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How to Uninstall and Remove Microsoft Teams Application

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform that combines workplace chat, meetings, notes, and attachments. While it can be very useful for productivity and communication, you may wish to uninstall it if you no longer need it or want to free up space on your device. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to fully uninstall and remove Microsoft Teams from Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.

Uninstalling Teams on Windows

To completely uninstall Teams on Windows, you need to remove both the main Teams application and the Teams Machine-Wide Installer:

  1. Quit Teams: Right-click the Teams icon in the taskbar and select Close Window.
  2. Open Apps & Features: Click the Start button > Settings > Apps > Apps & Features.
  3. Uninstall Teams: In the search box, type “Teams” and select Microsoft Teams > Uninstall > Uninstall to confirm.
  4. Uninstall Machine-Wide Installer: Search for Teams Machine-Wide Installer and select Uninstall. Confirm again.

After uninstalling, delete any remaining Teams folders:

  • %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams
  • %localappdata%\Microsoft\Teams
  • %programdata%\Microsoft\Teams

You may also need to delete registry keys related to Teams under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.

Uninstalling Teams on Mac

To fully remove Teams on Mac:

  1. Quit Teams: Right-click the Teams app icon in the Dock and select Force Quit.
  2. Delete App: In Finder, go to Applications and move Microsoft Teams to Trash.
  3. Empty Cache Files: Go to ~/Library/Caches and delete com.microsoft.teams and com.microsoft.teams.shipit.
  4. Remove Data: Go to ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft and delete the Teams folder.
  5. Empty Trash to fully delete the app and associated files.

Uninstalling Teams on iPhone/iPad

To uninstall Teams from an iPhone or iPad:

  1. Find the App: Go to the Home Screen and long press the Microsoft Teams app icon.
  2. Delete App: Tap Remove App > Delete App to confirm.

Teams data stored in iCloud Drive can be manually deleted through the Files app if desired.

Uninstalling Teams on Android

To uninstall Teams from an Android device:

  1. Open App Info: Long press the Teams app icon and tap App Info.
  2. Clear Data: Go to Storage & Cache > Clear Cache and Clear Data.
  3. Uninstall: Tap Uninstall > OK to confirm.

After uninstalling, check device storage for any remaining Teams folders and delete them.

Performing a Clean Reinstallation of Teams

After completely removing Teams, you can reinstall a clean version if still needed:

  • Windows: Download the Teams installer again from teams.microsoft.com
  • Mac: Download the Teams installer from Microsoft or the App Store
  • Mobile: Redownload the Teams app from the App Store / Play Store

A clean install can resolve many issues caused by corrupted files or caches from the old version.

Uninstalling Teams as an Admin

As an Office 365 or Teams admin, you can use group policy and PowerShell scripts to uninstall Teams from multiple devices in an organization. Key options include:

  • Remove the Teams installers from the Office Deployment Tool
  • Use a script to remove Teams via Active Directory
  • Disable auto-start so Teams does not launch at login

Admins can also block end users from reinstalling Teams after uninstallation.

Alternative Collaboration Apps

If removing Teams, consider alternative collaboration apps with similar features:

  • Slack: Team chat and workflows
  • Zoom: Video meetings and conference calls
  • Google Workspace: Document editing, storage, video meetings
  • Asana: Project management and task tracking

Evaluate your specific business needs to determine if other apps may better suit your requirements.

Conclusion

Uninstalling Microsoft Teams fully requires removing both the main application and the machine-wide installer component on Windows devices especially. Manually deleting leftover folders and clearing cache/data will complete the cleanup after uninstallation. Performing a fresh reinstall can often resolve lingering issues when still needing to use Teams. As an admin, group policies and scripts allow controlling Teams deployments across organizations.

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