Teams not loading/crashing

Communications KB-057

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: Teams not loading/crashing. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Quick Tip: Need immediate assistance? 💻 Open a Ticket

Common Causes

Overview

If Microsoft Teams won’t start, freezes, crashes, or gets stuck on the loading screen, try the troubleshooting steps below to get it back up and running.

Important: Before proceeding, check which version of Teams you are using. Small businesses typically use Teams (work or school) with a Microsoft 365 business licence. Teams (free/personal) is a separate consumer application. The steps in this article apply primarily to Teams (work or school), though cache and reinstall steps are similar for both.

Quick Fixes

Issue	Quick Fix
Teams won’t open or crashes immediately	Restart the computer.
Service outage	Check the service status at status.office.com.
Teams stuck on loading screen / sign‑in loop	Clear the Teams cache (including IndexedDB).
Performance issues or visual glitches	Disable hardware acceleration in Teams settings.
Out‑of‑date client	Manually check for updates from the profile menu.
Persistent crashes after updates	Reinstall Teams using the official installer.
Network‑related problems	Verify firewall ports, restart router/modem, and ensure Wi‑Fi connectivity.
Windows components out of date	Run Windows Update (How to update Windows).

Fix Teams Not Loading

Clear Teams Cache (Windows)

Warning: Sign out of Teams before deleting cache files. Deleting the Teams cache removes locally stored data such as sign‑in information, recent files, and custom settings. You will need to sign in again after completing these steps.

Quit Teams completely. Right‑click the Teams icon in the taskbar and select Quit.
Open Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc). On the Processes tab, look for any remaining Microsoft Teams or Teams entries, select each one, and click End task. Close Task Manager.
Press Win + R, type %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams and hit Enter.
Delete the following folders:
- Application Cache
- Cache
- blob_storage
- databases
- GPUCache
- IndexedDB
- tmp
Restart the PC to ensure the cache is fully cleared.
Launch Teams and sign in again.

Reinstall Teams (Windows)

Note: Teams may be installed per‑user or per‑machine. Per‑user installs appear under your own profile in Settings → Apps. Per‑machine installs appear for all users and may require administrator rights to uninstall. If you do not see Microsoft Teams in your app list, check with your IT administrator or look for it under Programs and Features in Control Panel.

Open Settings → Apps.
- Windows 10: select Apps & features.
- Windows 11: select Installed apps.
Find Microsoft Teams and click Uninstall. Follow the prompts.
Download the latest installer from the official page: Microsoft Teams download.
Run the installer and sign in.

Clear Teams Cache (macOS)

Quit Microsoft Teams.
Open Finder, press Shift + Command + G, and enter ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams.
Delete the contents of the folder, including the IndexedDB directory.
Restart your Mac and launch Teams.

Reinstall Teams (macOS)

Open Finder → Applications.
Drag Microsoft Teams to the Trash.
Download the latest macOS installer from the official page: Microsoft Teams download.
Open the downloaded .pkg file and follow the prompts.

Fix Teams Crashing

Update Teams

Click your profile picture in Teams.
Select Check for updates. Teams will download and install any available updates.
Restart Teams.

Run Teams with GPU Acceleration Disabled

Press Win + R, type teams.exe --disable-gpu (or the full path, e.g., "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Teams\current\teams.exe" --disable-gpu) and hit Enter.
If Teams starts without crashing, the issue is likely GPU‑related. Update your graphics drivers.

Disable Hardware Acceleration

Click your profile picture → Settings.
Go to the General tab.
Under General, locate the toggle named Disable hardware acceleration and switch it to On.
Restart Teams.

Check for Windows Updates

Out‑of‑date Windows components can cause Teams to fail. Follow How to update Windows to ensure your system is current.

Network and Firewall Checks

Confirm that ports 80, 443, and 3478‑3480 are open on your firewall or proxy.
Test connectivity to teams.microsoft.com and login.microsoftonline.com.
If you use a corporate VPN, try disconnecting and reconnecting.
For broader network troubleshooting, see How to restart router/modem and How to connect to Wi‑Fi.

Specific Issues

Teams Stuck on Loading Screen

Clear the Teams cache as described in “Clear Teams Cache (Windows)” or “Clear Teams Cache (macOS)”.
Disable hardware acceleration.
Ensure you are running the latest Teams version.
If the problem persists, reinstall Teams.

Sign‑in Loops

Clear cached credentials via the Windows Credential Manager (see note above).
Delete the IndexedDB folder in the Teams cache directory.
Verify your account password at office.com and confirm multi‑factor authentication is working.
Check network connectivity and firewall settings.

Blank Screen After Sign‑in (Desktop)

Clear the Teams cache, including IndexedDB.
Disable hardware acceleration.
Update graphics drivers.
If you use a secondary monitor, disconnect it and try launching Teams on the primary display.

Notification Problems

In Teams, go to Settings → Notifications and ensure they are enabled.
Check Windows notification settings: Settings → System → Notifications & actions → ensure “Microsoft Teams” is allowed.
Verify that “Focus assist” is not silencing notifications (Windows security features).
Restart Teams after making changes.

Further Assistance

If the problem remains unresolved, please Open a Ticket and include details of the steps you have already tried, any error messages displayed, and whether you are using Teams (work or school) or Teams (free/personal).

Still Having Issues?

Need more help? If the issue persists after trying these steps, please open a support ticket and our team will assist you.

💻 Open a Ticket