Disabling Auto-Start for the New Microsoft Teams

Two years ago, I wrote an article on how to disable or enable the auto-start feature of the classic Microsoft Teams application on Windows devices using Group Policy (GPO). For more details, please refer to my previous post: How to Disable or Enable Auto-Start of Teams Application Using GPO.

With the release of the new Microsoft Teams, many of my blog readers have asked how to disable the auto-start feature for this updated version. Since the methods used for the classic Teams no longer apply, this blog post explores various options for managing auto-start with the new Teams.

Managing Auto-Start for the New Microsoft Teams:

In newer versions of Teams, which default to auto-start, startup behavior can be managed through the following methods:

1. In-App Settings
   • Open the Teams app.
   • Go to Settings.
   • Under the General tab, find and disable the "Auto-start Teams" option.
   • 
2. Windows Settings
   • Open Settings (Win key + I).
   • Navigate to Apps -> Startup.
   • Toggle Microsoft Teams to disable it from starting automatically.
   •          
3. Task Manager
   • Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager, or press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
   • Go to the Startup tab.
   • Find Microsoft Teams, right-click it, and select Disable.
   • 

Enterprise-Wide Management

For enterprise environments, you can use Group Policy (GPO) or SCCM or Intune to deploy settings across devices.

Finding the Registry Key:

To disable the auto-start feature of the new Teams, you’ll need to modify the following registry key (New teams auto start is located in the following):

HKCU\Software\Classes\LocalSettings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\SystemAppData\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TeamsTfwStartupTask

Scripting for Deployment

You can script the deployment of these settings using Intune or Group Policy (follow the previous blog post for registry key reference https://eskonr.com/2018/11/how-to-disable-or-enable-auto-start-of-teams-application-using-gpo/) . Here’s a brief overview of how to approach this:

Script for Intune Deployment

• Detection Script: Identifies if the new Teams auto-start setting is enabled.
• Remediation Script: Disables auto-start by modifying the registry key.

Download the remediation scripts (Remediation_AutoStartNewTeams.zip) from the GitHub repository.

When you upload the scripts to remediation, make sure  “Run this script using the logged-on credential” is set to Yes.

Example Detection Script:

Example Remediation Script:

User-Level vs. Device-Level Scripting

1. • User-Level Script: Runs with user permissions to modify the registry for the currently logged-on user. Ideal if multiple users are on the same device.
   • Device-Level Script: Runs with system-level permissions and iterates through each user profile on the device to modify settings.

In this blog post, we focused on the user-level script to adjust the registry settings for the logged-on user.

End-User Experience:

Before Script Execution:

After Script Execution:

Verify that in Settings -> Startup, the auto-start for Teams should now be disabled.

Notes:

• This script targets the current user’s registry settings (HKEY_CURRENT_USER). For multiple users on the same device, additional logic is required to handle different user profiles.
• Ensure the script is thoroughly tested in a controlled environment before deploying it broadly in a production environment.