Microsoft has just released the ability to do background replacement. They noted that this first release doesn’t support custom images, but that was coming soon. Turns out you can manually add your own custom images from the Windows file system (I haven’t tested other operating systems).
Now supported in the app!! See my updated post here.
Here’s how:
- Navigate to C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Teams\Backgrounds\Uploads (MacOS – HD/Users/<USERNAME>/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams/Backgrounds/Uploads)
- Copy images you want to use to the uploads folder:
- Thats it!
I have tested with .JPG and .PNG image files. Ideally you want images with a resolution of 1920×1080, but I tested with all shapes and sizes and it seemed to work fine.
Now, when you turn background effects on you will have the images you added in addition to the defaults:
A note for those that are using images with text or logos – On your end you see yourself and the background “flipped” as if you are looking in the mirror. However, the far end will see things the right way around. Here’s an example:
Who knows if this is supported, or will work as well as the built in ones, but official support is coming soon anyway. I think I could do with haircut effects too, Microsoft? Have fun in the meantime!
Hi There, so it seems Text gets flipped – how will one fix that?
Yes, it tends to do this, it’s the same with your camera input – on your end you see yourself (and the background) in the mirror, however the far end will things the right way around. I have updated the post above to make this a little clearer. Hope that makes sense 🙂
Hello,
Thanks for the info, but it seems that it’s not working for me. The new images are not added in Teams. Even, when I remove an image it’s still shown.
Clearing the cache, rebooting, … does not help.
Any idea what the cause can be ?
KR
Sven
Hey Sven.
Removing the default images is not possible. These are always shown in the Teams client and when you click on them, they are downloaded into the path noted above.
Regarding the custom images, are you adding these is the “Uploads” folder? Based on my experience, these will show up without restarting Teams. Maybe try a different image size? Are you using a 1920*1080p image?
Solution found. It seems it does not work when you add a movie in the uploads folder 🙂
KR
Sven
Nice one, glad you got it sorted.
Thanks, its very useful and lot of people were trying to do this.
Fantastic – thanks for this!! One question…how did you record yourself with no frame or anything for the tutorial? 🙂
Thanks, appreciated. When I get a chance, I’ll document my setup, but to summarise I am using OBS Studio to create video scenes and record (I can also output as virtual camera). To cut myself out neatly I have a green screen, but you could get away with a green (or other stand out colour) sheet. Then in OBS you can use “Chromakey” to separate the background. It’s also helpful to have a good light source as it helps with the background separation – I use an Elgato keylight. I’ll post back once I blog about it.
Thanks, very helpful.
How do you make a picture the default?
Currently not possible unfortunately. Sure, it will come. The feature release was rushed due to COVID19.
Great explanation!
Problem: My custom image displays too large when I select it as my background. Regardless of image size, it always defaults to the same view. I have tried sizing it down to quite small (100×56) and it still shows exactly the same as a 1920×1080. Thoughts?
Appreciate the feedback 🙂 1920×1080 is the optimal I believe. Wonder if cache is the issue – try renaming the file once resized and see if that version works better.
Hi,
Thx for sharing this.
Any idea why a logo or text is not so sharp when used as background?
I’ve tested all resolutions but the result is always the same even with a 300dpi image in 4k.
Thx for your feedback!
I think the far end sees things clearly, its just the preview that looks sub-optimal. The preview is also flipped.
How do I remove customized background images?
Currently you need to manually delete the files from file explorer.
HOW ABOUT I PRESS THE THREE DOTS ON MY COMPUTER THEY WILL NOT BE ANY SHOW BACKGROUND EFFECTS? HOW DO YOU UPLOAD IT
Try using this new method – https://ucgeek.co/2020/06/custom-backgrounds-in-microsoft-teams-the-supported-way/