Create a custom background for Teams

The short answer

To use your own background in Microsoft Teams, prepare an image file, open the background or video effects panel before or during a meeting, choose the option to add a new image, upload it, and select it. Two conditions limit this. An organization's administrator can switch off custom image uploads, and the exact labels and menu locations differ between Teams versions and platforms. A custom background is a video effect only. It does not change what your webcam microphone, or any other microphone, picks up.

Prepare the image

You can use any photo or graphic you have the right to use. A few general principles help it look better on camera.

• Use a common image format such as JPG or PNG.
• Choose a landscape image shaped like a widescreen video frame. Portrait images get cropped heavily.
• Keep the area where your head and shoulders will appear fairly plain, so the edge between you and the background is less distracting.
• Keep important details and text away from the edges, because Teams may crop the image.
• Text may look reversed in your own preview because self-view is often mirrored. Other participants typically see it the right way round.

Add the background in Teams

In recent desktop versions, the sequence typically runs as follows.

• 1. Before joining, open the background or effects option on the pre-join screen. Labels have included "Effects and avatars" and "Background filters".
• 2. Select "Add new" or the upload option, then choose your image file.
• 3. Click the uploaded image to apply it, check the preview, and join the meeting.
• 4. During a meeting, open the More menu or the control next to the camera button, go to video effects or background settings, and repeat the add-and-select steps.

Microsoft has redesigned this interface more than once, so treat these labels as approximate. If your version looks different, look for wording such as "effects", "background" or "filters". The web and mobile versions of Teams have their own controls, so check the version you actually use.

If you cannot upload your own image

Suppose you can pick from built-in backgrounds but have no option to add your own. The likely causes are an organization policy that restricts custom images, or a Teams version or platform that does not offer uploads. On a work or school account, ask your IT administrator. If no background effects appear at all, the device or browser may not support video effects.

What a custom background means for your audio

Background replacement processes only the video image. It does not mask room noise, change which microphone Teams uses, or alter how your voice sounds. If your space is noisy, you need audio settings for that. Noise suppression and microphone selection are configured separately in Teams' device settings.

There is one possible indirect effect. Video effects use processing power, and on an older or heavily loaded computer that extra load could contribute to general meeting performance problems. This is a general inference, not a measured result for any particular setup. If your audio breaks up only while a background is on, turn the effect off and compare.

Gaps in this guide

No confirmed source material was available for this guide. It therefore does not give recommended image dimensions, file-size limits, licensing requirements, or version-specific menu paths. Check Microsoft's current Teams documentation, or ask your organization's IT team, for those details.