How to Enable Toll-Free Numbers with Microsoft Teams Auto-Attendant

If you've been struggling to get your toll-free number (800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, or 888) working with Microsoft Teams auto-attendant, you're not alone. This issue has frustrated countless IT administrators, and Microsoft's own support teams often point fingers at each other without providing a solution.

The Problem

You've set up your Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan, assigned a toll-free number to a resource account, and configured your auto-attendant perfectly. But when someone calls the toll-free number, nothing happens. The call doesn't connect, and there's no obvious error message telling you why.

The Solution Microsoft Won't Tell You

The fix is surprisingly simple, but it's buried in a location that Microsoft's documentation doesn't clearly explain. Here's what you need to do:

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (admin.microsoft.com)
2. Navigate to Billing -> Your products
3. Click on your Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan license
4. Scroll to the very bottom of the page
5. Find "Phone service consumption" under Pay-as-you-go services
6. Change the status from "Off" to "On"

Click image to view full size - Phone service consumption setting in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Why This Setting Matters

Toll-free numbers work differently from regular phone numbers. When someone calls a toll-free number, you (the business) pay for the call, not the caller. Microsoft needs to have pay-as-you-go billing enabled on your account to charge you for these incoming toll-free minutes.

Without this setting enabled, Microsoft simply blocks the calls because there's no billing mechanism in place to handle the charges.

What to Expect After Enabling

After changing this setting:

• Your toll-free numbers assigned to auto-attendants and resource accounts should start working immediately (though some users report waiting up to 24 hours)
• You'll be billed per-minute for incoming toll-free calls at Microsoft's pay-as-you-go rate
• Check your Microsoft 365 billing to monitor usage

The Frustration Is Real

This information isn't clearly documented anywhere in Microsoft's official resources. Many IT professionals have spent weeks working with multiple Microsoft support departments (Teams support, licensing, billing) with each team pointing to another. The solution was discovered by users in the community who stumbled upon it through trial and error.

If Microsoft is reading this: please update your documentation to include this critical step when setting up toll-free numbers with Teams Phone!

Still Having Issues?

If enabling phone service consumption doesn't resolve your toll-free number issues, there may be other configuration problems at play. Common issues include:

• Resource account not properly licensed
• Phone number not correctly assigned to the resource account
• Auto-attendant configuration issues
• Call queue routing problems

Need help with Microsoft Teams Phone setup? TechNet New England specializes in VoIP and Microsoft 365 configurations. Contact us for assistance with your business communications.