How to Fix Microsoft Teams Black Screen Issues

Many users complained the Teams desktop app window may sometimes turn black shortly after launch. There are no options available, the app window is all black. Other times, Teams displays a black screen on the meeting window only. Let’s see what could be causing this unusual problem and how you can fix it.

How Do I Fix Microsoft Teams Screen Black Issues?

⇒ Quick Workaround: Check if Teams for Web is working properly. Oftentimes, the bugs affecting the desktop app don’t affect the web app.

Close All Processes and Restart Teams

1. Log out of your Teams account.
2. Launch the Task Manager and locate all Microsoft Teams processes running in the background.
3. Right-click on each process and select End task.
4. Close the Task Manager app and launch Teams again. Log in and check if the app window is still black.

By the way, if you own a Surface device and you often encounter this problem, use the “End task” method every time you undock and then re-dock your device. Users noticed that docking or undocking the device often causes the app window to go black.

Speaking of which, many Teams users also noticed the black screen occurs a lot right after they launch the Snipping Tool. Exit Teams completely before you launch the Snipping Tool. You can then launch Teams again and check if you notice any improvements.

Launch Teams Meeting in Outlook

Launch Outlook on the web and click the New Teams Meeting button to join a new meeting. Many people used this workaround to bypass the black screen problem. Check if Teams works fine and then cancel joining that meeting.

Update Your Drivers

Ensure your graphics drivers are up-to-date. Outdated drivers may cause all sorts of display issues, including the one we’re talking about in this guide.

1. Launch the Device Manager and click on Display Adapters to expand the list.
2. Right-click on your GPU and select Update driver.
3. Restart your computer and check if the black screen is still there.
4. If the issue persists, right-click again on your GPU driver and select Uninstall device. If the driver got corrupted, this should fix it.
5. Restart your computer and launch Teams again.

If Your Device Has Two Graphics Cards

If you own a computer equipped with two different graphics cards (a separate NVIDIA GPU and an integrated graphics card), use the integrated card.

1. Launch the NVIDIA Control Panel and go to Manage 3D settings.
2. Then click on Program Settings.
3. Under Select a program to customize, click on Add.
4. Navigate to C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Teams\current\Teams.exe. You need to replace the Update.exe file that the app shortcut selects by default.
5. Then go to Select the preferred graphics processor for this program.
6. Select the integrated graphics card.
7. Save changes, launch Teams, and check if the issue persists.

Delete the Settings.json File

A number of users confirmed they fixed the black screen issue on Teams by deleting the settings.json file.

Navigate to  C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Teams. Locate the settings.json file and delete it.

 

Lower the Resolution

If the black screen window problem occurs only when you start sharing your screen, lower your resolution and check if that helps.

1. Go to Settings, select System, and then click on Display.
2. Under Scale and Layout, use the drop-down menu to select a lower resolution. Check the results.

If the problem persists, check if you’re trying to stream copyrighted content. For example, if you have an active Netflix window when you enable screen sharing on Teams, the app window will go black.

Don’t worry about it, there’s nothing wrong with the app or your computer for that matter. Teams behaves like that by design to prevent you from sharing copyrighted content.

You can read more about this topic in our guide Black Screen When Sharing Netflix on Teams.

Conclusion

If your Teams screen goes black, update your drivers and use the integrated graphics card. Additionally, lower your resolution and delete the settings.json file.

Did you manage to fix this issue for good? Hit the comments below and let us know which solution did the trick for you.