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Microsoft Teams

How to Find Shared Channels With Sign-in Disabled Owners in Microsoft 365

Shared channels in Microsoft Teams allow seamless collaboration across different organizations without needing users to switch tenants. While they boost productivity, it can also pose risks if channel ownership isn’t properly monitored. For instance, if a channel owner’s account is disabled, the shared channel might lose active management, leaving it vulnerable. Don’t worry! This guide will help you identify and manage Teams shared channels with disabled owners with ease.

Microsoft 365 tools
Solution 1
Solution 2
Important Tips
Errors and Resolution Steps
FAQs

Export Shared Channels With Sign-in Disabled Owners Using PowerShell

Microsoft Graph API Permission Required
User.Read.All, Team.ReadBasic.All, Channel.ReadBasic.All, ChannelMember.Read.All Least Privilege
Directory.ReadWrite.All Most Privilege
  • Connect to the Microsoft Graph PowerShell using the cmdlet below.
  • Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell 
     Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All", "Team.ReadBasic.All", "Channel.ReadBasic.All", "ChannelMember.Read.All"
  • Run the following cmdlet to export a list of Microsoft Teams shared channels that have sign-in disabled users as owners.
  • Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell 
     $DisabledUsers = Get-MgUser -Filter "accountEnabled eq false" | 
Select-Object -ExpandProperty UserPrincipalName
Get-MgTeam | ForEach-Object {
	$Team = $_
	Get-MgAllTeamChannel -TeamId $Team.Id -Filter "membershipType eq 'shared'" | ForEach-Object {
		$Channel = $_
		Get-MgTeamChannelMember -TeamId $Team.Id -ChannelId $Channel.Id -Filter "'Owner' in Roles" | Where-Object {
			$_.AdditionalProperties["email"] -in $DisabledUsers
		} | ForEach-Object {
			[PSCustomObject]@{ 
				TeamId=$Team.Id; 
				TeamName=$Team.DisplayName; 
				ChannelId=$Channel.Id; 
				ChannelName=$Channel.DisplayName; 
				UserEmail=$_.AdditionalProperties["email"]; 
			UserTenantId=$_.AdditionalProperties["tenantId"] 
			}}}
} | Format-Table
Export Shared Channels With Sign-in Disabled Owners Using PowerShell
AdminDroid Microsoft Teams Reporting

Eliminate Inactive Ownership in Teams Shared Channels to Strengthen Access Control

Admindroid’s Microsoft Teams reporting enables administrators to identify shared channels owned by sign-in-disabled users, detect channels without active oversight, and track delays in ownership reassignment. Below are the additional capabilities of AdminDroid to bring Microsoft Teams shared channels management to the next level!

Stay Updated on Newly Created Shared Channels in M365

Schedule the newly created shared channels report in AdminDroid to stay on top of external collaboration and ensure it aligns with your organization’s policies.

Identify All the Shared Channel Owners in Microsoft Teams

The shared channel owners report helps you view all shared channel owners and plan replacements if an owner is expected to leave the organization.

Spot Shared Channels Missing Team-Level Ownership for Better Control

Identify shared channels missing team owner to find channels residing in orphaned Teams and assign owners to those Teams to maintain proper oversight.

Get Notified When a Shared Channel Becomes Ownerless in Microsoft 365

Set up alerts for the shared channels without owner report to get notified when a shared channel becomes ownerless, so you can reassign ownership and avoid unmanaged access.

Remove Unused Shared Channels from Microsoft Teams

Detect empty shared channels with no owners, members, or guests and remove these inactive channels to reduce clutter, minimize security risks, and maintain a clean Teams environment.

Get a Comprehensive View of All Channels in Your Teams Environment

View all Microsoft Teams channels, including private and shared ones, with details like membership type, participant count, and ownership to support better governance and cleanup.

As Microsoft Teams usage continues to grow, native tools often fall short, particularly in identifying inactive users, channels with disabled owners, and ownership gaps. AdminDroid’s Microsoft Teams management tool fills these gaps by delivering clear, actionable insights into channel ownership roles, team memberships, channel types, guest access, file activity, device usage, and more.

Explore a full range of reporting options
Download Live Demo

Important Tips

To assign external users as owners of shared channels, first add them using Entra ID B2B Direct Connect, since guest user accounts won’t qualify.

Assign at least two owners to each shared channel to prevent orphaned access if one becomes disabled, since these channels also include guest users from outside the organization.

Regularly audit shared channel membership changes in Microsoft Teams to ensure only authorized users have access, especially when sensitive content is involved.

Common Errors and Resolution Steps

The following are the possible errors and troubleshooting hints when dealing with shared channels that have disabled owners in Microsoft Teams.

Error Get-MgAllTeamChannel : Missing scope permissions on the request.

