How to Clear Microsoft Teams Cache to Fix Performance Issues
Fix slow loading, sign-in loops, and sync problems in Microsoft Teams by clearing the cache. Covers new Teams on Windows and macOS, the built-in reset, and a PowerShell method.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Time required
- 10 minutes
- Steps
- 6
- Platform
- Microsoft Teams
Table of contents
Quick Answer
Go to the stepsFully quit Microsoft Teams, then clear the new Teams cache. On Windows, delete everything under %localappdata%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams and restart Teams; on macOS, quit Teams and remove the UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams group container and the com.microsoft.teams2 container. Teams rebuilds fresh data on next launch, which fixes most slowness, sign-in, and sync problems.
- Fully quit Teams - right-click the taskbar/dock icon, choose Quit, then end any leftover ms-teams process.
- Windows: delete all files under the MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams folder.
- macOS: remove the UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams and com.microsoft.teams2 containers.
- Restart Teams, sign in, and let it rebuild the cache.
- Still slow? Repair or Reset new Teams in Windows Settings, or update to the latest version.
%userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeamsExpected result: Teams reopens, rebuilds its cache (the first launch is a little slower), and the slowness, sign-in, or sync problem is gone.
Key takeaways
- You'll learn how to fully quit Microsoft Teams and clear the new Teams cache on Windows and macOS - manually, through the built-in reset, or with PowerShell - to fix common performance problems.
- A large or corrupted Teams cache causes slow message loading, sign-in loops, missing profile pictures, and sync issues; clearing it forces Teams to rebuild fresh data from the cloud and resolves most of these.
- Quit Teams completely, clear the new Teams cache (or use Reset), and let Teams rebuild from the cloud - your data stays safe on the server.
Introduction
Microsoft Teams keeps a local cache of messages, images, and settings to load faster and work offline, but when that cache grows large or gets corrupted you'll see slow message loading, sign-in loops, missing profile pictures, or sync problems. Clearing it forces Teams to rebuild fresh data from Microsoft's servers, which resolves most of these issues without touching anything server-side. This guide covers the current, supported client - new Teams - on Windows and macOS, with a manual method, the built-in reset, and a PowerShell option for multiple machines. Classic Teams reached end of availability on 1 July 2025 and no longer runs, so nearly everyone will use the new Teams steps here.
Who this is for: Anyone whose Microsoft Teams desktop app is running slowly or misbehaving, and IT admins or MSPs who want a reliable, scriptable cache-clear for the new Teams client.
Before you start
- Access
- Access to your own Windows or macOS user profile. No administrator rights are needed to clear your own cache - admin is only required to clear the cache for other users or deploy the fix across a fleet.
- Environment
- The new Microsoft Teams client on Windows 10/11 or macOS. Classic Teams is retired (end of availability 1 July 2025) and no longer runs.
- Vendor
- Microsoft
Paths and steps verified against Microsoft Learn's 'Clear the Teams client cache' documentation; commands were not run in a lab for this article.
About 10 minutes, most of which is Teams rebuilding its cache on first launch.
Note: Local settings will be reset
Clearing the cache signs you out and resets local preferences such as notification settings, theme, and custom backgrounds. Your chats, files, and team memberships are stored in the cloud and are not affected.
1Fully Quit Microsoft Teams
Release the cache files so they can be deleted without 'file in use' errors.
Closing the Teams window isn't enough - it keeps running in the background. On Windows, right-click the Teams icon in the system tray (or taskbar) and choose Quit, then open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and end any remaining ms-teams.exe process. On macOS, right-click the Teams icon in the Dock and choose Quit (or press Cmd + Q), then confirm in Activity Monitor that no Teams process remains.
Get-Process ms-teams -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -ForceExpected result: No Teams process appears in Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (macOS).
Note
The new Teams process is ms-teams.exe. If you still run classic Teams, its processes are Teams.exe / Update.exe - but classic no longer connects as of July 2025.
2Clear the New Teams Cache on Windows
Delete the cached data so Teams rebuilds it from the server.
Open the Run dialog (Win + R), paste the new Teams cache path %userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams, and press Enter. In the folder that opens, select everything (Ctrl + A) and delete it. This removes web cache, IndexedDB, GPU cache, and stored images so Teams fetches fresh data on next launch.
Expected result: The LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams folder is empty (a few locked files may remain, which is fine).
Note
If a couple of files won't delete, they're still locked by a running process - re-check Step 1. Skip any file you can't remove; it won't stop the cache from rebuilding.
3Reset or Repair New Teams from Windows Settings (Alternative)
Use the built-in options when manual deletion doesn't help.
Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Microsoft Teams > Advanced options > Repair / ResetBecause new Teams is an MSIX-packaged app, Windows exposes built-in Repair and Reset options. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Microsoft Teams, open the … menu (or Advanced options), and try Repair first - it fixes the app without deleting your data. If the problem persists, use Reset, which clears all app data and cache (equivalent to a full cache wipe) while keeping Teams installed.
Expected result: Repair completes with a checkmark, or Reset empties the app's data and Teams reopens as if freshly installed.
Note
Repair keeps your settings; Reset wipes them. Prefer Repair when you only need to fix a glitch rather than wipe everything.
4Clear the New Teams Cache on macOS
Remove the new Teams containers on Mac.
Quit Teams fully (Dock icon > Quit, or Cmd + Q), open Terminal from Applications > Utilities, and remove the new Teams containers. New Teams stores its data in a group container and a com.microsoft.teams2 container, so remove both.
rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams"
rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2"Expected result: Running ls ~/Library/Containers | grep teams2 returns nothing, and Teams rebuilds its data on next launch.
Note
Don't use sudo. If you hit permission errors, Teams is still running - quit it and retry.
