Background blur or images missing
Trying to change the background, the button is gone or options are grayed out. Here is how to get them back.
Affected systems
Quick fixes
- Switch to the new Teams client
- Enable hardware acceleration - effects need GPU
- Linux: not officially supported
Hardware requirements
Background effects are GPU-accelerated. Very old CPUs without AVX2 or weak integrated graphics do not support them. Microsoft lists the exact CPU requirements in the official docs.
Hardware acceleration
Enable Settings, General, ‘Use hardware acceleration’. When disabled, this is often why the effects are missing.
Tenant policy
Some organizations disable custom background images because they upload files. In that case only blur is available.
New Teams client
The new Teams client (2.x) integrates effects more stably than the classic one. If you are still on the old client, switching is often the fastest fix.
GPU drivers
Stale GPU drivers can disable effects. Install drivers directly from the GPU vendor (Intel, NVIDIA, AMD) - not via Windows Update, which usually has older versions.
External webcams
External webcams can disable effects if the camera uses a hardware encoder. Switch back to software decoding in the webcam settings if possible.