Your tedious interaction with coworkers can become funny when you send GIFs or memes to MS teams. But your heart might sink as you click the GIFs icon. It’s opened with a blank prompt with loading circles.
For several reasons, teams won’t show GIFs, but solutions are not far away. This article is all about fixing GIFs & Images not showing in Teams chat.
So, read till the end to solve it. Let’s begin!
Why are GIFs or Images Not Showing in Microsoft Teams?
Certain factors like loss of internet connection, clogged Teams cache files, and enabled hardware acceleration can trigger images or GIFs not showing in MS Teams chat. For some reason, the Team admin can disable sending emojis, memes, or gifs into the chat box.
So, check every aspect and find out the actual culprit that provokes loading issues with stickers, GIFs, and emojis. Additionally, you’ll find an option named Optional connected experience. And when it’s disabled, GIFs may not load.
Many users delightedly reported sorting out this problem by simply updating the Teams app to the latest version. In that case, a backdated Teams app can create many issues, including not showing GIFs in chats.
Hence, inspect in-depth and find why Microsoft Teams is not displaying images and GIFs. Then, sort it out by applying the solutions I added later.
How to Fix Microsoft Teams Images or GIFs not Loading in Chat
You can resolve the GIFs not loading issue in Teams chat by updating the Teams app to the latest version. Plus, ask the Team owner to allow sending emojis or GIFs from settings and turn on the Optional connected experience from the Teams app settings.
Sending GIFs using the Teams chat is a straightforward process. If you are new to it and don’t know how to send GIFs in MS Teams chat, do the research now.
Well, there are other methods you can apply to solve the Microsoft Teams giphy not loading or working issue.
Here are the methods to sort out GIFs or Images not showing issues in MS Teams:
1. Check the Internet Connection
This is the first thing you should check when you want to send GIFs while chatting in the Teams app. The GIF section will remain in the loading state for lack of internet connection instead of showing GIFs.
Therefore, check the Wifi or internet status; the cables and router are all in working condition. Contact ISP if everything is okay, but there is still no active net connection.
Connectivity issues with Teams aren’t new. Users of Teams face frequent connection issues, but it’s solvable. By applying some quick methods, you can fix connection issues on Teams.
2. Allow Fun Stuff from Manage Team Settings
You’ll find a Fun stuff option in the Manage team settings. That’s the place from where a team admin can disable the giphy, stickers and memes, and custom memes. So, if the emojis or GIFs get stuck in the loading state, ask the team owner to allow or enable those features.
You can also allow fun stuff from there if you are the team owner yourself. To enable it, follow the below steps.
Here are the steps to enable or allow Fun stuff from Manage Team settings:
- Go to Teams and select the three dots on the specific team.
- Choose Manage team from the list.
- Select Settings > Fun stuff.
- Tick all the boxes for:
- Giphy
- Stickers and memes
- Custom memes
Now, try sending an emoji or GIF from the chat box. I hope enabling those options will resolve the issue.
3. Enable Optional Connected Experience
In the Teams app Settings, you’ll find an option called Optional connected experience, which is all about enhancing cloud-based Teams app services, including Giphy. So, if it’s not enabled, there is a chance that you’re facing loading issues with GIFs and other emoji stuff.
Read the below steps to enable the Optional connected experience in Teams:
- Click on the three dots on the left side of the Teams profile pic.
- Select Settings from the context menu.
- Choose Privacy from the left pane of the Settings window.
- Scroll and look for the Optional connected experience option.
- Toggle the button to turn it on.
Now, you have successfully turned on the option which will enrich cloud-based service along with emojis, memes, GIFs, etc. So, check if the GIFs are showing.
4. Clear Teams Cache
Teams cache files can sometimes get clogged up together and mess with the app’s functionality. Cache files are responsible for loading the app faster by storing the workload. But anything excessive is not suitable such as piling up enormous cache files of the Teams app.
Hence, you should clear all the Teams cache files to get back the GIFs in the perfect visible condition.
Follow the below instruction to clear Teams cache:
- Quit the Teams app from the Taskbar.
- Launch the Run dialog by pressing Windows key + R.
- Paste %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams into the Run command box and hit Enter.
- Select the following folders by pressing the Ctrl key:
- blob_storage
- Cache
- databases
- GPUCache
- IndexedDB
- Local Storage
- tmp
- Press Shift + Delete to delete those folders permanently.
