Teams runs very slow on my Windows PC. How to remove the Microsoft Teams cache?

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Here’s a question from Dev:

I use Microsoft Teams at work almost on a daily basis. Lately i have seen that Teams is getting quite slow, and sometimes looks like it just hangs to a point i need to sign off and restart it. A colleague of mine told me that in such cases, their IT department recommends to delete the cache directory from File Explorer. Can you provide guidance on how to delete the Teams cache folder?

Thanks a lot for the question Dev. In this tutorial you will find a step-by-step process for clearing your MS Teams cache. Note that deleting the cache doesn’t remove any files associated with your teams/channels or any of your 1:1 or group chat conversation history from your Teams account, as those are stored in SharePoint and OneDrive respectively. But just to be on the safe side, we recommend that before deleting the cache folder you backup the folder (by copying it into a local or cloud driver or a USB stick).

Teams Cache location

The Teams cache is located at the \%appdata%\Microsoft\Teams path. By default that will point to C:\Users\<your_windows_username>\appData\Roaming\Microsoft\Teams. To access it, open File Explorer (Windows +E) and paste the Teams cache path.

Delete the Teams Cache folder

  1. From Microsoft Teams, hit your profile icon / avatar and then go ahead and select Sign Out.
  2. If Microsoft Outlook is open, go ahead and close it.
  3. Now from your Windows Taskbar hit the Windows icon in you, type File Explorer and hit the Enter button.
  1. Alternatively, hit the Windows button on your keyboard +E to find the File Explorer.
  2. Next type %appdata%\Microsoft into the Address bar.
  3. Backup the Teams folder into your local or cloud drive.
  4. Now highlight the Teams folder, right click and select Delete.
  5. Hit Yes.
  1. Next, hit the Windows button on the taskbar and type Teams.
  2. Select the Microsoft Teams button
  3. Login to Teams using your Windows login and password credentials.
  4. That’s it!

Clearing cache in Microsoft Teams web version

If you are using the Team web app, you will be able to solve caching issues by clearing temporary data (such as previous browsing history) that is used by the browser. Here’s the procedure for Edge and Chrome.

Edge:

  • Open Microsoft Edge, then type on the three-dot icon at the right hand side.
  • Hit Settings.
  • In the Search Settings box at the top left side type the text clear browsing.
  • You will be presented the result of your search. Under Clear Browsing data, hit the Choose what to Clear button (located at the right hand side).
  • Under Time Range, select All time.
  • Select the type of Data you want to clear.
  • Hit Clear Now.
  • If needed close the dialog.
  • Now, navigate to your Microsoft Teams web URL, enter your login data and use Teams.

Chrome:

  • Open Chrome and if open, close the tab that displays the Teams Web app.
  • Hit the following key combination: Ctrl + Shift + Delete
  • In the Time Range dropdown, select All time.
  • Hit the Clear Data button.
  • Navigate to your Microsoft Teams web URL.
  • Enter your login data to access Teams.

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