Microsoft adjusts Microsoft Teams service quality to compensate for unprecedented demand

Microsoft has seen a more than 500% increase in the usage of Microsoft Teams, and we reported this morning that the service has become somewhat wonky, with users for example not able to message each other.

Now Microsoft has responded by reducing the quality of service of some of the elements of the app, and thereby also reducing the load Microsoft Teams places on Microsoft’s cloud.

In particular, Microsoft is adjusting:

• how often they check for presence
• the interval in which they  show when the other party is typing
• video resolution

The first two may make the app appear somewhat less responsive and real-time, and the later may obviously affect video quality, but Microsoft says they do not expect the changes to have a significant impact on end-user experience and they also expect to reverse the changes when they are no longer needed.