> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.derekdinh.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Troubleshooting Microsoft Teams Loading and Meeting Issues

> Fix Teams stuck on the loading screen, audio/video problems, sign-in loops, and network blocks with these step-by-step troubleshooting procedures.

Microsoft Teams can become unresponsive at the loading screen, fail to play audio or video in meetings, or trap you in a sign-in loop — all common issues that are almost always resolved on the client side without requiring IT intervention. The sections below cover each scenario in order of how frequently it occurs. Work through the relevant section for your specific symptom first, then proceed to reinstallation only if earlier steps do not resolve the problem.

<Note>
  These steps apply to the Teams desktop application on Windows and macOS. Where steps differ between platforms, both are noted. For the Teams web client (teams.microsoft.com), start by clearing your browser cache and trying a different browser before working through these steps.
</Note>

## 1. Fix Teams Stuck on the Loading Screen (Clear Cache)

A corrupt or oversized local cache is the single most common cause of Teams being stuck on a grey or branded loading screen. Clearing it does not affect your messages, files, or settings — those are stored in the cloud.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Fully quit Microsoft Teams">
    Right-click the Teams icon in the system tray (bottom-right of the taskbar) and select **Quit**. Then open **Task Manager** (**Ctrl + Shift + Esc**), click **More details**, and end any processes named `Teams.exe` or `ms-teams.exe`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the Teams cache folder">
    Press **Win + R** and enter the following path, then press **Enter**:

    ```text theme={null}
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams
    ```

    This opens the Teams cache directory in File Explorer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Delete the cache subfolders">
    Delete the contents of the following subfolders (delete the contents, not the folders themselves):

    ```text theme={null}
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams\Cache
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams\blob_storage
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams\databases
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams\GPUCache
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams\IndexedDB
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams\Local Storage
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams\tmp
    ```

    You can select all files inside each folder with **Ctrl + A** and press **Delete**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart Teams">
    Open Microsoft Teams from the Start menu or desktop shortcut. The application will rebuild its cache on launch — allow a minute for the initial load.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  On **macOS**, the Teams cache is located at:

  ```text theme={null}
  ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams
  ```

  Use **Finder → Go → Go to Folder** (⇧⌘G) and paste the path to open it.
</Tip>

<Note>
  **Using the new Microsoft Teams (2024 and later)?** The updated Teams client stores its cache in a different location on Windows. If the `%AppData%\Microsoft\Teams` folder is empty or does not exist, use this path instead:

  ```text theme={null}
  %LocalAppData%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams
  ```

  Clear the `EBWebView` and `IconCache` subfolders inside that directory, then restart Teams.
</Note>

***

## 2. Resolve Audio and Video Device Issues in Meetings

If your microphone, speakers, or camera are not working during a Teams meeting, the issue is usually a device selection, permissions, or driver problem.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Check device selection in Teams">
    While in a meeting (or in a test call), click the three-dot **More** menu (⋯) at the top of the meeting controls, then select **Settings → Device settings**. Verify that the correct microphone, speaker, and camera are selected from the drop-down menus.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run a test call">
    Outside of an active meeting, go to **Settings → Devices** (click your profile picture, then **Settings**) and click **Make a test call**. Teams will record a short audio clip and play it back — this confirms whether your microphone and speakers are functioning correctly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check operating system permissions">
    Teams must have microphone and camera permission granted at the OS level.

    **Windows:**

    1. Go to **Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone**.
    2. Ensure **Microphone access** is **On** and that **Microsoft Teams** appears in the list with access enabled.
    3. Repeat for **Camera** under **Privacy & Security → Camera**.

    **macOS:**

    1. Go to **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone**.
    2. Ensure Microsoft Teams is checked. Repeat for **Camera**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify no other application is using the device">
    Close any other application that might have exclusive control of your microphone or camera (e.g., Zoom, Skype, OBS). Only one application can access these devices at a time on many systems.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update or reinstall audio/video drivers">
    Open **Device Manager** (search in the Start menu), expand **Audio inputs and outputs** and **Cameras**, right-click your device, and select **Update driver → Search automatically for drivers**. If an update is not found, visit your device manufacturer's website (e.g., Dell, Lenovo, HP) to download the latest driver package.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Disable hardware acceleration in Teams">
    If your video feed is choppy or freezing, GPU hardware acceleration may be interfering. Go to **Settings → General** and check **Disable GPU hardware acceleration** (requires Teams restart).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  If you are in a corporate environment and your webcam or headset is managed by a USB hub or docking station, try connecting the device directly to a USB port on your laptop or desktop. Docking station firmware issues can cause devices to appear in Teams but fail to transmit audio or video.
</Warning>

***

## 3. Fix the Teams Sign-In Loop

A sign-in loop occurs when Teams repeatedly prompts for credentials, briefly appears to load, then returns to the sign-in screen. This is usually caused by corrupt stored credentials or a stale authentication token.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Clear credentials from Credential Manager">
    Open **Credential Manager** by searching for it in the Start menu and selecting **Windows Credentials**.

