Skip to main content

PowerShell Guide: Configure Microsoft Teams for Recording and Downloading Recordings

Make it simple for your team to download meeting recordings and upload them to Contented

Updated this week

Why This Matters

By default, Microsoft Teams makes it difficult for team members to download meeting recordings. Only meeting organisers can download recordings from regular meetings, which creates bottlenecks when teams want to use tools like Contented AI to analyse their conversations.

This guide shows you how to configure Teams so anyone on your team can easily download meeting recordings. There are however some key limitations, click here to read these.

Key PowerShell Commands Covered:

  1. Install-Module -Name MicrosoftTeams - Gets the Teams tools

  2. Connect-MicrosoftTeams - Logs into your organization

  3. Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -AllowCloudRecording $true - Enables recording

  4. Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -ChannelRecordingDownload Allow - Allows downloads

  5. Verification commands - Confirms everything worked
    ​

Before You Start

What You'll Need:

  1. Admin access to your Microsoft 365 tenant

  2. 10 minutes of your time

  3. Windows PowerShell (already installed on Windows computers)

What You'll Accomplish:

✅ Enable meeting recordings for everyone
✅ Allow team members to download recordings from channel meetings
✅ Set up flexible recording ownership
✅ Create the optimal setup for Contented integration

Step 1: Open PowerShell as Administrator

On Windows 10/11:

  1. Click the Start button

  2. Type "PowerShell"

  3. Right-click "Windows PowerShell"

  4. Select "Run as administrator"

  5. Click "Yes" when prompted

You'll see a blue window that looks like this:

💡 The PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> part is called the "prompt" - this is where you'll type commands.

Step 2: Install the Teams PowerShell Module

Here you are installing the Teams PowerShell Module

Copy and paste this command:

powershellInstall-Module -Name MicrosoftTeams -Force -AllowClobber

What you'll see:

  • PowerShell might ask about installing from an untrusted repository

  • Type "Y" and press Enter to continue

  • You'll see download progress

  • When complete, you'll see the prompt again: PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

If you get an error about execution policy:

powershellSet-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

  • Type "Y" and press Enter

  • Then run the Install-Module command again

Step 3: Connect to Microsoft Teams

Now let's connect you to Microsoft Teams

Copy and paste this command:

powershellConnect-MicrosoftTeams

What happens next:

  1. A browser window will open

  2. Sign in with your admin account (the one with Teams admin permissions)

  3. You might need to approve permissions - click "Accept"

  4. Close the browser window when it says "Authentication complete"

  5. Go back to PowerShell - you should see your organisation info displayed

Success looks like this:

Account Environment Tenant TenantId ------- ----------- ------ -------- admin@yourcompany.com AzureCloud yourcompany.onmicrosoft.com 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012

Step 4: Check Your Current Settings (Optional)

It's always a good idea to see what your current settings are around allowing recording, and whether a user can download a recording.

Before making changes, let's see what your current settings are:

powershellGet-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity Global

Look for these lines in the output:

  • AllowCloudRecording (should show True or False)

  • ChannelRecordingDownload (should show Allow or Block)

💡 Don't worry if this shows a lot of text - we're just checking the current state.

Step 5: Enable Cloud Recording for Everyone

This PowerShell command will enable Cloud Recording for everyone, meaning that all users in your organisation can record a Teams meeting. Usually, it's only the Meeting organiser.

Copy and paste this command:

powershellSet-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity Global -AllowCloudRecording $true

What this does:

✅ Allows everyone in your organisation to record Teams meetings
✅ Required for any meeting recording functionality

Success looks like:

  • No error messages

  • You see the prompt again: PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

Step 6: Enable Download Access for Channel Meetings

Copy and paste this command:

powershellSet-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity Global -ChannelRecordingDownload Allow

What this does:

✅ When meetings are held in Teams channels, ALL channel members can download recordings
✅ Recordings are stored in SharePoint where everyone can access them
✅ No more "organiser-only" download restrictions for channel meetings

Success looks like:

  • No error messages

  • You see the prompt again: PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

Step 7: Set Flexible Recording Ownership (Recommended)

Some organisations might not have this policy available. That's okay - skip this step and continue.

Copy and paste this command:

powershellSet-CsTeamsRecordingRolloutPolicy -Identity Global -MeetingRecordingOwnership RecordingInitiator

What this does:

  • The person who starts the recording owns it (not just the meeting organiser)

  • More people can control and share recordings

  • Reduces dependency on specific organisers
    ​


Step 8: Verify Your Changes

Let's confirm everything is set up correctly:

powershellGet-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity Global | Select-Object AllowCloudRecording, ChannelRecordingDownload

You should see:

AllowCloudRecording ChannelRecordingDownload ------------------- ----------------------- True Allow

If you see "True" and "Allow" - you're all set!

Step 9: Disconnect from Teams

Copy and paste this command:

powershellDisconnect-MicrosoftTeams

Then close PowerShell:

powershellexit

Step 10: Test Your Setup

Test with a Channel Meeting:

  1. Go to a Teams channel

  2. Click "Meet now" or schedule a meeting

  3. Start recording during the meeting

  4. After the meeting ends, go to the channel's Files tab

  5. Look for the "Recordings" folder

  6. Try downloading the recording - you should see a download option

Best Practices for Your Team

1. Use Channel Meetings (Not Private Meetings)

  • WHY: Everyone in the channel can download recordings

  • HOW: Schedule meetings in Teams channels instead of private calendar invites

2. Create Dedicated Channels for Projects

  • WHY: Keeps recordings organised and accessible to the right people

  • HOW: Create channels like "Client-ProjectName" or "Team-Meetings"

3. Train Your Team on the Process

WORKFLOW:

  1. Hold meeting in Teams channel

  2. Click "Record" during the meeting

  3. After meeting: Go to channel Files > Recordings folder

  4. Download the MP4 file

  5. Upload to Contented AI

FAQs

I don't see the Record button

  • Check: Make sure the meeting is happening in a Teams channel, not a private meeting

  • Also check: Your admin has enabled recording with the PowerShell commands above

I can't download the recording

  • For channel meetings: Make sure you're in a channel meeting and the recording is in the channel's Files tab

  • For private meetings: You must be the organiser or co-organiser to download

  • For external meetings: External participants cannot download recordings

PowerShell won't let me run commands

Fix: Run this first: Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

I'm not a Teams admin

Solution: Ask your IT administrator to run these commands for you

Key Limitations

1. ChannelRecordingDownload ONLY affects Channel Meetings

  • -ChannelRecordingDownload is an org-wide policy parameter that controls the folder where recordings and transcripts are stored to determine whether users can download channel meeting recordings and transcripts

  • This setting has zero effect on private meetings
    ​

2. Private Meetings Have Strict Limitations

  • For non-channel meetings, the recording will be stored in the Recordings folder in the meeting organiser's OneDrive folder

  • Only the meeting organiser can download the meeting recording

  • Note: Only the meeting organiser and co-organisers can edit the recording. But everyone invited to the meeting is able to view the recording
    ​

3. External Attendees Cannot Download

  • guests and external attendees can view the recording only if the recording is explicitly shared with them

  • External participants have no download capability regardless of settings
    ​

4. Channel Meetings Cannot Include External Attendees

  • You cannot invite external attendees to channel meetings

  • This creates a fundamental limitation for client/external meetings

Related Articles
How to Produce Meeting Minutes using Contented
Microsoft Teams: Recording & Downloading Setup Guide
PowerShell Guide: Configure Microsoft Teams Transcripts
Microsoft Teams: Transcript Setup Guide
Microsoft Teams: Quick Start Guide
Did this answer your question?