What are Microsoft Teams Certified Headsets?

About Microsoft Teams Certified Headsets

Microsoft Teams Certified headsets are advertised everywhere… but what does it actually mean? And how do you know if Teams Certified is best choice for you?

In this article we will take a look at the Microsoft Teams Certification for headsets in order to explain what being certified means and how it differs from other options on the market.

Microsoft Certified Vs Other Headsets

Whilst sometimes confusing for users, the main difference between Microsoft Teams Certified headsets and other headsets is that Teams Certified devices offer additional features and functionality that are beneficial specifically for MS Teams users.

To qualify as Teams Certified headsets must meet strict guidelines specified by Microsoft for audio performance and noise cancellation. Teams certified devices will also often feature a dedicated Teams control button that enables users to interact with the application. This control button can be used to bring Teams to the forefront of the PC screen, quickly join meetings, answer calls and more.

Teams Certified devices will also automatically configure to be set as your default audio device when plugged in. This feature allows you to be up and running in seconds and removes the need to manually assign a default device for your speaker and microphone settings.

Physical Differences

With the exception of the MS Teams button on some headset models, there are no real difference in the physical features of a Teams Certified headset when compared to similar headsets like UC (Unified Communications) variants.

For years manufacturers have been making 2 models of the same headset and labelling one as standard (or UC version) and the other as Microsoft Certified. At most, on UC versions there will be a generic action button in place of the Teams specific action button found on certified versions.

Upgrading to Teams Certified Via Firmware

In some cases, non-Teams Certified headsets can be updated via firmware to become Teams Certified. This often occurs with older headsets which can be upgraded to make the existing call control buttons usable with Teams. To qualify for an upgrade via firmware headsets will still have to meet all the standards a brand-new certified headset is required to meet.

We also want to say that headset certification with microsoft is not essential for a headset to work on Microsoft Teams. It is important to understand that ANY USB headset will work on Microsoft Teams just as they would when connected to your PC in a "non MS Teams" environment". A headset does not need to be teams Certified for Teams to function well with the application. Most of the time a regular USB headset can be plugged in, set up and used with Microsoft Teams to do a good job.

This advice also applies to the UC Headset Variants which are often offered alongside Teams Certified devices. These UC headsets will work with teams as well as being compatible with other UC software, but they wont normally offer as much functionality in Microsoft Teams as a Certified headset will.