This issue occurs when you connect to Microsoft Graph PowerShell without the necessary channel permissions.

Fix To overcome this error, ensure you connect to Microsoft Graph PowerShell with the below necessary permissions. 
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All ", "Team.ReadBasic.All", "Channel.ReadBasic.All", "ChannelMember.Read.All"

Error A channel must have at least one owner. Assign a new owner before changing this person's role.

This error occurs in the Microsoft Teams admin center when you try to convert the sole owner of a shared channel to a member.

Fix Add another internal member as an owner to the shared channel before changing the current owner's role to a member.

Error You're the last owner of this shared channel. There has to be at least one other owner for you to leave the channel.

This error occurs in Microsoft Teams when a user tries to remove the only remaining owner of a shared channel before assigning a replacement.

Fix Assign another internal member as an owner before removing the current one. Microsoft Teams requires at least one active owner to remain assigned to a shared channel.

1. What happens if the last owner of MS Teams shared channel leaves?

When a shared channel has no active owner, such as when the last owner is disabled or deleted due to offboarding or role changes, it becomes a security risk. Without an owner, there's no one to manage access, review membership, or enforce controls. This is especially concerning if external users are part of the channel, as it can lead to unmanaged and potentially risky access.

To maintain control and governance, it is essential to ensure every shared channel always has at least one active internal owner.

Can Microsoft Teams automatically promote a new owner, when the last shared channel owner is disabled?

Yes, if the last owner of a shared channel in Microsoft Teams is disabled, the Teams and Channels service will then attempt to automatically promote an active internal member of the channel from your organization to the owner role. However, if no internal members are available, the channel becomes ownerless.

shared-channel-auto-owner-assignment

Effortlessly track every shared channel ownership promotion and stay informed about role elevations with AdminDroid!

  • In this report, you can easily find all shared channel ownership promotions along with details, such as the promoted user, role change time, changed by, team name, and more.
  • Quickly track role changes within shared channels using the AI-powered visuals that highlight every user promoted to an owner.
admindroid-ownership-promotion-shared-channel

2. What are the risks of having a disabled user as a shared channel owner in Microsoft 365?

In Microsoft 365, shared channels are powerful tools for cross-team and cross-organization collaboration. However, if a disabled user remains as an owner, it may create risks security risks and communication gaps if not proactively monitored.

  • False sense of oversight: Admins may assume that the shared channel is properly managed, unaware that one or more listed owners are no longer active because their account is disabled. This creates a false sense of control and may lead to missed updates or unreviewed changes.

    Use case: A Teams shared channel shows multiple owners, but one account was disabled months ago. The other owner is on extended leave, which temporarily leaves the channel without active management or oversight.

  • Delayed ownership response: If the remaining active owners of a Microsoft Teams shared channel are unavailable, essential tasks such as moderation, channel lifecycle actions (archiving or deleting), or approving membership changes may be delayed or missed.

    Use case: A user requests access to a Teams shared channel, but no active channel owner is available to approve it. The delay affects project timelines or communication flow.

  • External access risks: Teams shared channels often include external users. A disabled owner can prevent timely access reviews, which might leave the external members in the channel longer than necessary and increasing data exposure risks.

    Use case: An external B2B partner completes their project, but without an active owner to manage membership, their access remains active beyond the intended period in the shared channel, potentially exposing sensitive information.

Critical risk if the Microsoft Teams shared channel has only a single owner

If a shared channel has only one owner, and that owner's account has been disabled, it might lead to the following risks:

  • No one can manage or update the channel without admin intervention.
  • External members may retain access to the channel for a longer period of time, leading to potential data exposure.

3. How to add an owner to a Microsoft Teams shared channel?

When the last shared channel owner leaves the organization or their account is disabled, Teams automatically promotes an internal member within the organization to owner. However, if only external users are available as members in the shared channel, it becomes ownerless and requires an admin to manually assign a new owner.

Add owner to a shared channel using the Microsoft Teams admin center

  • Go to the Microsoft Teams admin center.
  • Navigate to Teams»Manage teams
  • Find the Team that contains the shared channel.
  • Select the Channels tab, locate the shared channel, and click on its name.
  • Hit + Add, search for the users, select the user then click Apply to add them and assign the Owner role.
microsoft-shared-channel-add-user

Add an owner to a shared channel via the Microsoft Teams client

  • Open Microsoft Teams desktop or web client, click the ellipses next to the desired shared channel name, and select  Manage channel.
  • In the Members list, find the user you want to promote as owner. Click the Role dropdown next to their name and select Owner.
  • If the user is not already a member, click Share with people, search for the user, and select them.
  • After selecting the user, click the Role dropdown next to their name, choose Owner, and click Share to add them as an owner of the channel.
teams-app-add-owner-shared-channel

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List Shared Channels with Sign-in Disabled Owners
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