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How do you hide your background in Teams when you get an incoming call?

Perry, Katie 20 Reputation points
2026-02-24T18:57:22.4933333+00:00

Hello, I've searched the web looking for an answer to this and can't find anything on it, and maybe that's because it doesn't exist. I have a softphone that is connected via Teams. When I receive an incoming video call (which doesn't happen often, every time I answer it, it shows my office background. My office is in an unfinished basement with a metal bookshelf behind me, and while I could dress it up a bit, I mainly don't want my cement and unfinished basement walls showing.

I understand how to blur or use a different background when joining meetings, as I can set that up before I enter the Teams call, but can't find any way to answer when I get a call without having my basement walls showing. Each time I get a call, I answer and then scramble to get another screen behind me, but by that time the caller has seen a glimpse of my office background. There has to be a work around for this.

Thank you very much,

Katie Perry

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Meetings and calls | Change backgrounds
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-02-24T18:57:32.9433333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    Currently, Microsoft Teams does not provide a specific feature to automatically apply background effects such as blurring or custom backgrounds when answering an incoming call. However, you can manually blur your background or select a different background during a call by using the More [] button in the call controls. This allows you to choose the option to blur your background or select a preset background after you have answered the call.

    To ensure your background is not visible during an incoming call, you may want to set up your background preferences before the call or use the blur feature as soon as you answer the call. Unfortunately, there is no way to pre-set this for incoming calls specifically, so manual adjustment is necessary at this time.

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