- Select Yes to confirm the deletion.
If messed-up cache files are responsible for GIFs not showing in Teams chat, it will show now after clearing all the caches.
After clearing all the caches of Teams, you should optimize the Microsoft Teams performance. You can apply several procedures to do that.
5. Disable GPU Hardware Acceleration in Teams
According to my test, disabling the GPU hardware acceleration solves the loading problem of GIFs in Teams chat. So, try this method to sort out the problem for you.
Here are the instructions to disable GPU hardware acceleration in Teams:
- Click on the three dots beside the profile pic from the top ribbon.
- Choose Settings from the list.
- Select General and tick the box for the Disable hardware acceleration option under the Application section.
Note: Enabling this option requires restarting the Teams app.
So, Quit the Teams app from the Taskbar and relaunch it. I hope disabling this GPU hardware acceleration solves the issue.
6. Sign Out & Log Back In
Log out from the Teams account and login back into the app is the simplest solution, and it works for me too. So, try this method.
Here are the ways to sign out & log back into the Teams app:
- Click on the profile pic from the top.
- Select the Sign out option.
- Close and relaunch the app.
- Enter your login credentials to log back into the account.
Now, head over to the chat and click on GIFs. It will show this time for sure.
7. Check for the Updated Version
To avoid all sorts of app-related problems, you must keep the app up to date. And this also goes for Teams too. So, check for updates to solve the issues with GIFs and emojis.
Here are the steps to check updates for Teams:
- Click on the three dots from the top beside the profile pic.
- Select the Check for updates option.
Now, the Teams app will check for the update and install the update automatically.
You can also uninstall the Teams app and download the latest version from the official website. Updating to the latest version will get the GIFs back for you.
8. Run Teams with Administrative Rights
Running Teams with administrative rights can unlock so many options. As for Teams, many features only work when you launch its admin rights. So, try this simple method to fix GIFs and images not loading issues with Teams.
Follow the below instruction to run Teams with administrative rights:
- Click once on the Teams app desktop shortcut to select it.
- Press Alt + Enter to launch the Properties window.
- Click on the Shortcut tab and select the Advanced button.
- Check the box for the Run as administrator option and click OK.
- Hit Apply > OK.
From now, when you launch the Teams app, it will start with administrative rights. Now, check whether the GIFs or images are showing or not.
9. Log in to Teams Web App
Sometimes Teams app falls into issues, and that’s when issues like Teams not opening GIFs or images occur. If the main problem lies in the Teams app, you should use the Teams web app instead of the desktop app.
So, go to the Teams web app from the browser and sign in with the login credentials. I hope you won’t face GIFs not loading issues in the web app.
Login issues are also common with Teams, and several factors are behind them. Some login errors show the error code caa2000b. Still, the good news is you can fix Teams sign-in problem with error code caa2000b within a few minutes.
10. Report to Microsoft Support
A few Microsoft support options are available to report the GIFs not displaying issues in Teams chat. Therefore, you can go to any Microsoft support website and report the problem.
Below are the Microsoft Teams support option to assist you:
- Microsoft Support.
- Microsft Teams Support on Twitter.
So, go to any of the above-listed support centers and report the problem. The support team will reach you soon.
I hope the methods in this article have already solved the problem so that you don’t need to contact the support center.
FAQs
Why Teams not showing GIFs or images?
Teams isn’t showing GIFS or images if you have a terrible internet connection. Backdated Teams app is also responsible for provoking this issue.
How can I enable GIFs on MS Team as an admin?
To enable GIFs, stickers, or emojis on MS Teams as an admin, click three dots beside the specific teams you want to enable GIFs. Choose Manage teams and click on Settings. Go to Fun stuff and check all the boxes.
How to clear Microsoft Team caches?
Launch the Run dialog box and paste %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams into the command field. Hit Enter and select blob_storage, Cache, databases, GPUCache, IndexedDB, Local Storage, tmp these folders. Press Shift + Delete to permanently remove all the folders.
Bottom Line
GIFs, emojis, stickers, or memes are kinds of fun stuff that add joy when everyone in the channel or group is bored. But sometimes, due to several reasons, Teams won’t be able to show GIFs or images when you’re searching for them.
You’ll find the loading icon is circling without showing anything. In this article, I have given the perfect techniques to sort out the GIFs not loading problem in Teams.
I hope you sort it out already. Knock me in the comment box for more help. Best of luck & have fun!