5Automate Cache Clearing with PowerShell (Windows)
Clear the cache reliably, or across many machines.
For power users and MSPs, PowerShell handles process termination and deletion in one shot. The script below targets the current user and needs no admin rights; for fleet-wide use, deploy it per-user via Intune or your RMM (running it as SYSTEM would target the wrong profile).
# Quit new Teams
Get-Process ms-teams -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force
Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
# Clear the new Teams cache for the current user
$cache = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams"
if (Test-Path $cache) {
Remove-Item "$cache\*" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Write-Host 'New Teams cache cleared.' -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
Write-Host 'New Teams cache path not found.' -ForegroundColor Yellow
}Expected result: The console prints 'New Teams cache cleared.' and the LocalCache folder is emptied.
Note
Deploy per-user, not as SYSTEM - the cache lives under each user's profile. Save the script as a .ps1 for reuse.
6Restart Teams and Verify the Fix
Confirm Teams rebuilds cleanly and the issue is resolved.
Relaunch Microsoft Teams (Start menu on Windows, Applications on macOS) and sign in if prompted. The first launch is slower while Teams downloads fresh data; profile pictures and thumbnails repopulate over a minute or two. Then reproduce whatever was slow before - open a busy chat or channel - to confirm it now loads quickly.
Expected result: Teams opens, syncs your chats and teams from the server, and the original slowness, sign-in, or sync problem no longer occurs.
Note
Reconfigure any notification or theme preferences that were reset. If startup stays broken, use Repair/Reset (Step 3) or reinstall from the Microsoft Store or winget.
How to Confirm the Cache Clear Fixed Teams
Verify fix
A successful cache clear shows up as normal, responsive Teams behaviour after a slightly slower first launch. Because your messages, files, and team memberships live on Microsoft's servers, they all reappear once Teams re-syncs - nothing is lost. The signs to check are: Teams signs in without looping, profile pictures and thumbnails render, chats and channels open quickly, and the specific symptom you started with is gone. If Teams instead fails to open or keeps the same problem, the cause is usually a still-running process during deletion, or an issue that isn't cache-related at all, such as network or service health.
Normal result: Teams launches, re-syncs from the cloud within a minute or two, and the original slowness, sign-in, or sync symptom is resolved.
Abnormal result: If the symptom persists or Teams won't start, the cache wasn't fully released (a process was still running) or the root cause is network/server-side rather than the local cache.
First launch time
~30-60 seconds slower than usual
Expected on the first start after clearing - Teams is rebuilding the cache from the server.
Troubleshooting
'File in use' or 'Access denied' when deleting cache files
Warning
Cause: Teams is still running in the background (the ms-teams.exe process wasn't ended).
Fully quit Teams and end any ms-teams.exe process in Task Manager, wait about 30 seconds, then retry. Reboot the machine if a process won't terminate.
The MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe cache folder doesn't exist
Note
Cause: New Teams isn't installed for this user, or you're looking for the old classic Teams path.
Confirm new Teams is installed via Settings > Apps > Installed apps. The classic %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams path no longer applies, since classic Teams reached end of availability on 1 July 2025.
Teams won't start after clearing the cache
Warning
Cause: The app package was left in an inconsistent state, or only part of the cache was deleted.
Use Settings > Apps > Microsoft Teams > Advanced options and run Repair, then Reset if needed. If it still fails, reinstall from the Microsoft Store or with winget install Microsoft.Teams.
Notification, theme, and other settings were reset
Note
Cause: Local preferences are stored in the cache, so clearing it wipes them - this is expected behaviour.
Reconfigure your preferences after Teams reloads. Next time, try Repair instead of Reset, or the manual delete, to avoid a full settings wipe where possible.
Teams is still slow after clearing the cache
Note
Cause: The bottleneck is network-, server-, or resource-related rather than the local cache.
Update Teams, check your connection and Microsoft 365 service health, and close other heavy apps. If rendering lags, try toggling GPU hardware acceleration in Teams settings.
Frequently asked questions
Will clearing the Microsoft Teams cache delete my chats and files?
No. Your chat history, files, and team memberships are stored on Microsoft's servers, not in the local cache. You'll only lose local settings such as notification preferences, theme, and custom backgrounds, which you can reconfigure.
Where is the new Teams cache located on Windows?
In %userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams. On macOS it lives in the UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams group container and the com.microsoft.teams2 container.
Do I still need to clear the classic Teams cache?
Almost never. Classic Teams reached end of support on 1 July 2024 and end of availability on 1 July 2025, after which it stopped working. Nearly everyone is on new Teams now, so use the new Teams steps.
Is new Teams a UWP app?
No. New Teams is an MSIX-packaged app built on the Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime, which is why its data sits under the \Packages\ folder. That packaging is also what enables the built-in Repair and Reset options in Windows Settings.
Do I need administrator rights to clear the Teams cache?
No, not for your own profile - the cache lives under your user account. Admin rights are only needed to clear the cache for other users on a shared machine or to deploy the fix across multiple computers.
How often should I clear the Teams cache?
Only when you're troubleshooting a problem, not on a schedule. Clearing it unnecessarily just slows the next launch while Teams rebuilds the cache from the server.
Conclusion
Clearing the Microsoft Teams cache fixes most slowness, sign-in, and sync problems by forcing the app to rebuild fresh data from the cloud - without touching your chats or files. Fully quit Teams first, then either delete the new Teams cache folder, use the built-in Repair/Reset in Windows Settings, or run the PowerShell script for scale. Classic Teams no longer runs as of July 2025, so the new Teams steps are the ones that matter now. Restart Teams, let it re-sync, and reconfigure any local settings that were reset.
Quit Teams completely, clear the new Teams cache (or use Reset), and let Teams rebuild from the cloud - your data stays safe on the server.
%userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeamsSources3
