Teams keeps running after you close it
This is the single most useful thing to know about Teams and cameras. Closing the Teams window does not quit Teams. It minimises to the system tray on Windows or stays in the dock on macOS, and it can keep hold of the camera.
The result is a camera that fails in Zoom, in your browser and everywhere else, with no obvious cause. If a webcam has stopped working across multiple applications, fully quit Teams before investigating anything else.
- Windows — find the Teams icon in the system tray, near the clock, right-click and choose Quit. Check Task Manager for any remaining Teams processes.
- macOS — right-click Teams in the dock and choose Quit, or press Command-Q with Teams focused.
Test the theory in ten seconds. Quit Teams completely, then press start on the camera test above. If the camera works now and did not before, Teams was holding it.
Teams device settings
Open Teams, click the three dots next to your profile picture, choose Settings, then Devices. This page lists camera, speaker and microphone selections together with a preview.
Teams also lets you change devices from inside a meeting, using the three-dot menu and Device settings. Changes made there apply to the current meeting, which is why a device that worked yesterday can appear wrong today.
The classic Teams problems
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Camera works nowhere else | Teams is running in the background holding it. Quit Teams from the system tray. |
| Black preview in Teams only | A virtual camera is selected in Devices. Choose the real one. |
| Camera missing from the list | Teams was launched before the webcam was plugged in. Restart Teams. |
| Very poor video quality | Hardware acceleration for media is off, or the machine is under load. Check Settings, then look for the GPU hardware acceleration option. |
| Works in Teams web but not the app | The desktop installation is damaged, or its operating system permission is missing. |
Permission for Teams specifically
On Windows, open Settings, Privacy & security, Camera, and make sure Let desktop apps access your camera is on. This is at the bottom of a long list and governs Teams.
On macOS, open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera, and confirm Microsoft Teams is ticked. Quit and reopen Teams afterwards, since macOS only applies the change on a fresh launch.
The web version as a fallback
If the camera is missing entirely rather than black, see webcam not detected. Teams runs in a browser at teams.microsoft.com. If your camera works on this page, it will generally work in Teams on the web, which makes it a dependable escape route when a meeting is about to start and the desktop app is misbehaving. Not every feature is available, but video and audio work.
Clearing a corrupted cache
Teams sometimes gets stuck in a state where devices are listed but produce nothing, and no setting fixes it. Signing out fully, quitting, and signing back in resolves most of these. If that fails, clearing the Teams cache folder is the next step, though you will need to sign in again afterwards.
Common questions
My camera works everywhere except Teams.
Check the camera selected under Settings, Devices, and make sure it is the real device rather than a virtual camera. Then confirm the operating system permission for Teams specifically, since permissions are granted per application.
Teams was working, now the camera is missing from the list.
Teams enumerates devices when it starts. If the webcam was connected after Teams launched, it will not appear. Restart Teams.
Why does my webcam fail in Zoom when Teams is closed?
Because closing the Teams window does not quit Teams. It continues running in the system tray and can keep the camera. Quit it properly from there.
Video quality in Teams is much worse than this test.
Teams reduces quality under bandwidth or CPU pressure. Close other applications, disable background effects, and use a wired connection if you can.