How to Allow Tenant 1 Users to Join Tenant 2 Teams Meetings Without Lobby Admission.

Tahir Hassan 0 Reputation points
2026-11-09T06:02:34.05+00:00

We are currently managing a multi-tenant environment and trying to streamline collaboration between Tenant 1 and Tenant 2. Specifically, we want users from Tenant 1 to be able to join scheduled Microsoft Teams meetings hosted in Tenant 2 directly, bypassing the lobby entirely, while maintaining appropriate security controls.

Thank you in advance!

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Meetings and calls | Other
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  1. Elena-VH 2,610 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-11-09T06:16:14.47+00:00

    Dear Tahir Hassan,

    To allow users from Tenant 1 to join Microsoft Teams meetings hosted in Tenant 2 without waiting in the lobby, Tenant 2 needs to trust Tenant 1 and configure its meeting policies accordingly (You can refer to AI answer's suggestions).

    Here are some key requirements I recommend you look through:

    1/ Configure Microsoft Entra ID Cross-Tenant Access Settings in Tenant 2 and add Tenant 1 as a trusted organization. For reference: Manage cross-tenant access settings for B2B collaboration and Onboard trusted vendors to collaborate in Microsoft 365 + Microsoft 365 inter-tenant collaboration

    2/ In the Teams Admin Center, ensure the meeting policy setting "Who can bypass the lobby?" is configured to People in my organization and trusted organizations. For reference: IT Admins - Manage lobby options in Microsoft Teams and Configure the Microsoft Teams meeting lobby for sensitive meetings

    3/ Verify that meeting organizers are not overriding this setting in the individual meeting options.

    4/ Ensure users are joining with their authenticated work or school accounts from Tenant 1. Users who join anonymously will typically still be subject to lobby admission.

    This approach provides the best balance between user experience and security, allowing trusted external users to join directly while maintaining controls for other external participants.

    Important Notes:

    • Users joining as anonymous participants will typically remain subject to lobby admission unless anonymous access is explicitly allowed to bypass the lobby.
    • For the best balance of security and user experience, configure cross-tenant trust and use People in my organization and trusted organizations rather than allowing everyone to bypass the lobby.

    Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to your update.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-11-09T06:03:15.72+00:00

    Configure mutual external access between Tenant 1 and Tenant 2, then set the Tenant 2 organizers’ Who can bypass the lobby policy to People in my org, trusted orgs, and guests.

    1. Establish mutual external-access trust

    This configuration must be completed in both tenants; otherwise, Tenant 1 users can be treated as anonymous when joining Tenant 2 meetings.

    In Tenant 2:

    1. Open the Teams admin center.
    2. Go to Users → External access.
    3. Under Teams and Skype for Business users in external organizations, select Allow only specific external domains.
    4. Select Add external domains.
    5. Enter Tenant 1’s verified domain, select Done, and save.

    Repeat these steps in Tenant 1, adding Tenant 2’s domain. Both the organization-level setting and the applicable user external-access policy must permit access.^1^

    If either tenant already uses Allow all external domains, explicit allow-listing is unnecessary unless tighter domain restrictions are required. Ensure neither tenant blocks the other tenant’s domain.

    2. Configure lobby bypass in Tenant 2

    The policy applies to the Tenant 2 meeting organizer, not the Tenant 1 attendees:

    1. In the Tenant 2 Teams admin center, go to Meetings → Meeting policies.
    2. Open the policy assigned to the relevant Tenant 2 meeting organizers.
    3. Expand Meeting join & lobby.
    4. Set Who can bypass the lobby to:
      • People in my org, trusted orgs, and guests — allows authenticated Tenant 1 users to enter directly after mutual external access is established.
    5. Select Save.
    6. Allow up to 24 hours for the policy change to take effect.^2^

    This option does not let anonymous participants bypass the lobby. Tenant 1 users must join while signed in with their Tenant 1 work or school accounts.

    3. Validate the effective configuration

    Create a new Tenant 2 meeting and test with a Tenant 1 user:

    • The meeting must be organized by a Tenant 2 user who receives the updated meeting policy.
    • The Tenant 1 participant must join while signed in to Teams with the Tenant 1 account.
    • The participant should appear as an authenticated user from a trusted organization and enter without admission.
    • If the participant appears anonymous or waits in the lobby, check:
      • External access permits the other domain in both tenants.
      • The organization-level external-access setting and user policy both permit the affected users.
      • The correct meeting policy is applied to the Tenant 2 organizer.
      • The organizer’s meeting-specific Meeting options did not change the lobby setting.

    Meeting organizers can normally override the policy default in Meeting options. If Tenant 2 must enforce the setting, use a meeting template or sensitivity label; enforcement through those controls requires Teams Premium.^2^

    More restrictive alternative

    For tighter security, set Who can bypass the lobby to People who were invited instead. Authenticated Tenant 1 users who received or were forwarded the invitation can bypass, while people who merely obtained the meeting link wait in the lobby. Disabling invitation forwarding further limits access to directly invited attendees.^2^

    Avoid selecting Everyone unless anonymous participants must also bypass the lobby. That setting broadens direct admission beyond the trusted Tenant 1 organization.

    References

    1. IT Admins - Manage external meetings and chat with people and organizations using Microsoft identities
    2. IT Admins - Manage lobby options in Microsoft Teams
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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