A fully configured SMS user can send a message in various ways. It can be done via the SMS App and by invoking the SMS Smart Composer by pinning the widget or clicking the “Respond to Message” button.

1. SMS App—Each user must add the SMS app within Microsoft Teams. Click the "..." icon from the sidebar. The new app should appear at the top of the suggested list. 

See -  How to Send SMS and MMS from the Application for step-by-step instructions.

2. SMS Smart Composer—Invoke the SMS Smart Composer by Pinning the widget, clicking “Respond to Message,” and using the @ from the chat screen.

See -  How to Send SMS and MMS from the SMS Composer for step-by-step instructions.

a. Pinning the widget.

b. By clicking “Respond to Message”

 

 

c. Using the @ from the chat screen – Note: this can only be done in a Channel associated with the other party’s SMS phone number.

New Message Notifications

Users are notified when the Microsoft Teams Activity Feed sends new SMS and MMS messages.

Here is a new message notification shown in the Microsoft Teams desktop app.

The Microsoft Teams app shows A new message notification on an iOS mobile device. 

How SMS Conversations are Presented

Starting July 16, 2023, SMS/MMS messages to and from a mobile number are grouped together in a single chat conversation within the channel dedicated to the mobile number. 

a. Clicking the “Respond to Message” button to send an SMS/MMS to the mobile subscriber. The SMS/MMS sent will be appended to this conversation thread.

b. Clicking the Teams “Reply” action will add a conversation at the button. The message sent by Reply is a normal Teams chat and will not be sent as an SMS message. If the SMS number is shared by a group of Teams users, this could be used to send an internal message to all team members.

c. Clicking the “New conversation”  button will create a new card in this channel. If a group of Teams users shares the SMS number, this card could be used to send an internal message to all team members.

Tip -  Pin the card representing the SMS/MMS linked conversations for easier access to it when the normal chat messages grows in quantity.

For a better experience, the team name may be renamed. Follow this guide on renaming an SMS team: Renaming and Restoring Deleted SMS Teams and Channels. It is important not to delete a team dedicated to SMS because it will cause the delivery of SMS messages to the intended user to fail^. The above-mentioned help page also discusses restoring an SMS team if it is deleted.