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.

Teams Polls Not Working in Windows - 1

Teams Polls Not Working in Windows

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 Outdated Windows can cause compatibility issues with Teams, including the Polls problem.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. Check for Windows 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). Update Microsoft Teams
  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. Sign Out of the Teams App on Windows
  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. Quit Microsoft Teams Through the System Tray
  3. Navigate to the following path: %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams Open Teams Directory Through the Run Command Box
  4. Delete all the files and folders shown in the Teams directory. Delete Files and Folders in the Microsoft Teams AppData 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. Uncheck Turn on New Meeting Experience in the General Settings of Microsoft Teams
  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. Create a Poll in Microsoft Teams Channel
  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. Uninstall Microsoft 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 . Use the Web App of Microsoft Teams
  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 Polls on the Organization Level in the Teams Admin Center

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. Enable Microsoft Forms for the User in the Admin Center of Office 365
  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.

How to Fix “Printer is in an error state” Issue?

The error “ WinRAR Error: Next Volume Is Required ” usually appears when you’re extracting a multi-part RAR archive and WinRAR can’t find (or can’t correctly identify) the next file in the sequence . This often happens when a volume is missing , stored in a different folder , or renamed in a way that breaks the archive’s expected order .

How to Fix Polls Not Working in Teams Chat - 2

In this guide, we’ll go over the most reliable fixes confirmed by affected users, along with what each method is doing behind the scenes so you can choose the right one for your situation.

Important: To extract multi-volume archives, you should always start extraction from the first file in the set. This is usually file.part1.rar , or (in older sets) the main .rar file that comes before .r01 , .r02 , and so on.

1. Download and Place the Missing RAR File

WinRAR needs all parts of a multi-volume archive to complete extraction. This error usually appears when one of the volumes in a set like .part2.rar , .r01 , .r02 , .001 , and similar naming formats is missing . Downloading the missing volume and placing it in the same folder as the other parts allows WinRAR to continue extracting normally .

  1. Look at the error message or review the list of archive parts in the folder.
  2. Identify which volume is missing (for example, part2.rar , .r02 , .001 , etc.).
  3. Go back to the website or source where you downloaded the archive.
  4. Locate and download the exact missing file using the same naming format as the others.
  5. Make sure the new file name matches the pattern of the rest. Example: If you have file.part1.rar and file.part3.rar , the missing one must be file.part2.rar .
  6. Move the downloaded missing volume into the same folder as the other archive parts.
  7. Confirm that all parts are in a single folder before extracting.
  8. Right-click the first file in the series (usually part1 or the main .rar file) and select Extract Here or Extract to Folder .
  9. WinRAR should now detect all volumes and continue extraction normally .

2. Manually Browse & Select the Next Volume

Use this method only if the next volume already exists , but WinRAR is failing to detect it automatically. This can happen due to incorrect naming , the file being in a different location , or a temporary file access issue. Manually browsing helps WinRAR locate the correct volume and resume extraction without interruption .

  1. Right-click the first file in the series (usually .rar or part1.rar ) and select Extract Here or Extract to Folder .
  2. When WinRAR cannot find the next volume, it will show the “ Next Volume Is Required ” message.
  3. A small window will appear, allowing you to manually select the next volume .
  4. Use the file explorer window to locate the folder where the other archive parts are saved.
  5. Select the next part based on the naming order (example: select file.part2.rar after file.part1.rar ).
  6. Make sure the selected file matches the naming format of the archive (no extra characters like (1) and no mismatched numbering).
  7. WinRAR will resume extraction using the selected volume .
  8. If additional volumes are missing or stored separately, WinRAR may prompt you again. Repeat the same process until extraction completes.

3. Rename the RAR files in Order

WinRAR relies on a proper naming sequence (such as file.part1.rar , file.part2.rar , file.part3.rar ) to extract multi-volume archives. If a file is named incorrectly, contains extra characters, or is out of order, WinRAR may fail to locate the next volume and show this error. Renaming the files correctly helps WinRAR follow the sequence and extract the archive without interruptions .

Note: Renaming only changes the file name , not the file contents. The goal is to restore the correct sequence so WinRAR can detect the next volume.

  1. Go to the folder where all the RAR files are saved.
  2. Make sure all parts of the archive are present and stored in the same folder .
  3. Check how the parts are currently named . Common patterns include:
file.part1.rar, file.part2.rar, file.part3.rar

file.rar, file.r01, file.r02, file.r03
  1. Look for files that don’t match the expected numbering pattern (for example, file.part01.rar , file.part1(1).rar , or unrelated names).
  2. Rename each file so it follows the same order without extra characters or mismatched numbering. Example:
Incorrect: file.part1.rar, file.part3.rar, file.part2(1).rar

Correct: file.part1.rar, file.part2.rar, file.part3.rar
  1. Make sure the text before the number is exactly the same for all files.
  2. Only the last part number should change.
  3. Right-click the first file in the series (usually part1.rar or the main .rar file) and select Extract Here .
  4. WinRAR should now recognize the sequence and continue extraction normally .

If you still get the same prompt: the archive set is likely incomplete (a part was never downloaded or was removed), or one of the volumes is corrupt and must be re-downloaded from the original source.