Teams screen turns blue or gray while accessing files

Does your Teams screen turn Blue or Gray while opening files? Some Teams users have reported seeing a gray or blue partial screen whenever they try to access the Files tab or open files in the app. Why this issue occurs and how to fix the problem, we will learn in this post.

Why is my screen blue on Teams files?

The blue screen issue on the Files tab in Microsoft Teams can occur in various scenarios. It could be caused due to corrupted Teams cache, temporary account glitches, or outdated display driver issues. Besides that, using GPU hardware acceleration in Teams can also be a reason for this issue. This issue can also happen if your Teams app is corrupted or some installation files are faulty.

Teams screen turns blue or gray while accessing files

If the Microsoft Teams screen turns blue or gray while trying to access or open files and documents from the Files tab, use the below fixes to resolve the issue:

Close Microsoft Teams and restart it.
Delete the Teams cache.
Restore the default Teams theme.
Log out, then log in to Teams.
Disable GPU hardware acceleration in Teams.
Check for graphics driver updates.
Repair or reset Teams.
Reinstall Teams.

1] Close Microsoft Teams and restart it

The first thing you should do is restart the Microsoft Teams app to fix the issue. It is a simple workaround but works wonders in many cases.

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To do that, open Task Manager using Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Select the Microsoft Teams task from the Processes tab and press the End task button. After that, restart the Teams app and check if the issue is resolved.

2] Delete the Teams cache

You might be getting a blue overlay on the Files tab in Teams due to a corrupted cache. Delete the Teams cache and check if the issue is fixed. Here are the steps to do that:

First, make sure no Teams task is running in the background. So, close all Teams tasks using Task Manager.
Now, open File Explorer using the Win+E hotkey and navigate to the below address:
```
C:\Users\<YourUserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Teams
```
In the above location, clear the folders named tmp folder, blob_storage, cache, GPUcache, databases, and local storage.
After that, double-click the IndexedDB folder to open it and clear the .db file.
Once done, reboot your computer and open Microsoft Teams to check if the problem is resolved.

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Read: Webcam flickering in Teams during video calls.

3] Restore the default Teams theme

This workaround has been proven to be effective for some users who have selected a dark or high-contrast theme. Here’s how:

First, open Microsoft Teams and click on the Settings and more button.
Now, choose the Settings option and navigate to the Appearance and accessibility tab.
Next, under the Theme section, choose the Light theme.
Once done, check if the issue is resolved.

4] Log out, then log in to Teams

It could be a glitch with your Teams account causing the problem. So, in that case, you can try signing out of your account and then logging back into Teams to see if the problem is fixed.

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To do that, click on your profile picture present at the top-right section and then choose the Sign out option. Once you are logged out, close Teams completely and then reopen it. Now, enter your login credentials to sign in.

See: Microsoft Teams Join button is missing or not working.

5] Disable GPU hardware acceleration in Teams

If you have enabled GPU hardware acceleration in Teams, it could be the potential cause of the problem. Turn off the GPU hardware acceleration feature in Teams and see if it helps resolve the issue.

Open the Teams app and click on the Settings and more > Settings option.
From the General tab, tick the checkbox associated with the Disable GPU hardware acceleration option.
Next, close the Teams app window and right-click on the Teams icon from the system tray.
After that, choose the Quit option.
Then, refresh your desktop and reopen the Team app to check if the problem is gone.

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Read: Microsoft Teams crashing or freezing during meetings.

6] Check for graphics driver updates

Such display issues are often caused because of faulty graphics drivers. If your graphics drivers are outdated or corrupted, you will likely experience this issue. Hence, you can update your graphics driver to its latest version and check if the issue is resolved.

To do that, press Win+I to launch Settings and click on Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates. Check if there are pending driver updates. If so, tick the checkboxes associated with the updates and tap on the Download & install button.

7] Repair or reset Teams

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The issue could be caused due to corrupted settings or broken files linked with the Teams app. You can fix the problem by repairing the Teams app. If that doesn’t help, you can reset Teams to its default state to resolve the issue. Here’s how:

First, close Microsoft Teams completely and then open Windows Search.
Now, type Teams in the search box, hover the mouse over the Microsoft Teams app, and choose the App settings option.
Next, scroll down to the Reset section and click on the Repair button. If you want to restore the original Teams app, press the Reset button.
Once the process is complete, check if the issue is resolved.

8] Reinstall Teams

If the problem still persists, we recommend you uninstall and then reinstall Teams on your computer. Your app might be corrupted and can’t be repaired using app settings. Hence, in that case, you need to uninstall the current Teams copy from your computer completely using Control Panel or Settings and then reinstall a fresh and clean copy to fix the issue.

Once Teams is removed, press Win+R to open Run and enter %appdata% in it. Next, find the Teams folder and clear it. After that, enter %Programdata% in Run and in the opened location, remove the Teams folder. This will completely uninstall Teams from your PC.

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You can now reboot your computer and install Teams from Microsoft Store.

Hopefully, you will now be able to open files in Teams without getting a Blue or Gray screen.

Why is my Teams camera blue?

If you are experiencing a blue screen issue with your camera on Teams, it is recommended to switch off the hardware acceleration feature in your Teams settings. This feature might be triggering the problem. So, open Teams settings and enable the Disable GPU hardware acceleration option.

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Now read: Microsoft Teams not opening or launching on PC.

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