With the massive increase in Microsoft Teams meetings due to people working remote because of the COVID-19 virus, there’s been a lot of comparisons between Teams and Zoom for online meetings. One of the things that Zoom does that Teams meetings didn’t was allow for background images. That is now corrected with the latest Teams update. Here’s how that works…
When you’re in a Microsoft Teams meeting, click on the Ellipsis icon and select Show Background Effects:
You’ll see a panel on the right that shows the images provided by Microsoft for your background. Select one of the images and click Apply:
That background will now be applied to your screen:
If you want to “try out” some of the backgrounds before selecting one, click on an image and then click on Preview. That will show what your image will look like in the lower-right. Once you find the one you like, click on Apply And Turn On Video:
And to answer the next question that will be sure to be asked… “Can I have my own pictures in the background?” The answer is… not yet. Microsoft is working on the user interface to allow you to upload custom images into the right location so that you can go beyond the provided images.
Just remember… just because you can, doesn’t always mean you should… 🙂
One Minute Office Magic 