Video freezing

The affected participant should first test the call while keeping Teams in the foreground, because the reported trigger points to their device, camera, or network path rather than your camera.

Audio continuing does not prove that the connection is healthy: Teams transports audio and video separately, and video needs more bandwidth and device processing. Microsoft’s telemetry identifies low outbound frame rate with device-resource, bandwidth, or camera problems, while video loss-recovery events indicate packet loss. ^1^

Tests for the affected participant

1. Repeat the call without leaving Teams.
   • Keep Teams visible and open another site only in a split window, if possible.
   • If video remains normal until Teams is minimized or sent to the background, the behavior is local to that participant’s device/client. The available Teams documentation does not establish that backgrounding intentionally pauses video on every mobile platform, so the exact device, OS, and Teams client are needed to determine whether this is platform-specific.
2. Check whether another application is taking control of the camera.
   • Close camera-using apps such as another meeting app or the Camera app.
   • Rejoin the Teams call and switch applications again.
   Microsoft specifically recommends closing other apps that might be using the camera. ^2^
3. Test the camera within Teams on a computer.
   • Teams → Settings → Devices → Make a test call.
   • Confirm that the camera image remains active and smooth.
   The test-call feature is unavailable in Teams on the web. ^2^
4. Compare clients or devices.
   • If the desktop app is affected, try the Teams web client in Edge or Chrome.
   • If the browser works correctly, update or repair the desktop client.
   • If both freeze on the same device but another device works, investigate that device’s camera driver, CPU/GPU load, power-saving settings, and network connection rather than your Teams installation.
5. Test the affected participant on Ethernet or stronger Wi-Fi.
   • Video freezing can result from short bursts of packet loss even when audio remains intelligible.
   • Microsoft defines Normalized Freeze Duration as receiver-observed video freezing and notes that it is typically caused by network loss. A high Loss Recovery Attempt Rate also indicates recovery requests caused by packet loss. ^3^

If this is a school-managed Teams account

Ask the Teams administrator to inspect the affected participant’s session:

1. Open Teams admin center → Manage users.
2. Select the affected participant.
3. Open Meetings & calls and select the relevant call.
4. Open the participant telemetry and compare:
   • Source freeze count — the camera stopped generating frames.
   • Frame rate — low values can indicate resource, bandwidth, or camera trouble.
   • Loss recovery attempt rate — points toward network packet loss.
   • Video encoder hardware failure — points toward encoding/GPU trouble.
   • Normalized freeze duration — confirms freezing observed at the receiving side.

Completed-call telemetry can take 30 minutes to two hours to process, and access requires a supported Teams administrator or communications-support role. ^1^

If the same person freezes for everyone in the call, focus on that person’s outbound camera, device resources, or upload path. If only you see the freeze while other participants see them normally, focus instead on your incoming network path or Teams client.

References

1. Monitor and troubleshoot Teams meetings and calls from the Teams admin center
2. My camera isn't working in Microsoft Teams
3. Use real-time telemetry to troubleshoot poor meeting quality