    Look for and delete all entries that contain **MicrosoftOffice**, **msteams**, **teams.microsoft.com**, or **microsoftteams**:

    ```text theme={null}
    Examples of entries to remove:
    MicrosoftOffice_Data_Brokerage_...
    msteams_adalsso/adal_<yourdomain>.onmicrosoft.com
    teams.microsoft.com
    ```

    Click the entry to expand it, then click **Remove**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Clear the Teams cache">
    Follow all steps in **Section 1** (Clear Cache) above to remove any cached session tokens stored in the Teams application data folder.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign out of the Office apps">
    Open any Office application (e.g., Word), go to **File → Office Account**, and click **Sign Out**. Then sign back in with your Microsoft 365 credentials. This refreshes the shared authentication token that Teams relies on.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Clear the Teams web app cache (if using the browser)">
    If using Teams in a browser, open browser settings and clear cookies and site data specifically for `teams.microsoft.com` and `login.microsoftonline.com`. Then reload and sign in again.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check for Conditional Access or MFA issues">
    If sign-in fails with a message about your organization requiring additional verification, your device may not be Azure AD joined or Intune compliant. Note the exact error message and proceed to escalation.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  After clearing Credential Manager entries, Teams may prompt you to complete multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your next sign-in. Have your authenticator app or phone available.
</Note>

***

## 4. Reinstall Microsoft Teams

If cache clearing and credential resets have not resolved your issue, a clean reinstallation of Teams removes any corrupted application files.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Uninstall Teams">
    Go to **Settings → Apps → Installed Apps** (Windows 11) or **Control Panel → Programs and Features** (Windows 10). Find **Microsoft Teams** and uninstall it.

    <Note>In some enterprise environments, Teams is installed as a machine-wide installer. If you see **Teams Machine-Wide Installer** in the list, uninstall that as well.</Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Delete residual Teams files">
    After uninstalling, manually delete the following folders to ensure no corrupt files remain:

    ```text theme={null}
    %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams
    %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Teams
    %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\TeamsMeetingAddin
    %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\TeamsPresenceAddin
    ```

    Press **Win + R**, paste each path, and delete the folder contents.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Download and install the latest version">
    Download the current Teams installer directly from Microsoft:

    ```text theme={null}
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app
    ```

    Run the installer and sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  In organizations using Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Teams is managed and deployed by your IT department. If a reinstall from the Microsoft website fails or is blocked by policy, contact your Help Desk to request a managed reinstallation via Intune or SCCM/MECM.
</Tip>

***

## 5. Check Network Requirements for Teams

If Teams loads for some users but not others, or works on some networks but not on others (e.g., works from home but not in the office), a firewall or proxy is likely blocking the required URLs or ports.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Verify the required URLs and ports are allowed">
    Microsoft Teams requires access to the following endpoints. Ask your network administrator to verify these are permitted through the corporate firewall and proxy:

    ```text theme={null}
    # Core Teams services
    *.teams.microsoft.com       TCP 443
    *.skype.com                 TCP 443
    *.broadcast.skype.com       TCP 443

    # Microsoft 365 authentication
    login.microsoftonline.com   TCP 443
    *.msecnd.net                TCP 443

    # Media (audio/video in meetings)
    *.media.azure.net           UDP 3478–3481
    13.107.64.0/18              UDP 3478–3481 (Teams media IPs)

    # Office CDN
    *.office.net                TCP 443
    *.officeapps.live.com       TCP 443
    ```

    The full and current list is maintained by Microsoft:

    ```text theme={null}
    https://aka.ms/o365endpoints
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test connectivity to Teams endpoints">
    Open **PowerShell** and test key endpoints:

    ```powershell theme={null}
    # Test HTTPS connectivity to Teams
    Test-NetConnection -ComputerName teams.microsoft.com -Port 443

    # Test authentication endpoint
    Test-NetConnection -ComputerName login.microsoftonline.com -Port 443
    ```

    Both should return `TcpTestSucceeded : True`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check whether a proxy is intercepting Teams traffic">
    Some corporate proxies perform SSL inspection, which can break Teams' certificate pinning and cause authentication failures. Teams traffic (particularly media) should be configured to bypass SSL inspection. This requires a firewall/proxy policy change — escalate to your network team.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the Microsoft 365 Network Connectivity Test">
    Microsoft provides an online tool that tests network connectivity to all Microsoft 365 services from your current location:

    ```text theme={null}
    https://connectivity.office.com
    ```

    Run the test and share the report with your network team if issues are detected.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Media ports (**UDP 3478–3481**) must be open for high-quality audio and video in Teams meetings. If these UDP ports are blocked, Teams will fall back to TCP, which results in noticeably degraded call quality, higher latency, and dropped calls.
</Warning>

***

## Escalation

<Accordion title="When to escalate to your IT Help Desk">
  Escalate if any of the following apply after completing all steps above:

  * Teams continues to loop at the loading screen after clearing the cache and reinstalling.
  * Sign-in fails with an error referencing **Conditional Access**, **device compliance**, or **joined to Azure AD** — these require administrator action to resolve the device registration or Intune enrollment.
  * `Test-NetConnection` to `teams.microsoft.com` or `login.microsoftonline.com` returns `False` from the office network, indicating a firewall rule needs to be added.
  * Audio or video fails exclusively through a docking station or specific hardware — may require a driver update deployed via IT management tools.
  * Teams is missing from the available applications or reinstallation is blocked by policy — your IT team will need to push the application via Intune or SCCM/MECM.
  * The Microsoft 365 Network Connectivity Test (connectivity.office.com) reports failures for your office location.

  When logging a ticket, include:

  * The exact error message displayed (screenshot preferred).
  * Whether the issue occurs on other networks (e.g., home, hotspot).
  * The Teams version (**Profile picture → About → Version**).
  * The results of your `Test-NetConnection` commands.
  * Whether the issue appeared after a recent Windows Update, Teams update, or network change.
</Accordion>