How do I change my background for a Teams meeting?

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Customise your background

If you want to change what appears behind you in your video meeting or call, you can either blur your background, replace it entirely with any image you want, or use Teams virtual background template. 

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Change your background before a meeting starts

1. While you’re setting up your video and audio before joining a meeting, select Background filters . It’s just below the video image. 
   
   Your background options will display on the right.
   
   
2. Select Blur to blur your background. You’ll appear nice and clear while everything behind you is subtly concealed. 
   
   You can also replace your background with one of the images provided, or with one of your own choosing. To use an image of your own, select Add new and then select one to upload from your computer. Make sure it’s a .JPG, .PNG, or .BMP file. We have branded University of Worcester backgrounds for you to use, see the bottom of this FAQ.

Your new background will persist in all your meetings and calls until you change it again.

To turn off background effects, select   .

Note: If you don’t see this option in the menu, the feature might not be available on your device yet.

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Change your background during a meeting

1. Go to your meeting controls and select More actions    > Apply background effects  .
2. Select Blur to blur your background, or choose from the available images to replace it. To upload an image of your own, select Add new and pick a .JPG, .PNG, or .BMP file from your computer.
   To turn off background effects, select   .
3. Select Preview to see how your chosen background looks before you apply it, and then select Apply.

Notes: 

• For now, Linux users aren’t able to use this feature.
• Background effects won’t be available to you if you’re using Teams through optimized virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

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University of Worcester branded backgrounds

Communications and Participation have refreshed our range of branded backgrounds, which you may like to use in virtual meetings with external colleagues and partners. Here you can find a few Teams background images.

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