Fix Teams Emergency Location Is Not Detected after a License Change

After you change a user’s Microsoft 365 license, Teams may stop detecting the emergency location for that user. This usually happens when the license change removes or alters the Teams Phone System or Calling Plan capabilities. The emergency location is tied to the user’s assigned phone number and the policy that maps that number to a physical address. This article explains why the detection fails and gives you the exact steps to restore the emergency location in Teams.

The root cause is often a mismatch between the user’s license, the assigned phone number, and the emergency location policy. When you change licenses, Teams may unassign a phone number or reset the emergency location policy to the default. You can fix this by reassigning the phone number and reapplying the correct emergency location policy in the Teams admin center.

Why Teams Loses the Emergency Location After a License Change

In Teams, an emergency location is a physical address linked to a phone number. The link is defined by the emergency calling policy and the emergency call routing policy. When you change a user’s license, several things can break that link.

License Dependency for Phone System

Teams Phone System is a required license for assigning phone numbers and emergency locations. If your new license plan does not include Teams Phone System, Teams will remove the phone number from the user. Without a phone number, the emergency location has nothing to attach to, so detection fails.

Policy Reset to Default

When you modify a license, Teams may reset the user’s emergency calling policy to the global default. The default policy usually has no emergency location assigned. This means the user’s phone number still exists, but the policy no longer maps it to a physical address.

Phone Number Unassignment

In some cases, the license change triggers an automatic unassignment of the phone number. This happens when the new license does not include a Calling Plan or when the number was provisioned under a different service location. The number goes back to the pool, and the emergency location is cleared.

Steps to Restore Emergency Location Detection in Teams

Follow these steps in order. Each step verifies a different part of the chain: license, phone number, and policy.

1. Verify the user has Teams Phone System license
   Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Users > Active users. Select the user and open the Licenses and apps tab. Confirm that Teams Phone System is checked. If it is missing, assign a license that includes Teams Phone System or add the Teams Phone System add-on.
2. Check the phone number assignment
   Open the Teams admin center at admin.teams.microsoft.com. Go to Voice > Phone numbers. Find the user’s phone number. Check the Assigned to column. If the number shows Unassigned, select the number and click Assign. Choose the user and confirm.
3. Reapply the emergency location to the phone number
   In the same Phone numbers page, select the user’s number. Click Edit. Under Emergency location, select the correct location from the dropdown. If no location appears, click Add a location and enter the physical address. Save the changes.
4. Reapply the emergency calling policy
   Go to Voice > Emergency policies. Select the emergency calling policy that includes the correct location. Click Manage users. Add the affected user and apply the policy. If you use the global policy, verify that it has the right emergency location assigned.
5. Clear the Teams cache on the user’s device
   On the user’s Windows machine, close Teams completely. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. End all Teams processes. Open File Explorer and go to %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams. Delete all files and folders in that directory. Restart Teams and sign in again.
6. Test the emergency location detection
   In Teams, click your profile picture and select Settings > Calls. Look for the Emergency location field. It should show the address you assigned. Make a test call to a non-emergency number to confirm the location is transmitted correctly.

If Teams Still Has Issues After the Main Fix

Sometimes the license change leaves behind inconsistent settings. Here are the most common follow-up problems and their fixes.

Teams Shows No Emergency Location Option After License Change

This happens when the user’s phone number is still assigned but the emergency location field is empty. Go to Voice > Phone numbers and edit the number. If the location dropdown is empty, you need to add a new location. Click Add a location and enter the civic address. Save and then select that location for the number.

Emergency Location Is Detected but the Wrong Address Is Shown

The user’s phone number may have multiple locations associated with it. Open Voice > Phone numbers, select the number, and click Edit. Choose the correct location from the dropdown. If the correct location is not listed, add it first, then assign it.

Phone Number Cannot Be Assigned Because the License Is Still Invalid

If the assignment fails, the license change may not have fully propagated. Wait 30 minutes and try again. If it still fails, remove the Teams Phone System license and re-add it. Then reassign the phone number and emergency location.

New Teams Desktop vs Teams on the Web for Emergency Location Settings

Item	Teams Desktop App	Teams on the Web
Access to emergency location settings	Full access in Settings > Calls	Limited, read-only view
Cache clearing	Manual deletion of %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams	Browser cache clear only
Policy application	Applies after restart	Applies after page refresh

Conclusion

You can now restore the emergency location detection by verifying the Teams Phone System license, reassigning the phone number, and reapplying the emergency calling policy. Start with the license check in the Microsoft 365 admin center, then move to the Teams admin center. After making changes, clear the Teams cache and restart the app. For a quick verification, open Teams Settings > Calls and confirm the emergency location field shows the correct address. If the problem persists, re-add the Teams Phone System license and wait 30 minutes before reassigning the number.