MS-700 Monitor, Report on, and Troubleshoot Teams Practice Question
You are the Teams administrator for a large organization. Users in the finance department report that they cannot start new chats with external partners who use Teams. Internal chats work fine. You need to troubleshoot the issue. Which policy should you check first?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is mixing up external access with guest access or other policies, assuming any external communication setting controls chat.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
External access policy
The external access policy is the correct place to check because it specifically governs whether users can communicate with external Teams users. If the policy is set to block external access, users will be unable to start chats with partners outside the organization. The other policies control different aspects of Teams functionality and would not affect external chat initiation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Messaging policy
Why it's wrong here
Messaging policies control features within chat, such as the ability to delete messages, use Giphys, or translate messages. They do not determine whether a user can initiate a chat with an external Teams user. Therefore, this policy would not explain why finance users cannot start external chats while internal chats work.
- ✗
Teams app permission policy
Why it's wrong here
Teams app permission policies control which apps are available to users within Teams, such as whether they can add tabs or bots. They have no bearing on the ability to chat with external users. The scenario describes a communication restriction, not an app availability issue, so this policy is not the right place to look.
- ✗
Meeting policy
Why it's wrong here
Meeting policies govern meeting features such as recording, transcription, and who can bypass the lobby. They do not control the ability to start one-on-one or group chats with external users. Since the problem is about chats, not meetings, this policy is irrelevant. Troubleshooting here would waste time and not resolve the external chat issue.
- ✓
External access policy
Why this is correct
External access policies control whether users can communicate with people outside the organization who are using Teams. If external access is disabled for the finance users, they cannot start chats with external partners. Checking this policy first is logical because the issue is specific to external chats while internal chats work, pointing to a policy that governs external communication.
About these practice questions
One of 211 original MS-700 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
This MS-700 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MS-700 exam.