Microsoft is in the midst of addressing a frustrating issue that has been plaguing users with "couldn't connect" errors when trying to launch Microsoft Teams—both desktop and web versions!

This hiccup stems from a recent overhaul of Teams' sidebar. However, the tech giant has yet to specify which regions are facing this connectivity conundrum.

The company has labeled this issue as an advisory, suggesting that it may not be widespread and could be sporadic for many users.

Users encountering this glitch see a message stating, "We couldn't connect to this app," signaling that their organization is affected. The company confirmed this situation through a service alert in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

According to Microsoft, the problem initiated from a new update intended to enhance the left sidebar of Teams, which inadvertently triggered error-generating unoptimized code when launching the app.

Fortunately, Microsoft is already on the case! A fix has been rolled out to 25% of those impacted, with plans to have all affected users back on track by Thursday.

In the meantime, users can bypass the pesky error message by clicking on the "Activity" or "Chat" buttons located on the left side of the Teams interface—your temporary lifesaver until a full fix is deployed.

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has faced challenges with Teams. Earlier in March, users experienced a significant outage that disrupted auto-attendants and call queues.

On a brighter note, last week also saw Microsoft announcing enhancements to security in Teams. Starting next month, users will benefit from improved protection against malicious URLs and harmful file types in chats and channels.

Additionally, Teams will introduce an allow/block list feature to assist security admins in blocking communications from suspicious domains, a much-needed shield against social-engineering attacks targeting unsuspecting employees.

Stay tuned for updates as Microsoft works to resolve connectivity issues and bolster security features!