Is a colleague celebrating their birthday while you work hybrid or remotely? Then set a festive birthday background in your next Teams meeting. It takes a minute and it stands out the moment the birthday person joins. Here you'll find a set of free birthday photos, the steps to set them in the new Teams and a few ideas to surprise someone online too.
How to set a background
- Right-click an image below and choose Save image as. Save it in a folder you can easily find again.
- In the new Teams, open the pre-join screen of a meeting, or during the meeting select the arrow next to Camera.
- Choose Video effects and settings (the exact name can vary, for example Effects and avatars).
- Under Backgrounds, select Add new and pick your image.
- Select the background and choose Apply. The pre-join screen shows right away how it looks before you join the meeting.
An uploaded background stays in your list, so you don't have to add it again next time. To go back to your normal view, choose None or Blur in the same menu. More in set a custom background in Teams.
Which image works best?
- A landscape image of about 1920 × 1080 pixels (16:9 ratio) works best. Teams crops other sizes, so part of the photo disappears.
- Use JPG or PNG. Those formats are supported everywhere.
- Choose a photo with a calm centre. That's where you sit, so balloons or cake at the sides stay more visible than in the middle.
- Text such as “Happy Birthday” may look mirrored in your own preview. The other participants see the text the right way round.
The images on this page are resized. For a sharper version, look up the photo on the original photo site (the file name contains the photographer's name).
Birthday backgrounds
On your phone or tablet
You can also choose a background in the Teams app for iOS and Android. During a meeting or on the pre-join screen, tap More (the three dots) and choose Background effects (the name can differ slightly per version). There you can add a photo from your gallery. Backgrounds you added on your computer are not copied to your phone automatically, so save the image on your device as well.
More ways to celebrate a birthday in Teams
- Agree that everyone uses the same birthday background. The birthday person then immediately sees a festive screen full of balloons.
- Send a GIF, sticker or praise card in the chat. Read emoji, GIFs and stickers in Teams.
- Have everyone send a reaction at the same time, like the heart or applause.
- Schedule a short, informal coffee break in Teams with the birthday person.
- Make a shared card: every colleague writes a short message in a channel post or a shared Whiteboard.
Does the birthday fall around the holidays? Then combine it with our Christmas backgrounds for Microsoft Teams or, in late November, with the Thanksgiving backgrounds. For the rest of the year, browse the free Teams backgrounds with travel, nature and office photos.
For admins
In the Teams admin center, an admin uses a meeting policy to decide which video effects users can choose: no effects, blur only, only Microsoft's default backgrounds, or custom images too. If you don't see the Add new button, that is often the reason. With Teams Premium, your organization can also provide its own official backgrounds that appear for everyone, for example in the corporate style.
Common problems
- I don't see any background options. Your computer has to support video effects. On older or very basic devices they are sometimes missing. In the browser the options are also more limited than in the app.
- My background is blurry. Use a larger file, ideally from the original photo site rather than the resized version.
- My hair or hands disappear into the background. Make sure the light comes from the front and there's a plain wall behind you. Teams can then separate you from the background more easily.
- The background doesn't work in another organization's meeting. Custom backgrounds usually remain available, but the organizer's policy can limit your options.
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