Microsoft Teams Stuck on Loading Screen? 6 Ways to Fix

by Mahesh Makvana

Microsoft Teams gets stuck on the loading screen for various reasons. If you’re experiencing this problem, your app may be incompatible with your operating system version, the app’s cache files may be corrupt, or there may be another issue. We’ll show you a few ways to fix the problem so you can use the app as usual.

Other causes of the issue include the app’s core files becoming corrupt, you using an obsolete app version, your computer having a minor glitch, and more.

Table of Contents

    1. Restart Your Windows 10/11 or Mac Computer

    When Teams gets stuck on the loading screen, the first fix to apply is to close the app and reboot your computer. Doing so often fixes minor issues with your system, allowing you to use your Teams app as normal.

    Make sure to save your unsaved work before powering off your device, or you risk losing your data.

    To reboot a Windows PC, open the Start menu, select the Power icon, and choose Restart.

    Mac users can reboot their machines by selecting the Apple logo in your screen’s top-left corner and choosing Restart.

    Open the Teams app when you’ve restarted your computer.

    2. Run Microsoft Teams in Compatibility Mode

    A possible reason Teams is malfunctioning is that the app has a compatibility issue. Although the app is supposed to work on modern operating systems, sometimes a compatibility problem crops up.

    In this case, you can run the app in compatibility mode on your Windows PC. This makes your app think it’s running on an older version of the operating system.

    You don’t have to do this if you’re on a Mac.

    1. Right-click the Teams icon on your desktop and choose Properties.
    2. Access the Compatibility tab in Properties.
    3. Activate the Run this program in compatibility mode for option.
    1. Select Windows 7 from the drop-down menu.
    2. Choose Apply followed by OK at the bottom.
    3. Double-click your Teams desktop shortcut to launch the app in compatibility mode.

    3. Fix Microsoft Teams by Clearing the App Cache

    Like many other apps, Teams stores cache files on your computer to speed up various app features. It’s possible this cache has gone corrupt, causing the app’s features to malfunction.

    In this case, you can clear your app’s cache files to resolve your loading screen issue. Clearing the cache doesn’t delete your data in the app.

    On Windows

    1. Right-click Start and choose Task Manager.
    2. Right-click Microsoft Teams in Task Manager and select End task. This ensures the app is fully closed before you delete the app’s cache.
    1. Launch a Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Then, type the following in the box and press Enter: %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams
    2. Select all files in the folder by pressing Ctrl + A.
    3. Choose the delete icon at the top to delete these files.
    1. Launch Microsoft Teams on your PC.

    On macOS

    1. Press the Option + Command + Esc keys on your Mac’s keyboard.
    2. Select Microsoft Teams on the list and choose Force Quit. This closes the Teams app.
    3. Launch a Finder window and select Go > Go to Folder. Alternatively, press Command + Shift + G.
    4. Type the following in the box that opens and press Enter:
      ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams
    5. Select all the files in the folder by pressing Command + A. Then, drag all the files to Trash.
    6. Launch Keychain Access on your Mac.
    7. Find and delete all the entries related to Microsoft Teams in Keychain Access.
    8. Open the Microsoft Teams app.

    4. Repair the Microsoft Teams App

    If your Teams app continues to be stuck on the loading screen, try Microsoft Office’s repair tool to repair the app. This tool scans your Office apps for issues and allows you to fix problems with those apps.

    Again, you can only use this method on Windows.

    1. Open Start, type Control Panel, and select the item with that name in the search results.
    2. Choose Uninstall a program under Programs on the following screen.
    1. Select your Microsoft Office installation on the list and choose Change at the top.
    1. Select Yes in the User Account Control prompt.
    2. Choose Quick Repair and select Repair.
    1. If your issue persists, select Online Repair in the repair tool and choose Repair.

    5. Update MS Teams on Your Computer

    Your Teams app version might be outdated, causing all sorts of problems. Older app versions are known to create such issues. One way to deal with this issue is to update your app to the latest version.

    Doing so brings the latest bug fixes that patch the issues in your app, and possibly add new features.

    Since you can’t get past the loading screen in Teams to run an update check, use another Office app on your computer to update the app. This works because all your Office apps are updated at the same time regardless of what app you use to initiate an update.

    On Windows

    1. Launch Microsoft Word on your PC.
    2. Select Account in the left sidebar.
    3. Choose Update Options > Update Now on the right.
    1. Allow the tool to find and install the latest updates for your apps.
    2. Open Teams when you’ve finished installing updates.

    On macOS

    1. Open Microsoft Word on your Mac.
    2. Select Help > Check for Updates in the menu bar. If you don’t see this option, use the Microsoft AutoUpdate tool and then choose the same menu option.
    3. Select Update next to Microsoft Teams to update the app to the latest version.
    4. Optionally, you can update all your Office apps by choosing Update All at the top of the update tool.

    6. Uninstall and Reinstall Microsoft Teams on Your Computer

    If your issue persists, it’s likely your app’s core files are corrupt. In this case, you can’t manually fix the files, but you can uninstall and reinstall the app to resolve your problem.

    Uninstalling the app removes all the app files from your machine, including any faulty ones. Then, reinstalling the app brings new working files.

    On Windows

    1. Open Control Panel on your PC.
    2. Select Uninstall a program under Programs.
    3. Choose your Microsoft Office installation on the list and select Uninstall at the top.
    1. Choose Yes in the User Account Control prompt.
    2. Select Uninstall in the tool that opens and finish the process.
    1. Run your Office installer to reinstall Teams and other Office apps.

    On macOS

    1. Open a Finder window and select Go > Applications.
    2. Select all your Office apps, right-click a selected app, and choose Move to Trash.
    3. Select Go > Go to Folder in Finder’s menu bar.
    4. Type the following in the box that opens and press Enter: ~/Library
    5. Access the Containers folder. Then, select the following folders, right-click a selected folder, and choose Move to Trash.

      Microsoft Error Reporting
      Microsoft Excel
      Com.microsoft.netlib.shipassertprocess
      com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2
      Microsoft Outlook
      Microsoft PowerPoint
      com.microsoft.RMS-XPCService
      Microsoft Word
      Microsoft OneNote
    6. Head back a directory and open the Group Containers folder.
    7. Copy the following folders to a safe location on your Mac. Then, delete the folders. Backing up these folders ensures your Outlook data remains intact.

      UBF8T346G9.ms
      UBF8T346G9.Office
      UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost
    8. Remove Teams from your Dock by right-clicking the app in the Dock and choosing Options > Remove from Dock.
    9. Reboot your Mac.
    10. Run the Office installer to reinstall Teams and other Office apps.

    Troubleshooting Microsoft Teams’ Loading Screen Issue on Windows and Mac

    If you have an urgent meeting to attend or another task to do in Teams, it gets frustrating when the app won’t get past the loading screen. There are various reasons Teams behaves this way, as explained above.

    Once you follow the methods outlined above, your Teams issue should be resolved. You can then start attending meetings as well as creating your own from the app.

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