds of millions of active users. Despite receiving its fair share of criticism, I find that overall, it serves as an efficient means for collaboration within a team and facilitating workflow.

During Microsoft Teams’ initial stages, certain lacking features might have been tolerable or even anticipated, based on one’s point of view. However, as the platform was thrust into the global spotlight during the pandemic, it was expected to adapt swiftly to increasing demands. Keep in mind that Teams was barely a few years old when millions of people suddenly had to work and learn remotely due to the pandemic.

From its inception, Microsoft has continually updated Teams with numerous features and improvements, making it somewhat surprising when basic functions are absent, like the option to rename the main channel within a team. While there may be other crucial aspects needing attention, such as separating Teams from Office 365, one might expect this particular feature to have been addressed earlier.

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2024-08-14 15:40