In this article, we will discuss how to Uninstall and prevent the re-installation of Microsoft Teams on Windows. Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based team collaboration program that is included in the Office Software App 365 and Office 365 suites of apps. Office Software App key functions include messaging, calling, video meetings, and file sharing. Teams can be used by individuals and businesses of various sizes. Please see How to import your Chrome or Firefox passwords into your iCloud Keychain, and how to install Microsoft Teams on a macOS.
However, you can uninstall Office Software App if you prefer your other open-source alternatives like Slack and the rest. If you’re not removing Office Software App to make room for other apps, but rather to troubleshoot its faults, you can see our detailed guide on how to Fix Microsoft Teams White Screen to help you troubleshoot better before deciding to uninstall it.
Unfortunately, Microsoft Teams can automatically reinstall itself if not entirely removed. Office Software App comes with multiple items to uninstall and requires specific actions to ensure it doesn’t come back. Seeing Office Software App make a return can be frustrating to experience.
Also, see How to schedule and join meetings with Microsoft Teams, and how to reset and reinstall Windows 10 locally. See how to reinstall Server Manager and disable Server Manager at startup for all users and login users.
Reasons Why Microsoft Teams Keep Reinstalling
The reason Microsoft Teams continues reinstalling is simple: it was never entirely removed in the first place. This can occur with certain Office Software App installations, particularly when it is packaged and deployed as part of an organization-wide Office subscription.
If this is the case, Microsoft Teams will come with two pieces of software installed. The first, Microsoft Teams, is what most people will search for and remove.
The second, Office Software App Machine-Wide installer, is software that is used in Microsoft Office enterprise deployments to automatically install Office Software App across multiple PCs. If you have the Office Software App Machine-Wide Installer installed, Microsoft Teams may continue to install even after you have uninstalled it.
If you wish to prevent Office Software App from reinstalling, you must delete this when you uninstall it.
How to Uninstall Microsoft Teams using Windows Settings
Follow the steps below to uninstall Microsoft Teams requires via the windows Settings menu.
Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings menu. Under settings, click Apps and select Apps & features from the right pane.
Search for Teams using the Search apps box. If you have the Office Software App Machine-Wide Installer listed, this will appear alongside Microsoft Teams in the list.
You’ll need to remove both Teams and Office Software App Machine-Wide Installer using this menu. Click on the Microsoft Teams option first, then press the Uninstall button.
Following the completion of the process, Office Software App will uninstall automatically. Once this process is complete, repeat the steps above for the Teams Machine-Wide Installer. Select the option, then press Uninstall > Uninstall to remove it.
The Teams Machine-Wide Installer will be deleted within a few seconds. After that, Office Software Apps should be totally gone, and you should not see it again until you manually reinstall it.
Once the Office Software App Machine-Wide Installer has been uninstalled, Microsoft Teams should stop installing itself. If it keeps reinstalling itself, you may need to clean up and remove any extra configuration files.
You can also use a registry entry to prevent Office Software App from installing on PCs where it has been installed as part of an organizational deployment, albeit this may only work for specific users.
Please see the following related guides: How to install and activate Office 2019 on your Mac PC, How to Cancel Office 365 Family Subscription, and how to complete Microsoft Office 365 Family Subscription,
Remove Office Software App configuration folder
Open File Explorer then copy and paste this %localappdata%\Microsoft\ in the address bar and hit enter. Alternatively, you can press the Windows key + R to open the Run box, then copy and paste this folder path %localappdata%\Microsoft\ and click ok to open the file path.
If a Teams folder exists, right-click and press Delete to remove it.
To stop Microsoft Teams from reinstalling via registry
Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box, type Regedit, then hit OK to do this.
In the Registry Editor enter the path below to search for the Teams registry folder;
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Teams\
If there isn’t a PreventInstallationFromMsi key in place, you’ll need to create one. Right-click and press New > String Value, naming the string PreventInstallationFromMsi once inserted.
Double-click the string you created and give it a value of 1, then press OK to save. You can close the Registry Editor at this point.
You may want to see how do you change the account that Office says it belongs to on a Mac, and how to remove Microsoft Outlook, Teams, Words PowerPoint, and Excel apps from Mac.
Conclusion
While removing Microsoft Office Software App is simple, preventing it from reinstalling or being installed in the first place requires additional procedures.
Administrators and desktop support workers must know the various components and situations to maintain control over their Microsoft Teams client deployments.
I hope you found this article useful on how to Uninstall and prevent the installation of Teams on Windows. Please feel free to leave a comment below.