Use Rooms and Groups
Rooms and Groups cut through contact clutter so you can stay in touch with the people who matter most—family, friends from the neighborhood, your book club. Use Rooms to chat and share things with the folks you invite. Or add people to Groups to stay current with their social updates, or message them all at once.
Rooms
Rooms are an invitation-only place on your phone—and on the phones of the other members—where you can share a private calendar, group chat, photos or videos, and notes. When you invite someone to a room, they'll receive a text message with a link to join.
Your phone comes with a pre-loaded Family Room to get you started. You can also create new rooms from scratch.

Notes
- When a contact joins a room you own or a room you're a member of, you'll become Messenger friends with them. For more information, see Rooms and Groups FAQ.
- In a new room, you can use the calendar, notes, and photo album right away, but you can't chat until someone else joins.
- People who use Windows Phone 7 or iPhone can join your room and set up the shared calendar on their phones (other features work best on Windows Phone 8, and group chat is only available on Windows Phone 8). For more info, see Rooms on Windows Phone 7 and iPhone. (Note: Rooms for Windows Phone 7 and iPhone is not available in all countries and regions.)
To set up the Family Room on a new phone
-
On Start
, tap Family Room. -
Tap Invite someone, and then find the person you want to invite in the contact list. You'll only see contacts that have mobile phone numbers listed.
-
Tap your contact's name, and if you see a list of phone numbers, tap Mobile phone.
-
Tap Send. Your contact will get a text message inviting them to join the room. When they join, the room will be set up on their phone.
-
When you're finished inviting people, tap Done
.
To create a new Room
-
On Start
, tap People
, and then flick left or right to Together. -
Tap New
, and then tap Room. -
Type a name for your room, and then tap Save
. -
To invite someone to your new room, tap Invite
, and then find the person you want to invite in the contact list. You'll only see contacts that have mobile phone numbers listed. -
Tap your contact's name, and if you see a list of phone numbers, tap Mobile phone.
-
Tap Send. Your contact will get a text message inviting them to join the room. When they join, the room will be set up on their phone.
-
When you're finished inviting people, tap Done
.
To use Rooms
All of the members of a room can add photos and videos, add and change calendar appointments, send group chat messages, add and edit notes, and change the room background.
-
On Start
, tap People
, and then flick left or right to Together. -
Tap the room you want to use, and then do any of the following:
- To start or participate in a group chat, flick left or right to the chat pane, and then tap Chat on Messenger. To include your location, tap Location
. - To view the room calendar, flick to Calendar. Tap an appointment to view details or make changes, or tap Today
or Month
for different views. To add a new event, tap New
. - To see pictures and videos, flick to Photos. Tap Add
to add some, or tap More
> Refresh to see the latest. - To view, change, or add to the room's shared notes, flick to Notes. Tap a note to view or edit it, or tap Add
to add a new note. - To change the background, flick to Members, tap More
, and then tap Choose background. - To see social networking feeds for the room members, flick to Members, and then tap What's new or Member photos (you'll see these choices if you're friends with other members on social networks).
- To start or participate in a group chat, flick left or right to the chat pane, and then tap Chat on Messenger. To include your location, tap Location
Tips
-
To see a room appointment alongside the rest of your calendars,
flick to Calendar, and then tap More
> Show all calendars.
- Pin the room to Start to see updates and new messages on the Live Tile.
To edit or delete a Room you own
If you're the room owner, you can invite and remove members, rename the room, or delete the room.
-
On Start
, tap People
, and then flick left or right to Together. -
Tap the room you want to change, and then flick to Members.
-
Do any of the following:
- To invite a member to the room, tap Members
> Invite
. - To remove a member from the room, tap Members
, tap the contact, and then tap Remove. - To choose a new name, tap More
> Rename. - To delete the room, tap More
> Delete room.
- To invite a member to the room, tap Members
To leave a Room
If you're a room member, you can leave the room. It will be removed from your phone.
-
On Start
, tap People
, and then flick left or right to Together. -
Tap the room you want to leave, and then flick to Members.
-
Tap Leave room, and then tap Leave.
Groups
Use Groups to see social updates from just the folks you add, all in one place. You can also text, email, or IM the whole group at once. Unlike Rooms, Groups only show up on your phone and Microsoft account, and you don't need to invite people to add them.
Your phone comes with a pre-loaded Best friends group—to get started
quickly, go to People
> Together, tap Best
friends, and then tap Members
to start adding people.

To create a new Group
-
On Start
, tap People
. -
Flick left or right to Together, tap New
, and then tap Group. -
Type a name for your group, then tap Save
. -
To add people to the group, tap Add
, and then tap the contact you want to add. When you're finished adding people, tap Done
.
To edit or delete a Group
You can add more members and make other changes to a group.
-
On Start
, tap People
. -
Flick left or right to Together, and then tap the group you want to edit or delete.
-
Do any of the following:
- To add more people to the group, tap Members
> Add
. - To remove a member from the group, tap Members
, tap the contact you want to remove, and then tap Remove from group. - To change the preferred contact information for a member, tap Members
, and then tap the member's name. - To pin the group to Start, tap Pin
. - To rename the group, tap More
> Rename. - To delete a group, tap More
> Delete. The contacts within the group won't be affected.
- To add more people to the group, tap Members
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