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Labels: FAQ and pitfalls

Pitfalls

  • You forget to press Update — How to avoid it: The number picker does not save automatically. Do not close the panel before you have pressed Update — the text "Press update to save changes" is there as a reminder.
  • You choose the wrong capability — How to avoid it: Capabilities cannot be corrected afterwards. The label has to be deleted and created again. Check the ticks before you press Create.
  • Only the Teams numbers get labelled — How to avoid it: It is the numbers that do not exist in Teams that give the most value when labelled. Start with the legacy platform and the quarantined numbers.
  • The label is created under the wrong Customer — How to avoid it: The customer cannot be changed afterwards. Check the dropdown before you press Create — particularly in a multi-tenant setup.
  • Contradictory labels on the same number — How to avoid it: One number can carry several labels. Stick to one per number unless you have an agreed reason.
  • Labels are never cleaned up — How to avoid it: Set a fixed review — quarterly, for instance. Quarantine labels, migration waves and reservations have to be released again to have any value.
  • Label names without ownership — How to avoid it: Agree who may create labels, and stick to the convention. Twenty labels with overlapping meanings are worse than none.
  • Deleted label = lost knowledge — How to avoid it: Deleting removes the label from every assigned number, and there is no undo. Export does not help, because labels do not come along in the file. Open the label, click Assigned numbers, set Show selected only and note the numbers before you delete.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see labels in the Microsoft Teams admin center? No. Labels are a feature in DDI Manager and do not exist in Teams. The Teams admin center still shows only the numbers the tenant knows, and without your labels.

Does a label change anything about the phone number itself, or about Teams? No. The label is documentation and marking. The number works exactly as before, and the Teams configuration is unchanged.

Can I put a label on a number that is not used in Teams? Yes — that is one of the most important uses. The only prerequisite is that the number exists in a number range in DDI Manager, and a number range can be created whether or not it is used in Teams Phone.

Can I change a label's capabilities after creation? No. The name can be corrected and the numbers can be changed freely, but the ticks under Capability are locked. If the capabilities need to change, you create a new label and move the numbers across.

Can a number have several labels? Yes. They are shown separated by a comma in the Labels column. It is only advisable, however, if the two labels describe different things that do not contradict each other.

Do labels work across several tenants? A label belongs to one Customer. If you administer several tenants, you create the same label family in each — use the same naming convention so the estate reads the same way across all of them.

What happens to the numbers if I delete a label? The numbers remain — they simply lose the label. Treat deletion as irreversible: there is no undo in the label overview.

Can I get labels into a report? No. The Export link above the E.164 assignments table gives you an .xlsx file, but the Labels column is not included. Follow-up happens on screen: search for the label name and read the count in "Showing 1 to N of N entries". If you need labels in reporting, raise it with Performance Metrics.

Can I see who created a label and when? No. Neither creation date nor user is shown in the label overview. If you need to trace it, that has to be agreed within the team — for example by writing a date into the name.

Glossary

  • DDI — Meaning: Direct Dial-In. A direct phone number that can be called from outside without going through a switchboard.
  • E.164 — Meaning: The international format for phone numbers — country code and number without spaces, for example +4520000000.
  • Number range / DDI range — Meaning: A contiguous interval of numbers from a carrier. Called Configuration in the number picker.
  • Carrier — Meaning: The telecom provider the numbers come from.
  • Microsoft Calling Plans — Meaning: Connectivity type where Microsoft provides the PSTN connection. Shown as CP.
  • Operator Connect — Meaning: Connectivity type where an operator in Microsoft's Operator Connect programme provides the PSTN connection directly into Teams. Shown as OC.
  • Direct Routing — Meaning: Connectivity type where you or a partner connect Teams to the PSTN via an SBC. Shown as DR.
  • Call queue — Meaning: The Teams Phone object that distributes incoming calls to several agents.
  • Auto attendant — Meaning: The Teams Phone object that answers and forwards calls via menus, schedules and rules.
  • Resource account — Meaning: The Microsoft Entra account a call queue or auto attendant hangs on.
  • Tenant — Meaning: A Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Entra environment.
  • Porting — Meaning: Moving a number from one provider to another.