How to Share Your Screen in Microsoft Teams

Screen sharing in Microsoft Teams lets other people in a meeting or call see your whole display, one app window or a presentation while you talk them through it. This guide covers what to check first, the steps for the desktop app, the web version and mobile, how to confirm what others actually see, and fixes for the problems people run into most often.

Before you start

Sharing does not run only on your device. Teams captures your screen locally and sends it through Microsoft's service to the other participants. You need to be signed in, online and inside a meeting or call. Check these points before you begin:

• Join or start a meeting or call. The share controls appear only during an active session.
• Make sure you are allowed to present. Organizers can limit who can present in the meeting options, and organization administrators can turn off screen sharing by policy. Either one can hide the share control or grey it out.
• On macOS, Teams needs screen recording permission. macOS asks for it the first time you share. If you declined, turn on Microsoft Teams under Screen Recording (called Screen & System Audio Recording on newer macOS versions) in Privacy & Security in System Settings, then quit and reopen Teams.
• In a browser, use one that Teams supports, such as a current version of Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, and allow screen sharing when the browser asks. The desktop app usually offers more sharing options than the web version. The exact set depends on your version and license.
• Close or hide anything you do not want others to see, such as email, chats, documents and password managers. Turn on Do Not Disturb or focus mode so notifications don't pop up during the share.
• Screen sharing itself does not need a camera. If you plan to appear on camera next to your content, check the camera permission on your system and confirm that the selected camera in the Teams device settings is the one you want.

Step-by-step instructions

Desktop app on Windows and macOS

Labels differ slightly between Teams versions, but the order of actions is the same:

• Join the meeting or call.
• Select Share in the meeting controls at the top of the window. Older versions show an icon instead of a labelled button, a box with an upward arrow named Share content.
• To let others hear audio from your computer, such as a video clip, turn on the Include sound or Include computer sound toggle before you pick what to share.
• Choose what to share. Screen shows your entire display; if you have several monitors, pick the right one. Window shows a single app, which keeps everything else private. PowerPoint Live shares a presentation file that participants see in Teams. Whiteboard opens a shared canvas.
• If your version offers presenter modes, you can pick one. Standout and Side-by-side combine your camera video with the content. Content only shows just the shared material.
• Once sharing starts, a border appears around the shared screen or window and a presenter toolbar appears near the top of the screen.
• To end the share, select Stop sharing on the presenter toolbar or Stop presenting in the meeting controls. You stay in the meeting and can share something else at any time.

Teams on the web

In the browser version, you also select Share in the meeting controls. After that, the browser opens its own picker, which usually lets you choose an entire screen, a window or a single browser tab. The browser may ask for permission the first time. On macOS, the operating system may also require screen recording permission for the browser itself. Sharing computer audio from a browser depends on the browser and operating system. It is often limited to a browser tab or the entire screen, so check the audio option in the picker before you confirm.

Android, iPhone and iPad

During a meeting, tap More (the three dots) and then Share, and choose the option to share your screen. Android shows a warning that the app will capture what is on screen, which you need to accept. On iPhone and iPad, a system broadcast dialog appears, and sharing begins after you tap Start Broadcast. Everything on your phone screen is visible while sharing, including incoming notifications. Turn on Do Not Disturb first. To finish, tap Stop presenting in Teams or stop the broadcast from the system controls.

Give or take control

While sharing in the desktop app, you can use Give control on the presenter toolbar to let another participant use the shared content with their mouse and keyboard. Participants can also request control, which you approve or decline. Take control back from the same toolbar. The other person can work with anything visible in the share, so only hand over control to people you trust. This feature may be unavailable in some setups, for example in the web version, for certain external participants, or where an administrator has turned it off.

Check the output

Teams doesn't show you a preview of exactly what participants receive, so confirm the result directly:

• Look for the border around the shared screen or window and for the presenter toolbar. If neither appears, sharing has not started.
• Ask a participant whether they see the correct monitor or window and whether text is readable. Another option is to join the same meeting from a second device with its speaker muted to avoid echo, and view your own share there.
• The resolution and frame rate of a share adapt to network conditions and to the content, so small text may be hard to read and moving video may look less smooth than on your own screen. Enlarging fonts or zooming into documents helps more than sharing a very large display.
• If you turned on computer sound, ask whether the audio comes through and stays in sync with the picture.
• If the meeting is being recorded, shared content is normally captured in the recording. Before showing sensitive material, check with the organizer whether recording is on and how recordings are stored.
• In presenter modes your camera feed is part of the picture, so lighting matters. A light source in front of you rather than behind you keeps your face visible next to the content.

Common problems and next steps

The Share button is missing or greyed out

You are most likely joined as an attendee without presenter rights, or your organization's policy blocks sharing. Ask the organizer to make you a presenter for this meeting. If sharing is blocked in every meeting, contact your IT administrator, because that setting is controlled centrally and cannot be changed in your own app.

Participants see a black or frozen screen

On macOS, the usual cause is a missing screen recording permission. Grant it as described above and restart Teams. Some apps protect their content from capture, such as certain video players and password managers, and appear black in any share. If you share a single window and then minimize it, others may see a paused or blank image, so keep the window open on screen. Switching between window and full-screen sharing often shows which one works with the app in question.

Others can't hear the sound from your computer

Stop sharing, turn on the computer sound toggle, and share again. On macOS, Teams may ask to install an extra audio component the first time you share system sound. Accept it if your device policy allows. In the browser, choose an option in the picker that supports audio.

The shared image is blurry or lags

Close apps that use a lot of bandwidth, move closer to your router or use a wired connection, and share a single window instead of a large high-resolution display. For slides, PowerPoint Live usually stays sharper than sharing the PowerPoint window itself, because participants see the presentation in Teams rather than as a captured video stream.

Your camera doesn't appear in a presenter mode

Check that your camera is on in the meeting, that the operating system grants Teams camera permission, and that the selected camera in the Teams device settings is the correct one. If another app is using the camera, close that app and turn your video off and back on.

If a problem continues after these fixes, update Teams to the latest version, restart the app or browser, and try again in a new meeting. For issues tied to your account or organization, such as blocked sharing or missing options, your IT administrator is the right next contact.