The Teams Cache – What It Stores, Why It Matters, and Why Clearing It Often Works Wonders

The Teams Cache – What It Stores, Why It Matters, and Why Clearing It Often Works Wonders

he Teams cache is a temporary storage location where Microsoft Teams saves data locally on your device so the app can respond faster. It is completely normal and necessary — but sometimes it becomes a problem when Teams freezes, fails to update, or behaves strangely.

When you delete it, Teams automatically recreates all required files the next time you start the app.

🔍 What does the Teams cache store?

Teams stores various data in the cache, such as:

  • Sign‑in information (temporary)
  • Profile details
  • Chat history (parts of it, not the full history)
  • App configurations
  • UI elements (icons, images, layouts)
  • Settings for Teams add-ins
  • Calendar and status information
  • Meeting data (e.g., thumbnails)

This prevents Teams from having to fetch everything from the server every time.

🧠 Why is the cache important?

  • Faster startup
  • Chats and channels open without delay
  • Reduced data traffic

⚠️ When does the cache cause problems?

A corrupted cache can lead to:

  • Messages not appearing or missing
  • Teams not loading or freezing
  • Incorrect status (“offline” even though you’re online)
  • Issues with camera/meeting features
  • Apps like Planner, Forms, etc. not working
  • And more

In these cases, clearing the Teams cache often helps.

🛠️ Step-by-step: How to safely clear the Teams cache

Note: This is safe — no cloud data is lost.
Microsoft Documentation – New Teams – Method 2: Deleting the files

1. Fully close Teams

To ensure Teams releases all local files, the app must be closed completely:

Right‑click the Teams icon in the taskbar and select Quit at the top.

2. Open the cache directory

Open the Run dialog with Windows key + R.

Paste the following path into the Open field and confirm with OK:

%userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams

3. Delete the cache contents – except the “Backgrounds” folder

Inside the MSTeams folder, you’ll find the local cache for all Teams features.

Important note:
Teams stores your custom uploaded meeting backgrounds locally.
They are located in the folder Backgrounds.

To avoid losing your own background images, do not delete this folder.

Recommended procedure:

  • In the MSTeams folder → delete all files and folders
  • Exception: Keep the Backgrounds folder!

This deletes all cache data without removing your custom meeting backgrounds.

4. Restart Teams

After restarting:

  • Teams loads everything fresh
  • The cache is automatically rebuilt
  • Profile and team images may appear with slight delay
  • Apps like Planner, OneNote, or Forms are reinitialized

The first startup may take a bit longer — that’s normal while Teams rebuilds the cache.


Warning

⚠️ Warning

We assume no liability for the functionality or effects of this procedure.

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