PNW Phone Services Will Migrate to Microsoft Teams Calling in Summer 2026

Purdue Northwest Faculty and Staff,

Purdue IT has begun migrating phone services to Microsoft Teams Calling across the Purdue system. Migration for Purdue Fort Wayne is well underway. Purdue Northwest and West Lafayette are forecast to begin migration by June 2026. You will be notified a few weeks prior to your number being scheduled to migrate. No action is required at this time.

This upgrade will modernize our communication system, offering a more integrated, flexible and reliable solution for collaboration. By leveraging Microsoft Teams, we aim to improve productivity and provide a seamless experience across devices and locations.

What’s Changing?

• Desk phones will be replaced with soft phones, which work on computers, laptops, and mobile devices. A softphone is a virtual phone that works through your computer or smartphone instead of a physical handset.
• Starting today, all new phone requests will be softphones. No new physical phones will be deployed. If Teams calling has not yet been deployed in your area, your number will be created on Jabber (PNW) or Webex (PWL/PIN), and would then port to Microsoft Teams calling when your area migrates to Teams calling.
• You will retain your current phone number.
• After migration, your current desk phone will no longer function for calls. Headsets and Microsoft Teams will be used, instead.
• Teams Calling allows you to make and receive calls from anywhere with an internet connection.
• If you have any important information in the current voicemail platform, please save that information elsewhere as current voicemails will not be ported to the new system.

 Support and Resources

• If you have questions or encounter issues, please email teams-calling@purdue.edu. You can also view Frequently Asked Questions about Teams Calling.
• Please review this link for an overview of how to use Microsoft Teams to make calls.  This will also instruct you on how to set up voicemail.
• If you require a headset, please work with your department to order one. This link lists several headset options Microsoft has certified for use. Note that just about any headset should work with teams calling, including more affordable options that could be found on sites such as Amazon.

Key Points

• Phone numbers will remain the same.
• Full numbers will need to be dialed.  There will not be any “short dialing” such as 4 or 5 digit dialing.
• Users can also make and receive calls via the Teams app on your smartphone.
• Collection boxes will be placed in each building for recycling old phones. Please do not dispose of phones in the trash, as our waste provider does not accept electronics.

Network Setup Notes

If your network cable currently runs through your phone to your computer:

• The network connection will continue to function; however, the phone aspect will not.
• If you are part of a hunt group (one number that rings many people), please do not dispose of your phone until your entire group has been ported to Teams calling. We will try to migrate groups over together, but on occasion this may not be possible.
• Once you have been migrated to Teams calling, you may disconnect the phone and connect the cable directly to your PC if the network cable is long enough.
  • If the cable is too short to reach from the wall to your PC, please contact your local service desk and we’ll arrange for a longer cable.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation as we move toward a more modern communication platform.

Customer Service Center

Information Services | Purdue Northwest

(219) 989 2888 | csc@pnw.edu