How to Fix Polls Not Working in Teams Chat

Polls in Teams help gather diverse information and make informed decisions. However, there have been reports that the Polls feature stopped working on the Windows version of Microsoft Teams. When this occurs, the feature can either return a generic error or a network one.

You won’t be able to create or join polls in Teams (personal or business). Polls may disappear, and result viewing could fail in Chats, Channels, Calls, and Meetings.

Before you beging troubleshooting please ensure that

• Teams servers are up and running.
• A form (Poll is a type of Form) in Teams can have up to 50,000 responses. Make sure this limit is not reached.

First, we will attempt to enable polls using various system options. If unsuccessful, we will then explore editing Teams’ organizational settings.

1. Update the Teams Client and PC’s Windows to the Latest Builds

Update both the Teams Client and Windows on your PC to the latest builds. Teams relies on Windows communication modules for internet communication. Outdated Windows can cause compatibility issues with Teams, including the Polls problem. Updating Windows to the latest build will resolve this issue.

Update Windows

1. Right-click Windows and navigate to Settings > Windows Update.
2. In the right pane, click on Check for Updates and install all the available updates.

   

3. Restart the PC and verify if Teams Polls are working properly.

Update the Team’s Client

1. Launch Teams and click on your Profile icon. 
2. Click on Check for Updates and install updates (if available). 

   

3. Once updated, restart the system and check if the issue is resolved.

For desktop users, download and install the latest installer without uninstalling the previous version. Verify if Team Polls are functioning correctly.

2. Log out of Microsoft Teams

If the Team Client’s profile association with Office servers is lost, it can result in authorization failures, causing polls to not work on Windows. To resolve this issue, log out of Microsoft Teams to trigger a fresh profile download.

1. Launch the Teams client and click on your profile icon.
2. Select Sign out and restart the system.

   

3. Launch the Teams client and log into it. See if the Polls are working correctly in Teams.

3. Clear the Cache of the Teams App

If the Teams app’s cache has invalid entries or is damaged, it will fail to perform actions like Polls. To resolve this, clear the app’s cache.

1. Expand the hidden icons of the System Tray and right-click on Teams.
2. Select Quit and press Windows + R keys to open the Run Dialogue box.

   

3. Navigate to the following path:

   %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams

   

4. Delete all the files and folders shown in the Teams directory.

   

5. Restart the system and launch Teams.
6. If asked to, log into it and check if Polls have started to work correctly.

4. Change Meeting Experience in Teams

If you can’t create or use polls in meetings, a bug in the Meeting Experience in Teams may be the cause, which can be resolved by adjusting the Meeting Experience.

1. Launch Teams and click on your profile icon.
2. Go to Settings > General.
3. Disable Turn on New Experience and if it is already disabled, enable it.

   

4. Close the Teams window and restart your system.
5. Launch Teams and check if the Polls issue in meetings is resolved.

5. Create a Poll in a Teams Channel

If you can’t create Polls in Chats, it may be because the team admin has restricted the feature. In that case, creating a Poll in a Teams Channel should work.

1. In the required Channel (you can set up a new one also), go to the Post tab and click on New Conversion.
2. Expand three dots and click on Poll. If the Poll option is not shown, search for it in the search box.

   

3. Click Add and fill out the Polls details. See if it works.

6. Reinstall the Teams App

If the core components of the Teams app are damaged due to an app update issue, reinstalling the Teams client will resolve the issue.

1. Right-click Windows and go to Apps & Features.
2. Locate Teams and expand its Options.
3. Click on Uninstall and confirm to uninstall Teams.

   

4. Once uninstalled, restart your system and reinstall Teams.
5. Launch the app and see if Polls are working correctly in it.
6. If not and the issue is occurring with the desktop version, install the Microsoft Store version and see if that solves the problem. If the issue is on the Store version, you can try the desktop version.

7. Use the Teams Web App

You will not be able to use or create Polls on the Teams client due to a configurational issue. To confirm, use the Teams Web app.

1. Launch a browser (preferably, Edge) and go to the Teams website.
2. Log in using your credentials and select the option of Use the Web App Instead.

   

3. Check if the Polls are working properly in the web app.

If the issue persists in the web app, contact your organization’s administrator. Polls may be disabled at your organization level or your account may lack the necessary privileges for Forms, which can cause the problem. If the problem occurs, it may be due to issues with the desktop app or restrictions from your system’s antivirus or network blocking access to the client’s servers.

How to Enable Polls on the Organization Level

An administrator can follow the steps below to enable Polls on your organization level:

1. Launch a browser (preferably, Edge) and log into the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.
2. Go to Teams and open Polls.
3. Click Enable and wait for a few minutes. Check if the feature is working.

   

Enable Microsoft Forms for the Particular User

The Microsoft Forms access is essential for the Polls operation. If the user account does not have this access, it will not be able to create or use Polls. An administrator can enable it by following the steps below:

1. Launch a browser (preferably, Edge) and go to the Microsoft Admin Center.
2. Log in using your credentials and in the Microsoft 365 Admin, expand Users.
3. Open Active Users and select the name of the problematic user.
4. Open Manage Product Licenses and go to the Licenses and Apps tab.
5. Navigate to the Apps section and checkmark the box of Enable Microsoft Forms for the required user. If it is already enabled, uncheck, and then checkmark it again.

   

6. Wait for a few minutes and check if the problem is solved.
7. If not, enable External Sharing for Forms and verify if that clears the issue.

If the issue is still there, contact Teams Support. Till then, you may use Teams in a browser or use its mobile app.