How to Turn Off Your Camera on Teams (2026)
Turning your camera off in Microsoft Teams is a single click — and you can also join with video already off, or use a keyboard shortcut mid-meeting. Here’s how on desktop and mobile.
Turn Off Your Camera in a Meeting
- On the meeting toolbar, click the camera (video) icon.
- A slash through it means your video is off — others see your avatar or initials.
- Click it again to turn video back on.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + O (Windows) or ⌘ + Shift + O (Mac) toggles your camera.
Join With Your Camera Off
Set it before you’re on screen:
- Click the meeting link to reach the pre-join screen.
- Toggle the camera off (the slider under your preview).
- Click Join now — you’ll enter with video already off.
Turn Off Camera on Mobile (iOS/Android)
- Tap the screen to show controls.
- Tap the camera icon to turn video off or on.
Troubleshooting
My camera won’t turn off / keeps coming back
Click the camera icon directly (not the device menu). If it’s stuck, the meeting may be lagging — wait a moment, or leave and rejoin.
People still see a frozen image of me
Your video froze rather than stopped. Toggle the camera off and on once, or check your connection. A true “off” shows your avatar, not a still frame.
The shortcut doesn’t work
The Teams meeting window must be focused — click into it first. The shortcut won’t fire from a browser tab or another app.
Wrong camera is showing
Pick the right device: More (…) > Settings > Device settings > Camera. Turning the camera off won’t fix a wrong-source issue.
I want video off for every meeting
On the pre-join screen, turning the camera off is remembered for your next join in many versions. You can also leave it off by default and only enable it when needed.
Quick Reference
| Goal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Turn camera off/on | Click the camera icon |
| Shortcut (Windows) | Ctrl + Shift + O |
| Shortcut (Mac) | ⌘ + Shift + O |
| Join with video off | Toggle camera off on the pre-join screen |
| Pick a different camera | Settings > Device settings > Camera |
Related Teams guides: How to mute on Teams · How to blur your background in Teams · How to pin someone in Teams · How to record a Teams meeting · The best AI note takers for Zoom, Teams & Meet
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