Teams Meeting quality

Ken Knox 0 Reputation points
2026-10-29T03:15:02.76+00:00

becomes unstable sound quality and vision after 30 minutes

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Meetings and calls | Audio and video
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  1. Jade Ng 16,535 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-29T04:02:05.1966667+00:00

    Dear Ken Knox,

    From your description, it appears that your Teams meetings start normally, but after about 30 minutes the audio becomes unstable, and the video quality drops.

    For better assist, could you please confirm the following?

    1. Which Teams client are you using (Windows, Mac, web, mobile, or a virtual desktop/Cloud PC), and what is the Teams version?
    2. Are both audio and video affected, or only one? Does it also happen in audio-only meetings or when you are not sharing your screen?
    3. Does it affect only you, or other participants too?
    4. Does the problem happen in every long meeting, and does it improve if you leave and rejoin?
    5. Are you on Wi-Fi, a wired connection, or a VPN? Does it behave differently on another network or device?

    In the meantime, you can try the following steps:

    1. Check call health during a meeting: When the quality drops, select More actions in the meeting controls, then Settings > Call health. Please note the network values. As a general guide, round-trip time should be under 200 ms, received packet loss under 2%, and audio jitter under 30 ms. Values well above these suggest a network issue.
    2. Run a test call: In Teams, go to Settings > Devices and select Make a test call to check your microphone, speaker, and camera.
    3. Sign out and restart Teams: Sign out of Teams, close it completely, and sign back in. Then try a different audio or video device if you have one.
    4. Test on a more stable connection. Use a wired connection if possible or move closer to your router. If you use a VPN, check whether the issue also occurs without it (where your organization's policy allows).
    5. Update your drivers. Update your graphics and audio drivers, then restart your computer. Video processing depends on your device, and outdated drivers can affect quality. Please follow this article: Update drivers through Device Manager in Windows
    6. Try a temporary workaround. Turn off your camera or screen sharing during a long meeting to see whether the audio stays stable.
    7. If you use a virtual desktop or Cloud PC, check Settings and more (…) > About in Teams to see whether media optimization is shown as active. Without it, audio and video quality can be reduced.

    If you are a Teams admin, you can also review the meeting in the Teams admin center under Users > Manage users > select the user > Meetings & calls. This shows any audio, video, or network issues detected, with suggested actions. Meeting data can take from 30 minutes to a couple of hours to appear after the meeting ends.

    If the issue persists after completing the steps above, please do not hesitate to let me know.

    Thank you very much for your time and cooperation.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-10-29T03:15:52.24+00:00

    Capture Call health statistics before and after the quality deteriorates; the change at approximately 30 minutes will distinguish a network problem from device or computer-resource degradation.

    During the next affected meeting

    1. In the meeting controls, select More actions (…) → Settings → Call health.
    2. Record or screenshot the values shortly after joining and again when audio/video becomes unstable. Call-health data refreshes every 15 seconds.^1^
    3. Check these indicators:
      • Roundtrip time: normally below 200 ms.
      • Received packet loss: normally below 2%.
      • Received audio jitter: normally below 30 ms.
      • Teams send/receive limit: an unusually low value can indicate competing traffic or network/service-path problems.
      • Video processing: hardware processing is preferred.
      • Frame rate and resolution: compare their values before and after degradation.

    Interpret the result as follows:

    • Packet loss, jitter, or roundtrip time rises: investigate the network path.
    • Network values remain normal but frame rate or resolution falls: investigate CPU/GPU load and video processing. Low frame rates with poor video can indicate insufficient system resources.^1^
    • Only sound fails or a headset disconnects: test the meeting with a different audio device.
    • Several participants degrade simultaneously: have the organizer or IT administrator investigate the meeting rather than only one computer.

    If the metrics indicate a network issue

    Test one change at a time in another meeting of comparable length:

    1. Use wired Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi, if available.
    2. If Wi-Fi is required, test closer to the router. Use 5 GHz where its shorter range is not a problem; 2.4 GHz has longer range but is generally more congested.
    3. Pause large downloads, cloud synchronization, streaming, or other competing traffic.
    4. Compare upload and download speed with the service expected from the ISP.
    5. Update the network adapter and router driver or firmware.

    Microsoft notes that weak or congested connectivity can cause low-quality audio/video, delay, and dropped calls.^2^

    If degradation affects only this computer despite normal call-health network metrics, check for third-party traffic-shaping or network-optimization software. One closely related Teams case was resolved by uninstalling Gigabyte cFosSpeed, but that action applies only if cFosSpeed is actually installed; do not remove unrelated software.^3^

    Administrator investigation

    A Teams administrator should inspect the exact meeting:

    1. Open Teams admin center → Manage users.
    2. Select the affected user.
    3. Open Meetings & calls.
    4. Select the meeting under In-progress meetings or Completed meetings.
    5. Open the meeting and affected participant, then inspect the timeline around the 30-minute point.

    The meeting view identifies affected participants and categorizes issues under Network, Compute, Device, or Media. In-progress telemetry updates every minute; completed telemetry can take approximately 30 minutes to two hours to process.^4^

    Administrator access requires a supported Teams role. If this occurs across multiple users or meetings, use Call Quality Dashboard (CQD) for organization-wide or site-wide trends; the admin center is intended for individual meetings and users.^5^

    If escalation is needed, provide IT or Microsoft Support with:

    • Meeting ID, date, start time, and approximate failure time
    • Affected participant and whether others were affected
    • Call-health screenshots from before and after degradation
    • Connection type and audio/video devices
    • Admin-center root-cause category and participant telemetry

    References

    1. Monitor call and meeting quality in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Support
    2. How to improve your internet connection for better call quality in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Support
    3. Microsoft Teams / Incoming video is laggy and choppy - Microsoft Q&A
    4. Monitor and troubleshoot Teams meetings and calls from the Teams admin center
    5. Improve call quality in Microsoft Teams
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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