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How to Change Your Background on Microsoft Teams

Try new backgrounds, just like in Zoom

By Saikat Basu Saikat Basu Writer University of Pune (India) Saikat has been a technology writer for 12+ years. His writing has appeared at MakeUseOf, OnlineTechTips, GoSkills, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 5, 2021 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Video Calls Skype Facetime

What to Know

Start a meeting and enable the camera to see audio and video settings before joining. Click the background settings icon to see the options. Select a background, then click Join Now.To change the background during a meeting, go to the meeting controls and select More actions > Apply background effects. This article explains how to change your background on Microsoft Teams before a meeting starts and during a meeting.

Change Your Microsoft Teams Background Before a Meeting

MS Teams backgrounds can help you hold meetings anywhere. They remove the distractions of what’s happening behind your shoulder, help your team members focus, and allow you to present a professional front. Open Microsoft Teams. Select the Camera icon for a new meeting or choose any of the meetings under Recent. Give a new meeting a name. Select Get a link to share or Start meeting. Share the meeting link via email or any other medium. Choose Start meeting to begin the video chat. Microsoft Teams displays a screen to choose your video and audio settings for the call. The background settings icon lies between the Microphone icon and the Settings icon. The background options are only enabled if the camera is on. Toggle the Camera switch to turn it on. Select Background settings to open a panel on the right to display all the thumbnails for the background image options. Choose a thumbnail for the background you want. Select the Join Now button to start the meeting with the background applied behind you on the screen. You can also upload your own background to give the meeting some personality. To use an image of your own, select Add new and then select a JPG, PNG, or a BMP image file from your computer. Microsoft recommends images with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of at least 1920 x 1080. The higher the resolution, the better your images will appear. To remove the background, choose the first thumbnail (the icon has a circle with a line across it). The chosen background persists across the meeting. You can select and swap backgrounds anytime while in the meeting, though you might want to stick to a consistent background if it's professional in nature.

Tip:

Microsoft Teams also allows you to blur the background instead of applying an artificial image. Choose the Blur background setting to soften the view behind you.

Change Your Microsoft Teams Background During a Meeting

A meeting starts, and you realize that the chosen background isn't the right fit. Microsoft Teams also allows you to change and swap backgrounds while a meeting is going on. Go to the meeting controls at the top. Select More actions (the icon with three dots) > Apply background effects. Choose from the available images. Click Preview to see the image before you apply. Select Apply when you're finished.

Note:

Background effects are available on the Microsoft Teams client for PC and Mac. The background blur feature is supported on iOS. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Blur Backgrounds in MS Teams How to Schedule a Google Meet How to Blur Your Background in Google Meet How to Change Background on Zoom How to Change Your Gmail Theme How to Change a Google Docs Background to a Picture How to Schedule a Meeting in Microsoft Teams How to Change Background Color in Photoshop How to Blur Your Background on a FaceTime Call in iOS 15 How to Use the Motorola Camera App How to Change Your Cameo on Snapchat How to Add a Custom Background to Microsoft Teams How to Change the Desktop Background in Windows 11 How to Change Google Backgrounds How to Change Your Facebook Cover Photo How to Upload Multiple Photos to Facebook Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies