Fixing issues related to adding a Planner plan to Microsoft Teams

Microsoft makes it possible to access Planner data from within the Microsoft Teams application. That way, a team member can collaborate on a plan without ever having to leave Microsoft Teams. As great as this may sound, adding a Planner plan to Teams is somewhat convoluted. Part of the reason for this is simply that Microsoft has changed the name of the Planner app within Teams. However, issues with group memberships and team memberships can also cause issues with linking a plan to Teams. In this article, I will show you how to troubleshoot problems connected to adding a plan to Microsoft Teams.

Adding a plan to Microsoft Teams

Let’s get started by looking at the steps involved in tying a plan to Microsoft Teams. As we go along, I will talk about some things that can and sometimes do go wrong.

Begin the process by opening Teams, expanding a team, and then selecting a channel. Upon selecting a channel, you will see several tabs along the top of the screen (General, Posts, Files, and Wiki). Click on the Plus icon located just to the right of these tabs. You can see what the icon looks like in the image below.

microsoft teams plans
At this point, you will see a screen outlining all of the various apps that you can add to the channel. At one time, Microsoft made available an app called Planner. However, this app has been rebranded as Tasks by Planner and To Do. If you have trouble locating Tasks by Planner and To Do, try entering the word Planner into the search box shown in the following image.


When you click on the Tasks by Planner and To Do app, you will be taken to the Tasks by Planner and To Do dialog box, which you can see in the next image. This dialog box gives you the option of either creating a new plan or selecting an existing plan. In some cases, the option to choose will be readily apparent. If there is a certain plan that everyone in the team already uses constantly, then adding that plan to the channel is probably the right thing to do. If you are on the fence as to whether to create a new plan or to use an existing plan, then there is one important thing that you should keep in mind. At one time, there was a limitation that prevented you from associating more than one plan with a channel. However, this limitation has been removed, and you can now add multiple plans to a channel, with each plan appearing on a separate tab.


Once you have made your selection, then enter a name for the plan that you want to create (or select an existing plan) and then click Save.

What went wrong?

Occasionally, when you choose the option to create a new plan, you may receive an error message stating that Teams cannot save the configuration for Tasks by Planner and To Do tab. This error, which you can see in the next image, often stems from a problem with group memberships. I will show you how to fix it.


If you get the error shown above, the first thing that you will need to do is to make sure that you are a member of the team. To do so, click on the More icon (the three dots) next to the team within which the channel exists. When the More menu appears, click on the Manage Team option. This will take you to a screen where you can see a list of the team members. Make sure that you are listed as a member of the team.

microsoft teams plans
Once you have verified that you are a member of the team, you will also need to make sure that you are a member of the corresponding group. Remember, every team has a Microsoft 365 group associated with it. To add a plan to a team, you will need to be both a team member and a group member.

To check the group membership, note the team name and then open the Microsoft 365 admin center. Next, navigate to Teams and Groups | Active Teams and Groups. Now, locate the group that corresponds to your team and click on it. When the group opens, select the Members tab. Make sure that your account is listed among the group members. It is worth noting that even if your account is listed as the group owner, it will also need to be added as a group member. Otherwise, you won’t be able to add a plan to a team channel.

microsoft teams plans
Once you have verified that your account is both a team member and a group member, you should be able to add the plan to Teams. Notice in the image below that the name of the tab containing the plan maps to the plan name. It doesn’t say Planner unless that just happens to be what you have called your plan.

microsoft teams plans
As you can see, there isn’t anything overly complicated about fixing issues with linking a Planner plan to a Microsoft Teams channel. Even so, the group membership issues seem to cause problems for many people, so I wanted to take the opportunity to explain how to fix the problem.

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