Unable to Create a "General" Channel from Scratch in Teams Desktop

Anonymous
2024-09-10T03:57:45+00:00

I encountered an issue when trying to create a new team from scratch in the desktop version of Teams. It seems that naming the first channel has become a mandatory step. However, I am unable to name the channel "General" as it shows the message: "The name General is reserved. Try another name."

Could anyone please advise on how to create a "General" channel from scratch in the desktop version of Teams? Is there a workaround for this restriction?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Teams and channels | Manage a team or channel

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

44 answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2025-03-11T13:00:05+00:00

    As stated previously by other posters, many have written procedures on how to create Teams using the desktop app by non-privileged office workers. It's not acceptable to expect them to use the Admin Portal or be on their personal phones to perform a basic work function. To anyone within earshot that can make a difference, PLEASE FIX THIS!

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2025-03-11T10:18:51+00:00

    Hi Shajia

    Any news about this? It's been 6 months and we cannot yet create a new team from the Teams client that has General as the first channel's name.

    As many of us have pointed out this is indeed a big issue. Many of us have witten company policies, training videos or even Power Automate flows that expect or rely on the existance of a General channel, so it is a big problem.

    There are some work arrounds but most of them are for administrators, so maybe it's about time it gets fixed?

    You have got away with it for six months but I think I'm not the only one who believes that you are pushing it too far.

    Can you please provide at least some info on what's happening or what the plans are?

    Thank you!

    Josu

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2025-03-11T08:47:21+00:00

    OMG! This is what Product Management shouldn't ever look like. Would it be so hard to ask a set of users what the change in functionality should like, and how were they using the product?
    Hard-coded stuff is always difficult to understand from a user's standpoint...

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2025-02-04T23:54:06+00:00

    I stumble upon this thread after experiencing the same issue.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2025-01-28T16:51:51+00:00

    This is a major issue. We have clients that have exhaustive training and strict processes around new Teams creation. The "General" channel has always been a default, and thus vast documentation exists to accommodate for that. And, the clients use the General channel. So, not only do they need it, but asking them to use the Admin center (most users don't have access to this) or mobile teams (many users do not use mobile teams) is not an acceptable workaround. Even it it was, it would still require significant change management to update all processes and documentation, and train relevant staff.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments