Microsoft Teams: Consolidated Channels and Chats View Rollback

Overview

Microsoft Teams introduced a Consolidated Channels and Chats View to streamline user experience by displaying both chats and channels in a single list. However, this change was later rolled back, returning to the traditional separation of Chats and Teams Channels in the left-hand navigation.

This article explains the initial change, the rollback, and how users can adjust their workflow accordingly.

What Was the Consolidated Channels and Chats View?

The new experience, originally announced on the Microsoft Teams Adoption page, aimed to:

Merge chats and channels into one list for better visibility.
Improve navigation efficiency by reducing context switching.
Allow customization for prioritizing conversations.

This feature was part of Teams 2.0 and was intended to help users manage multiple conversations in a more unified way.

Why Was It Rolled Back?

Microsoft decided to revert the consolidated view due to:

User feedback indicating that the change was disruptive to workflows.
Confusion about channel visibility, as some users found it harder to distinguish between chats and team discussions.
Adoption challenges, where organizations preferred the traditional layout.
Performance considerations, as Teams continues to optimize its new version.

While some users found the feature useful, Microsoft has decided to maintain the separation of Chats and Teams Channels in the interface.

Current Teams Navigation Experience

Following the rollback, Microsoft Teams now displays:

Chats in a dedicated section on the left sidebar.
Teams and Channels separately, requiring users to switch between the two views.
The ability to pin important chats or channels for quick access.

How to Optimize Navigation in Teams

Although the unified view is no longer available, users can:

Pin frequent channels under the "Teams" section.
Use the search bar (Ctrl + E) to quickly find conversations.
Enable notifications for key channels to stay updated.

Future Developments

Microsoft is continuously evolving Teams, and future updates may reintroduce a similar experience with improvements. Users can check the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for upcoming features.

For further assistance, reach out to IT Support or refer to Microsoft Teams User Guide on the intranet.

03/05/2025